Cleveland Museum of Art

Head of an Angel

Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer

Date

c. 1750

Medium

painted and gilded wood

Culture

Germany, 18th century

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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."

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