Plaquette

About this artwork

Plaquette, rond, van lood met een voorstelling van De heilige Cecilia voor een orgel, achter haar een man aan de blaasbalg.

Art Historical Context

This charming lead plaquette, cast around 1600, captures a tender moment with Saint Cecilia, the revered patron saint of music, seated before a pipe organ. The round medallion, just 6 cm in diameter and weighing a mere 26 grams, depicts the saint in quiet devotion, with a man laboriously pumping the bellows behind her—an everyday detail that brings the scene to life. Created anonymously through the casting process, where molten lead was poured into a mold to form a low-relief image, this small artwork exemplifies the plaquette tradition: portable, affordable devotional objects popular among collectors and the devout in late Renaissance Europe. Saint Cecilia's image resonated deeply in the early 17th century, amid a flourishing of music and religious art in the Low Countries, where such plaquettes served as personal talismans or altar decorations. The organ, a symbol of sacred harmony, underscores her legendary ability to play angelic melodies, even as she faced martyrdom. Though modest in scale, the piece's intricate details—rendered in lead for its accessibility—highlight the era's skill in miniature sculpture, bridging fine art with everyday piety. Visitors will appreciate how this unpretentious relic invites reflection on music's spiritual power, a timeless theme that still echoes in our concert halls today.

About the Artist

anonymous

In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...