Detail of St. Christopher in the Cloisters, Sept. 2007

St. Christopher
Lindenwood, polychromy, and gilding
Germany, Bavaria, Valley of the Danube, 1510-1520

Accession # 1973.135

According to legend, St. Christopher devoted his life to carrying the weak and poor across a river. One night, when he was taking a child across, he felt his burden grow heavier with each step. When questioned, the child declared that he was Christ and that Christopher was bearing the weight of the world. The sculpture is executed in a highly expressive and animated style. The saint looks intensely at his youthful burden, his hand resting on his hip for support. The drapery sweeps around the figure, mirroring the water swirling around his feet suggest the integral relationship between man and nature that was a fundamental principal of the Danube school. In the intimate gaze between the Christ Child and Christopher, the however, the mannerist spirit of the Late Gothic prevails.

Text from the Cloisters label.