Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1364–1404)

About the Artwork

This figure comes from the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold from the church of Champmol near Dijon (Burgundy, France). Philip, who founded the monastery and designated it as his burial place, hired the best artists, many of whom came from the Netherlands. While the commission was given in 1381, the work was not completed until 1410, six years after the duke’s death. This mourner is unusual for the time because it is not carved as a static low relief on the pedestal of the tomb but interact with the viewers and their fellow procession members. The lifelike quality of the figure is due in large part to the alabaster. Its softness allowed artists to carve details into the material, and the transparent, milky white stone could also be polished to a high gloss.

Provenance

?-1875: Vicomte Edouard de Broissia & son, Georges (d. 1875), Dijon, France 1875-?: (M. Legay, Nancy, sold to Charles Stein) (Charles Stein, Paris, France) 1919-?: (Duveen Brothers., Paris, France) by 1922-1939: Clarence Mackay (d. 1939), New York, NY 1939-1940: (Jacques Seligmann, New York, NY, sold to Leonard C. Hanna) 1940-1958: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1958-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

25th Anniversary Exhibition. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA (organizer) (January 13-March 5, 1961). European Art Around 1400. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Wien, Austria (organizer) (May 7-July 31, 1962). The International Style: The Arts in Europe around 1400. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 23-December 2, 1962). Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963). Treasures of Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1966-January 29, 1967). Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991). Dukes and Angels: Art from the Court of Burgundy (1364-1419). Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, Dijon, France (May 27-September 15, 2004); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2004-January 9, 2005). Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009). The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (March 1-May 23, 2010). The Road to Van Eyck. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (October 13, 2012-February 10, 2013). Johan Maelwael from Guelders. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (October 6, 2017-January 7, 2018). Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 23, 2023).

Quick Overview

Artist: Claus de Werve (Netherlandish, 1380–1439)
Date: 1404–10
Medium: vizille alabaster
Dimensions: Overall: 41.1 x 17.6 x 11 cm (16 3/16 x 6 15/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Accession no.: 1958.67

More by Claus de Werve in museum collections

Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1364–1404)
Claus de Werve
1404–10 · Sculpture
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00000277
Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1364–1404)
Claus de Werve
1404–1410 · Sculpture
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00000279

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.