GERHAERT VAN LEYDEN, Nicolaus
(active 1462-1473)

Christ Child with Grapes

c. 1462
Polychrome limewood, height 41 cm
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich

The humanization of the holy was one of the persistent characteristics of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century art. The exquisite statue by Gerhaert is an example. The playful child is nude to demonstrate Christ's humanity, and the naturalistic pose and delicate polychromy heighten the statue's verisimilitude.