Female statuette

Leonhard Kern

17th century · Wood, painted · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Kern was a talented German carver whose individualistic classicizing style displays signs of his study in Italy. Court sculptor to the elector of Brandenburg, he specialized in small-scale works for collectors' cabinets, often producing variants in ivory, wood, and stone. The heavy features, calm stance, and compact, full body of this figure are typical of his naturalistic, monumental style, as is the simplicity of surface, markedly different from the more agitated and detailed approach of his contemporaries. The rubbed areas of remaining paint suggest an intention to imitate bronze.

Artist

Leonhard Kern

Date

17th century

Medium

Wood, painted

Culture

German, Schwäbisch Hall

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964