The Master of the Drapery Studies

The Cabinet of Prints and Drawings possesses four drawings by a mysterious artist known as the Master of the Drapery Studies, or Master of the Coburg Medallions. This anonymous but talented artist was active in the region of Strasbourg between 1470 and 1490. Most of the drawings attributed to him have in common the importance given to fabrics and draperies, juxtaposed in a sculptural and angular manner. Certain drawings by the Master of the Drapery Studies can be linked to works by Nicolas Gerhardt van Leyden, one of the most important sculptors of the late Middle Ages, active in Strasbourg in the 1460s. Other drawings can be linked with works by the master glassmaker Peter Hemmel of Andlau. The most striking drawing in the Strasbourg collections is a large sheet grouping together nine studies of the perizonium (fabric wrapped around Christ's loins).