Mourner from the Tomb of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria

Also known as: Mourner with a Book from the Tomb of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria; Mourner from the Tomb of Duke John the Fearless

About the Artwork

This monklike figure has a variously textured monochrome surface. Alabaster’s softness made it easy to carve details like the fabric and fur of the mourner’s robe and the codex pages in his hand. This is one of 40 mourners from an elaborate funeral procession beneath an intricately carved alabaster arcade. This mourner comes from the monastery of Champmol near Dijon, which became a primary burial place for Burgundian dukes. The sculpture was part of the tomb of John the Fearless (1371–1419), commissioned by his son Philip the Good (1396–1467), modeled after the earlier monument for Philip the Bold.

Provenance

M. M. Hocquart, Dijon, France 1825-1875: Vicomte Edouard de Broissia & son, Georges (d. 1875), Dijon, France 1876: (M. Legay, Nancy, sold to Charles Stein) (Charles Stein, Paris, France) Baron Arthur de Schickler, Paris, France Count de Pourtales, Paris, France 1919: (Duveen Bros., Paris, France) by 1922-1939: Clarence Mackay (d. 1939), New York, NY ?-1940: (Jacques Seligmann, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1940-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). Treasures of Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1966-January 29, 1967). The Scholar in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 19-28, 1968). 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 (March 1-May 23, 2010); Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (June 20-September 12, 2010); The Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (organizer) (October 3, 2010-January 2, 2011); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (January 23-April 17, 2011). Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 23, 2023).

Quick Overview

Artist: Jean de la Huerta (Spanish, active Burgundy, 1431–62)
Date: 1443–45
Medium: salins alabaster
Dimensions: Overall: 41 x 20.3 x 12.4 cm (16 1/8 x 8 x 4 7/8 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession no.: 1940.129

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