Female Saint with a Book

Italy

14th century

This marble relief can be dated to the fourteenth century based on the elongated proportions of the figure, coupled with the rhythmic flow of form and drapery. The graceful, lyrical quality of the figure suggests the relief may have originated in Naples, where sculptors were greatly influenced by the early fourteenth-century master, Tino di Camaino (ca. 1285-1337). The relief is certainly a fragment of a larger ensemble, perhaps for a funerary monument.

  • Titles Female Saint with a Book (Proper)
  • Medium marble
  • Dimensions 13 1/4 × 10 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (33.7 × 26.7 × 3.8 cm)
  • Credit Line Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. William T. Ratliff, Jr., AFI.4.2004
  • Work Type sculpture
  • Classification Sculpture
  • On View

See More of the Collection

A woman with long hair and a simple dress is depicted. Her eyes close as she leans backwards in a rocking chair with a book left open on her lap. Another book sits next to her chair on the floor.
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The Remains of the Roman Forum, David Roberts, oil on canvas
A nude male stands facing forward with his body angled to the right. His hands are clasped and resting on a post.