NUREMBERG MADONNA 
we have here not 
only: the c/ef- 
?’ceuvreof Nurem- 
berg carving, but 
also one of the 
works of art of all 
time. And yet the 
name of the mas- 
ter 1s unknown, 
and the very date 
of the work is a 
matter of dispute. 
Clearly the beau- 
tiful female figure 
of this sorrowing 
Mary, this praying 
Madonna as ‘she 
is called (trautnde, 
betende Maria) 
once formed one 
of a group, and 
stood facing St. 
John at the foot 
of the Cross, gaz- 
ing upwards in 
that bitter grief 
which is beyond 
the expression 
and abandonment 
of tears. Who can 
that artist have 
[MUSEUM, NURNBERG 
18. THE NUREMBERG MADONNA 
1 Io