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Source Description
This scene of the Resurrection, along with 11 additional embroideries of the life of Christ, may have formed an altar frontal, a hanging decorating the front of an altar. Originally, expensive gold thread covered the background, but it was removed and probably melted down for its monetary value. The loss of the gold exposes a rarely seen preparatory drawing on the linen ground created by an unidentified painter. Now exposed, thick cotton thread forms scrolling vines that, when covered with radiant gold thread, would have paralleled the effect of raised plaster decoration in paintings. What does survive is of the highest quality and refinement, including more than 20 brilliant shades of silk thread.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
111407
label
The Resurrection, from an Altar Frontal
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
111407
contentType
object
title
The Resurrection, from an Altar Frontal
description
This scene of the Resurrection, along with 11 additional embroideries of the life of Christ, may have formed an altar frontal, a hanging decorating the front of an altar. Originally, expensive gold thread covered the background, but it was removed and probably melted down for its monetary value. The loss of the gold exposes a rarely seen preparatory drawing on the linen ground created by an unidentified painter. Now exposed, thick cotton thread forms scrolling vines that, when covered with radiant gold thread, would have paralleled the effect of raised plaster decoration in paintings. What does survive is of the highest quality and refinement, including more than 20 brilliant shades of silk thread.
date
1375–1400
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80003511
genreSpecific
Embroidery
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 29.2 x 41.9 cm (11 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.); Mounted: 38.7 x 51.4 cm (15 1/4 x 20 1/4 in.)
cul
Italy, Florence, 14th century
accession
1929.904
Source extras
tec
Silk, gold and cotton thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, and couching stitches
tombstone
The Resurrection, from an Altar Frontal, 1375–1400. Italy, Florence, 14th century. Silk, gold and cotton thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, and couching stitches; overall: 29.2 x 41.9 cm (11 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.); mounted: 38.7 x 51.4 cm (15 1/4 x 20 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1929.904
collection
T - Ecclesiastical
citations
citation
Hague, Marian. 1933. “Notes on Some Fourteenth Century Embroideries in Judge Untermyer's Collection.” <em>The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club</em>. [New York]: Needle and Bobbin Club, XVII, no 1..
page_number
p. 49
citation
Farcy, Louis de. <em>La broderie du XIe siècle jusqu'à nos jours d'après des spécimens authentiques et les anciens inventaires</em>. Angers: Belhomme, 1890.
page_number
pl. 187
citation
Underhill, Gertrude. "Old Embroideries in the Museum." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 8 (October 1930): 151–154.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 151-154
citation
Kurth, Betty. 1931. “Florentiner Trecento-Stickereien.” <em>Pantheon</em> 8.1931, 455-462.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 455, 459, fig. 6
citation
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. <em>Arts of the Middle Ages; A Loan Exhibition, February 17 to March 24, 1940</em>. Boston, MA: Museum of Fine Arts, 1940.
page_number
p. 37, no. 106
citation
Wadsworth Atheneum. <em>The Life of Christ: A Loan Exhibition of Works of Art Illustrating Episodes in the Life of Christ : March 12 to April 25, 1948, Wadsworth Atheneum</em>, Hartford, Conn. Hartford: The Atheneum, 1948.
page_number
p. 25, no. 146, fig. 14
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 156
citation
Grigaut, Paul L. <em>Decorative Arts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600; The Detroit Institute of Arts [Exhibition] November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959</em>. Detroit, MA: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1958.
page_number
p. 79, no. 179
citation
Grönwoldt Ruth. 1961. “Florentiner Stickereien in Den Inventaren Des Herzogs Von Berry Und Der Herzöge Von Burgund.” <em>Mitteilungen Des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz</em> 10 (1): 33–58.
page_number
p. 36, Abb. 3
citation
<em>The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400; [Exhibition]: October 23-December 2, 1962, / B</em>. Baltimore, MD: Walters Art Gallery, 1962.
page_number
p. 148-150, no. 158, pl. CXXIIIb
citation
"Gothic Art 1360-1440." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 50, no. 7 (September 1963): 174–215.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 93, pp. 184 and 214
citation
<em>An Exhibition of Italian Panels & Manuscripts from the Thirteenth & Fourteenth Centuries, in Honor of Richard Offner: April 9 to June 6, 1965, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford</em>. Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1965.
page_number
p. 33, no. 54, fig. 54
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 57
citation
Van Fossen, David. "A Fourteenth-Century Embroidered Florentine Antependium." <em>The Art Bulletin</em> 50, no. 2 (1968): 141–152.
page_number
pp. 141–152, figs. 14, 18
url
doi:10.2307/3048528
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 57
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 65
citation
Wardwell, Anne E. "A Rare Florentine Embroidery of the Fourteenth Century." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 66, no. 9 (1979): 322–333.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 5a
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-11 12:17:39.662000
sourceId
111407
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Ecclesiastical
med
Silk, gold and cotton thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, and couching stitches
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
033f84c40ab27b26