Cleveland Museum of Art

Kneeling Carthusian Monk

Date

c. 1380–1400

Medium

marble

Culture

France, Burgundy, Dijon

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

These are the only known surviving sculpted examples of kneeling Carthusian monks. Depictions of Carthusians in the same act of piety are found in paintings such as the one in this room from the Chartreuse de Champmol. These two figures are believed to come from the same Carthusian monastery as the mourners displayed nearby and would have formed part of a private devotional group, probably in a monk’s cell, with a sculpture of the crucified Christ or the Virgin positioned between them. They wear the recognizable white scapular, a hooded garment with front and back panels tied together with a tab.

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