Unidentified French Artist

Date:
c. 1330-1350

Medium:
Limestone, paint

Size:
Depth: 11 1/4″
Width: 21 1/2″
Height: 69 1/2″

Removed from a Catholic church in the town of Gisy-les-Nobles in north-central France, this sculpture was carved from a single block of limestone. As the carving does not extend to the back of the work, it was presumably intended to be part of the church’s architectural setting. The piece retains traces of original polychromy, or multicolored paint decoration. The figure’s blue outer mantle denotes her role as Mary, the Queen of Heaven, while her red robe references divine love.

During the Gothic period, which reached its height during the mid-13th and late 14th centuries in France, Mary became an object of widespread devotion among European Christian followers. Here, she holds the infant Jesus, who carries a bird, a symbol of the soul, in his left hand. The graceful S-curve of Mary’s pose, her stylized features, and her refined drapery are all typical of the elegance that marked French sculpture of the late Gothic era.