Polychrome Apostle Figure, 15th Century

A large polychrome figure, perhaps an Apostle, possibly…
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A large polychrome figure, perhaps an Apostle, possibly Austrian, mid 15th century. This large, dignified figure of a saint, perhaps an Apostle, is polychrome, carved limewood that retains significant portions of its original paint and gilding. The figure is shown seated on a substantial bench with a rolled cushion. His left hand gestures outwards and his right holds a Missal. These features, along with his long beard, suggest that he may have originally been one of a group of sculptures representing Apostle figures. The drapery of the robes is extremely well articulated with the depth and angles of carving convincingly conveying the impression of heavy cloth. The long face and curly hair and beard are also distinctive features. One iconographic feature worth noting is that the bare toes of the saint poke out from under his gown. This would likely be easily understood by a visually literate pious audience as a sign of humility and acceptance of poverty that was undertaken, particularly by the saints, as a way of emulating Christ.1 It may also have been read as a literal reference to Christ?s charge to the Apostles: 'Provide your selves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff?' (Matthew 10:9) Dr. Bronwyn Stocks 1 Pestilli, Livio, Apostolic Bare Feet in Masaccio's 'Tribute Money': Early Christian and Medieval Sources, Notes in the History of Art, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Fall 2006), pp. 5-14

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  • Polychrome - Made or finished in many colours. For furniture, it is used to indicated a painted finish.
  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.

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