virgin mary figurines by Riemenschneider

12” / 14" / 22” / 24” / 28” / 32”

Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460 - July 7, 1531) was a German sculptor and woodcarver active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic and Renaissance, a master in stone and lindenwood.

The sculptures and woodcarvings of Tilman Riemenschneider are in the late Gothic style, although his later work show mannerism characteristics. His work is characterized by the expressiveness of their faces (often shown with an inward look, as in the self-portrait) and by their detailed and richly folded clothing. The emphasis on expression of inner emotions sets Riemenschneider's work apart from that of his immediate predecessors. Souren Melikian places his best work, such as the Virgin listening to the Annunciation, in the same league as the oil paintings of Albrecht Dürer. Kenneth Clark views the Riemenscheider figures as showing the serious personal piety in Germany in the late fifteenth century and as harbingers of the coming Reformation.Among his successors and/or pupils were Peter Breuer and Philipp Koch.

Tilman Riemenschneider was born between 1445and 1462 in Heiligenstadt im Eichsfeld in the German province of Thuringia. When Riemenschneider was about five years old, his father lost his possessions and had to leave Heiligenstadt due to his involvement in a violent political conflict, the Mainzer Stiftsfehde. The family resettled in Osterode, where Tilman's father became Master of the Mint (A good position at that time) and where Riemenschneider spent his childhood years.