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Saint Margaret

Workshop of Michael Pacher Austrian or German
ca. 1470–80
Not on view
According to legend, St. Margaret was imprisoned for refusing to marry the governor of Antioch. Satan appeared to her in the form of a dragon and swallowed her as she clutched a cross in prayer; she then ripped open his belly with the cross and emerged unscathed. The statue may have held a cross in one of her now-missing hands; the vanquished dragon lies at her feet. This massive figure probably came from the central shrine of a large polychromed altarpiece.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint Margaret
  • Artist: Workshop of Michael Pacher (Austrian or German, active by 1462/3–died 1498)
  • Date: ca. 1470–80
  • Geography: Made in Bruneck, South Tyrol, Austria (now Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige)
  • Culture: Austrian
  • Medium: Pine with metal appliqués, traces of gesso and paint
  • Dimensions: 50 3/4 × 31 × 13 1/2 in. (128.9 × 78.7 × 34.3 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Wood
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.13.2
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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