Cleveland Museum of Art

Lute-playing Angel

Hans Schnatterpeck

Date

made shortly after 1503

Medium

Black Forest balsalm fir with polychromy

Culture

Austria, Tyrol, early 16th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This sculpture was originally placed at the top of the altarpiece of the high altar in the church at Nieder Lana, near Meran, in the South Tyrol (now part of present-day North Italy). The sculptor had contracted in 1503 to complete this altar within eight years for the payment of 1,600 gilders. Hans Schnatterpeck was originally from Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria. By 1478-79 he had settled in Meran where he operated the leading workshop in the area. This angel is a surviving element from his most famous work, the largest Gothic altarpiece of the Alpine region. Other elements survive in various public and private collections.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.