Claus Sluter

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Claus Sluter (year of birth unknown; died in 1405 or 1406) was a sculptor of Dutch origin^[1].

Sluter probably worked in Brussels before moving to the city of Dijon, where from 1385 to 1389 he was the assistant of Jean de Marville, Court Sculptor to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. From 1389 to his death he was Court Sculptor himself. He was succeeded by his nephew Claus de Werve.

He was the most important northern European sculptor of his age and is considered a pioneer of "northern realism". He restored figural sculpture to its former classical era monumental scale and naturalism. His later work is highly emotional, using facial expressions, figural stance, and drapery; this can be particularly seen in the heavy folds of cloth that so many later imitators draped around their figures.

His most famous surviving work is the Well of Moses (1395–1403), created for a Carthusian monastery built by Philip the Bold near Dijon. Sluter was also responsible for part of the work on Philip's tomb.

[edit] External links

• The Well of Moses at the Musée Archéologique in Dijon

[edit] References

1. ^ Murray, P. & L. (1997). Penguin dictionary of art and artists, 7th edition, London: Penguin Books, p. 492. ISBN 0-14-051300-0.