Head of an Angel

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This decorative bracket was intended to simulate a functional supporting element at the top of a pilaster or beneath an organ loft or pulpit in a church. Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer, a member of a family of artists active in southern Germany and Switzerland, worked in a variety of media including wood and stucco. He often enlisted the aid of assistants, one of whom may have executed this work. Part of the angel's wings are made more luxurious by the addition of gold paint, a process called "gilding."