St. Augustine Holding the Trinity

Artist Unknown

Dateca. 1350

Place of OriginGermany

Mediumalabaster with traces of polychromy

DimensionsOverall: 19 7/8 x 13 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (50.5 x 34.9 x 23.5 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineBequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde

Object number1971.87

On View

On view

Collections

Sculpture
European Paintings & Sculpture

DescriptionSt. Augustine (354-430 CE), one of the Latin Church fathers, served as bishop of Hippo, in modern Algeria, and produced some of Christianity’s most influential theological writings. He is here identified by his bishop’s miter and ecclesiastical vestments, as well as by an open book. The latter signifies not only his multiple foundational writings, but may refer to his conversion. As he reports in his "Confessions," a voice told him, "take up and read." The small sculpture of the Trinity in his right hand, a type known as the Throne of Mercy, where an enthroned God the father supports the dead body of Christ and the dove of the Holy Spirit flies between them, recalls his treatise "On the Trinity," while the heart at the base of Christ’s cross expresses great love for God and God’s love for humankind.

The back of the sculpture is flat, suggesting an original location against a flat surface, possibly as part of an altarpiece. Alabaster is a material most commonly used in England, and some scholars have assigned this "Augustine" to an English sculptor, but stylistic arguments suggest a German origin. Traces of polychromy (paint) can be found on the alabaster.

Text by Penny Howell Jolly, Professor Emerita of Art History, Skidmore College, February 2026Exhibition History"Objects of Devotion," Hoopes Galllery, The Hyde Collection, Nov. 30, 2003- Feb. 29, 2004.Provenancebefore 1919, New York, NY, Karl Freund (dealer)
1919, Glens Falls, NY, Mr. and Mrs. Louis F. Hyde
1963, Glens Falls, NY, The Hyde Collection Trust (Bequest of Mrs. Charlotte P. Hyde)