Viklau Madonna
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The Viklau Madonna (Swedish: Viklaumadonnan) is a late 12th-century wooden Madonna, probably made on Gotland in present-day Sweden. The statuette is one of the best-preserved 12th-century wooden statuettes from Europe. Named after the medieval Viklau Church where it was originally located, it was bought by the Swedish History Museum in 1928 and is today in the museum in Stockholm. In 2017, it was discovered that a relic had been placed inside the statuette. The statuette depicts Mary, wearing gilded clothes and a golden crown, sitting on a tall chair. Originally, the Madonna was depicted holding the infant Christ in her arms, but this part of the sculpture has been lost.
The Viklau Madonna is a wooden sculpture depicting Mary sitting on a tall chair. She is sitting with a straight back and with her body weight evenly distributed.[1] Originally she held the Christ Child in her lap, but this part of the sculpture has been lost.[2] The statuette is 680 millimetres (27 in) tall.[2] The material is mainly linden wood, but other types of wood have also been used.[3][4] The rich gilding of the clothes and crown of Mary contrasts with the more subdued colours of the chair and the delicate features of her face.[2][5] The posts of the chair have been shaped by a lathe and are painted in alternating red and green bands.[5] Apart from gold leaf, the crown and dress of the Madonna are also adorned with imitations of gemstones, made by a mixture of adhesive and lime.[6] In 2017, a hole in the head of the Madonna was found to contain a small linen bag in which a piece of bone lay, implying a relic. That the Madonna was used as a reliquary is unusual; sculptures of Mary did usually not house relics and relics were typically placed in the chest of sculptures during the Middle Ages.[4] Radiocarbon dating indicates that the bone piece found in the Madonna is approximately 3,500 years old.[7] The back of the statuette is flat, indicating that it originally was placed in and framed by a shallow cabinet – like all preserved Madonnas from this time from Sweden.[8] Its relatively small size implies that it may have been made to be easily moved and used in several different locations.[2]
Stylistically, the Viklau Madonna has several times been compared with the sculptures decorating the portals of Chartres Cathedral in France (it has even been suggested that the Viklau Madonna was produced at the cathedral workshop in Chartres). However, it has also been noted that the stylistic traits that these sculptures have in common can be observed over a large geographical area, and the link between Chartres and Viklau has in more recent years been played down.[1] Recent research has instead noted similarities with art from northern or western Germany.[2][9] It has been described as being an early example of Gothic art, but also as one of the most characteristic examples of Romanesque art.[1][2] Art historian Lennart Karlsson argued that whether the sculpture should be classified as Romanesque or Gothic is an "academic" question.[1] It is one of the best-preserved European wooden sculptures from the 12th century.[3][10]
