Jesse

About the Artwork

The figure shows the sleeping Jesse, the father of David from the Old Testament. As the ancestor of the family tree of Christ, he was depicted in the Middle Ages sleeping as the starting point of the tree, on whose branches the ancestors of Christ are depicted. Mary with the Christ child is always shown at the top. The figure comes from a wooden altarpiece from an unknown church, possibly in Nuremberg, which is now lost. Veit Stoss is one of the most prominent German sculptors around 1500 who was mainly active in Nuremberg (Bavaria, Germany) and Krakow (Poland), also as a painter and engraver.

Provenance

c. 1812/13: Oettingen-Wallerstein Collection (Maihingen, Harburg Castle, Bavaria, Germany) c. 2013: Rudigier Art Dealer, London, England

Exhibition history

Roots of Divinity: Christ’s Family Tree in Northern European Medieval Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 6, 2026-August 8, 2027).

Quick Overview

Artist: Veit Stoss (German, c. 1445–1533)
Date: c. 1500
Medium: Limewood, polychromed
Dimensions: Overall: 38.5 x 98 x 26.5 cm (15 3/16 x 38 9/16 x 10 7/16 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 2023.156

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.