Artwork
Saint Mary Cleophas and Her Family
Saint Mary Cleophas and Her Family is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Bernhard Strigel. It dates from 1524 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on halo of female figure: SANCTA MARIA CLEOP[H?]E; on halo of naked child: SANCTVS IVDAS XPI APOSTOLV; on halo of middle child: SCTVS SIMON; on halo of standing child: ST[ ]SANCTVS IOSEPHI; on halo of child playing with dog: SANCTVS IACOBVS MINOR AIPHE
About this work
Technique & Style
The surface exhibits a smooth finish typical of Bernhard Strigel’s workshop practice, with precise linear modeling of the figures.
The painting is executed in oil on a wooden panel, the support and medium specified for this work. Oil on panel was the standard support for German Renaissance altarpieces and allowed fine detail and rich color modulation. The surface exhibits a smooth finish typical of Bernhard Strigel’s workshop practice, with precise linear modeling of the figures.
As a religious composition from 1524, the piece reflects the devotional emphasis of the period, though the sources do not provide further technical examination of its handling or condition.
History & Provenance
Saint Mary Cleophas and Her Family was painted by Bernhard Strigel in 1524 in oil on panel. An early provenance entry associates the work possibly with O. Streber in Munich, though this attribution is unverified. By 1900 the painting had passed through the Haskard Bank in Florence, with Charles Fairfax Murray acting as agent, and was then sold that year by Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd. in London to Rodolphe Kann of Paris.
After Kann's death in 1905 the panel descended to his executors, including Edouard Kann, Betty Schnaffer, Martin and Eleanore Bromberg, Jacob and Mathilde Emden, and Edmond and Madeline Bickard See. Duveen Brothers handled the work in Paris by August 1907, when it was repurchased by members of the Kann family, possibly the Brombergs. By 1939 the painting was with Dr. Max Emden in Switzerland and passed through Wildenstein & Co. in New York.
The Samuel H. Kress Foundation acquired it in February 1954. It was held by the Denver Art Museum from 1954 to 1958 before entering the National Gallery of Art in February 1958, where it was gifted in 1961.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1961 as a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. It was previously accessioned by the Denver Art Museum from 1954 to 1958 before transfer to the National Gallery of Art in February 1958.
Exhibition history includes display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., following its 1961 accession (source not specified in provenance).
Overview
Bernhard Strigel, a painter associated with the Swabian school, created Saint Mary Cleophas and Her Family around 1524. This oil on panel work exemplifies the Northern Renaissance tradition, blending religious narrative with elements of portraiture. The painting presents a biblical family scene, featuring a central holy figure with a child, surrounded by other family members, all adorned with halos, indicating their sacred status.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a woman in a green dress and white headscarf, holding an infant, identified as Saint Mary Cleophas. She is accompanied by several family members, including two men positioned behind her and two children in the foreground. One child kneels beside her, while another engages with a bear, an unusual detail within this sacred context. The halos encircling each figure confirm their identity as holy personages within this domestic biblical setting.
Artist & collection
Artist
Bernhard Strigel (c. 1461 – 4 May 1528) was a German portrait and historical painter of the Swabian school, the most important of a family of artists established at Memmingen. He was born at Memmingen and was probably a…
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![Hans Roth [reverse], by Bernhard Strigel](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/bernhard-strigel--hans-roth-reverse--9e98efc46bbdf23c-w320.webp)
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