Virgin and Child attributed to the workshop of Niklaus Weckmann, Ulm, circa

Beautiful lime wood sculpture in the round depicting the Virgin holding the infant Jesus in her left arm.
Mary stands in a slightly swaying contraposto pose, her feet hidden beneath the folds of a loose cloak falling in wide, angular drapes.
She is dressed in a red dress, a golden cloak with a blue lining, and a headband. Her head is inclined towards the child, in a gentle and melancholic pose. Her slightly oval face expresses melancholy with heavy, half-closed eyelids. The naked, plump Child holds a small sphere representing the world in his left hand, while his right arm extends towards his mother's face. The gestural relationship between the two figures and the inclination of the Virgin's head express an emotional intimacy and a deep connection.

Very well preserved, original polychromy with minor customary retouching.
Workshop of Niklaus Weckmann, Southern Germany, Ulm, circa 1480-1500.

Dimensions: Height: 90 cm; Width: 27 cm

Our opinion:
The beautiful Virgin and Child we present is perfectly representative of Swabian sculpture from the Gothic period.
The presence of a hollowed-out, and therefore particularly light and flat, linden half-ball at the back suggests a sculpture from a large altarpiece made in Southern Germany at the end of the 15th century. The ample, angular drapes with broken folds and the vivid polychromy, with a predominance of gilding, but also the soft pink of the flesh with its red highlights on the cheekbones, and the slightly oval face with half-closed eyelids, are characteristic of the Ulm workshops, and more specifically of the workshop of Niklaus Weckmann, who was active between 1481 and 1526.
Indeed, the typology of the drapery, the sad and meditative face of the Virgin Mary with a downward gaze through almond-shaped eyes, and the great tenderness and interaction between the infant Jesus and his mother are characteristic of his workshop. They can be found in other works, such as the Blaubeuren Altarpiece, or in the Virgin Marys in the Landesmuseum in Stuttgart or the Bode Museum in Berlin. The very beautiful state of preservation of our sculpture with its original gilding and polychromy which enhance the opulent drapery and the strength of the expressions which embody maternal tenderness but also the carefreeness of the child or even the concerns of his mother, classify our sculpture among the most beautiful examples of Swabian sculptures of the late Gothic period.