The Holy Kinship
Circle of the Master I.P.; Danube School
Date: about 1520
Place Made: Germany
Materials & Techniques: Polychrome Limewood
Dimensions: 87.5cm x 123cm
Accession Number: Compton Verney, CVCSC: 0299.N
Printable Version (opens in a new window)
This piece was made by The Circle of the Master I.P. a group of strangely named artists who lived in Germany nearly 500 years ago. It was originally one part of a larger church piece.
This 3D sculpture, called a relief, shows the family of Jesus, known as the Holy Kinship. Jesus and his mother are shown, as are Mary’s mother and father. The family is attended by two angels and two onlookers. In the background a curtain held up with nails has been expertly cut as a backdrop. The artwork is carved from a single piece of limewood and originally was painted.
Limewood is pale yellow and soft and is one of the best woods for carving. The wood carver uses a variety of tools to create a relief including chisels, knives, mallets and adze (an axe like tool used for shaping wood). A design is drawn first and then transferred onto the wood which is then carefully carved. To stop the wood curling and warping, vices hold the piece in place.
Teachers' Information
A relief is the projection of forms from a flat plain so that they create a 3d design. This polychromed religious relief would originally have been part of a larger altarpiece. It depicts the Holy Kinship. The infant Christ is tenderly presented to St Joachim, father of the Virgin. Saint Anne and the Virgin sit on either side as two people watch from behind. The intense expression on the faces of the male characters and child are countered by the delicately carved clothing and curled hair of the female saints. The whole design is completed by kneeling angels attending the gathering.
The piece is attributed to The Circle of the Master I.P.an unidentified member of The Danube School which describes collectively a number of artists who worked in or near the reaches of the Danube between Regensburg and Vienna in the period 1500 to 1530.
The process for relief carving is usually as follows. The carver first fixes the wood to his workbench by means of a carver's screw or clamp. The carver then sketches on the main lines of his idea, indicating the main subject. If the design is very intricate or of a geometrical character, he may trace it from a pattern first prepared on paper.
The carver grounds out the spaces between the lines with a gouge to a more or less uniform depth. Then he models and shapes the details of his design, carefully balancing the lights and shadows; and finally, after having obtained the result he desires, he cleans up all of the cuts.
The nature of the wood being carved limits the scope of the carver in that wood is not equally strong in all directions. The direction in which wood is strongest is called "grain". It is wise to arrange the more delicate parts of a design along the grain instead of across it. The wood carver uses a variety of tools to create a relief including chisels, knives, mallets and adze (an axe like tool used for shaping wood). To stop the wood curling and warping vices hold the piece in place. Small chisels and knives are used to add detail to clothing and facial features and paint is added to preserve and add life to the characters.
Activities
1. The entire class produces a wall relief, made from paper and collage material that tells the story of a relevant event. Design sections in groups and then transfer your design to the wall.
2. Create a 3D relief depicting an important event using built up layers of cardboard or wood. After designing your relief, cut out sections and then build up layer by layer.
3. Research the School of Danube artists. What was their main subject?