Early modern · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1964.357
Altarpiece with Relics
Joseph Matthias Götz, c. 1735–40
Cleveland Museum of Art · Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Joseph Matthias Götz
- Date
- c. 1735–40
- Medium
- gilded wood, with relics in niches: gilded wood, mother-of-pearl, ebony, red silk, gold wire, seed pearls, rock crystal, pen and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 165.1 x 108 x 20 cm (65 x 42 1/2 x 7 7/8 in.)
- Era
- Early modern
Why it matters
Götz covers every surface in gold leaf, giving each part of the object equal importance, rather than simply framing a central picture. In this distinctively Central European approach, figural narrative is subordinate to the overall ensemble. Götz designed this object to rest on top of an altar, probably in front of a larger painted or sculpted decorative scheme. The work contains relics seen through the small windows on the perimeter. These small remains of holy figures demonstrate the persistence of a medieval Catholic tradition well into the 1700s.