Portrait of a Mourner

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This sculpture is part of a tomb of Philip the Bold, Portrait of a Mourner. The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy showcases thirty-seven sculptures from the tomb of John the Fearless (1371–1419), the second duke of Burgundy. His elaborate tomb, once housed at a monastery on the outskirts of Dijon, is now one of the main attractions of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Valois dukes of Burgundy ruled over vast territories in present-day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands from their capital in Dijon, which became a leading center of artistic patronage during their reign. Their court's sculpture workshop produced some of the most remarkable and innovative art of the period. The tombs of the first and second Burgundian dukes, Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, are among the greatest achievements of their time. Each tomb features an elaborate arcade in the flamboyant gothic style on its lower register, populated by a solemn procession of alabaster figures of monks and clerics that appear to move around the tomb as if it were a cloister. These sculptures, known as the mourners, are small-scale representations of late medieval devotion. While some of the figures are shown wringing their hands or drying their tears, others seem lost in deep contemplation, while still others hide their faces in the deeply carved folds of their robes.