This narrow, vertical oil painting depicts a procession in a church. The color palette is muted and dark. The panel is bisected vertically by a large candle. To the left, in the foreground, a young child with light skin and curly brown hair holds a long candle and rings a bell. Behind the child are four light-skinned adult male figures. One holds a large three-tiered hat, another wears a bishop's hat, one stares at the viewer, and the fourth looks at his hands, as if counting something on his fingers. On the other side of the large candle, a light-skinned young man wearing a large hat with a white feather carries a long staff with a triple cross. Three light-skinned male figures stand behind him. To the extreme right of the painting, an old, light-skinned man with a tonsure leans against a piece of furniture and reads an open book. In the background, figures ascend a staircase to a second story next to large stained-glass windows. Here, eight light-skinned male figures lean over a balcony to watch the procession below.
German
A Procession,
about 1850-1897
Oil on panel
,
94 x 48.3 cm (37 x 19 in.)
Object details
Accession number
P28e13
Primary Creator
German
Full title
A Procession
Creation Date
about 1850-1897
Provenance
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Julius Böhler, Munich for 520 marks on 17 August 1897.
Dimensions
94 x 48.3 cm (37 x 19 in.)
Display Media
Oil on panel
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chapel
Bibliography
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 157. (as German (?), probably of recent date, 1850-1897; costumes of the 16th century)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 100-01, ill. (as German (?), 1850-1897)
Rights and reproductions
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Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.