Christ Blessing by Gerard David in the Cloisters, October 2017

Christ Blessing

Artist:Gerard David (Netherlandish, Oudewater ca. 1455–1523 Bruges)

Date:ca. 1500–1505

Medium:Oil on wood

Dimensions:Overall, including engaged frame, 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. (12.1 x 8.9 cm); painted surface 3 5/8 x 2 3/8 in. (9.2 x 6 cm)

Classification:Paintings

Credit Line:Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Hester Diamond and Kowitz Family Foundation Gifts, Dodge Fund, and Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation Gift, 2009

Accession Number:2009.415

This highly spiritual and exquisitely rendered Christ Blessing was adapted from Byzantine icons brought to the Low Countries in the fifteenth century. The panel differs from the Byzantine models in the freshness of observation evident in Christ’s face and in the delicate articulation of the hands, the latter based on Gerard David’s drawings made from life.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/439327