Explore Art Search

Exhibitions
Explore Art
Education
Research and Conservation
Publications
Games
About the J. Paul Getty Museum



Previous
The Sick, the Leprous, and the Lame Praying at Hedwig's Tomb; People Coming to Visit hedwig's Tomb
Enlarge

Unknown
Silesian, 1353
Tempera colors, colored washes, and ink on parchment

13 7/16 x 9 3/4 in.
MS. LUDWIG XI 7, FOL. 87V

Add to Getty Bookmarks

This miniature represents the shrine of Saint Hedwig, which was the site of the saint's posthumous miracles. Before her tomb kneel three ailing figures who represent the "infirm, crippled, and lame" described in the inscription at the top of the page. On the wall behind her tomb, crutches hang as ex-votos , testaments to miraculous cures.

At the bottom of the page, the artist depicted pilgrims who came from afar, seeking the saint's miraculous intervention. Two figures walk with staffs, medieval symbols of pilgrimage, in front of a cart crowded with the devout. Behind and above the cart, three figures traverse a rocky stretch of terrain. The artist combined the use of colored washes and tempera colors, capturing a quick, spontaneous feel with his lively pen work but including carefully observed naturalistic details such as the texture of the cart's siding.