Germanic school, southern Germany, ca. 1500.

Germanic school, southern Germany, ca. 1500.
"Virgin of Calvary".
Carved and polychrome wood.
With back inscription.
It shows wear.
Measurements: 64 x 21 x 16 cm.

This important sculpture of the Virgin of Calvary, dated at the beginning of the 16th century and belonging to the German school, reflects a transitional style between the late Gothic and the first influences of the Nordic Renaissance. At this time, religious sculpture was characterized by a profound expressiveness and an increasingly accentuated realism, with an emphasis on spirituality and contained pain. The Virgin, worked in the round but intended for a frontal view, wears a tunic and a cloak covering her head, under which the mourning headdress is visible. She joins her hands and intertwines her fingers in a prayerful and withdrawn attitude. Her face is serene, with an introspective gaze, arched eyebrows, thin nose and profiled mouth. Although slightly idealized, it tends to define the features giving it an identity that avoids the archetype. The Sorrowful Virgin, before the Calvary, shows an attitude of recollection and resignation, reflecting a contained suffering that contrasts with the theatricality of early Gothic. The folds of the tunic fall vertically, while those of the mantle are complex in naturalistic draperies, as the garment is gathered under the hands. At the beginning of the 16th century, Germany was experiencing a period of profound cultural and religious change. Late German Gothic, still very present in religious imagery (it was an enclave where Gothic lasted much longer than in Italy), emphasized emotionality, delicacy in the folds of the garments and expressiveness in the faces. However, with the influence of the Nordic Renaissance, more naturalistic details and a greater search for three-dimensionality began to appear in the sculptures. This carving could be related to devotional works by artists such as Tilman Riemenschneider or Veit Stoss, who introduced a measured classicism and high quality detail in the wood carving of the Germanic Renaissance.