Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leyden

Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leyden (born c. 1420, Leiden, Holland [now in the Netherlands]—died after 1472, Wiener Neustadt, archduchy of Austria [now Austria]) was a master sculptor who was one of the most significant artists of his time in the Upper Rhine country. Gerhaert had myriad followers, and the expressive realism of his style influenced many of his contemporaries. Sandstone and limestone were his most frequent materials.

Gerhaert’s portraits and religious figures, mostly male, are unusually sensitive and emotive for the period. He has been definitely credited with several fragments and busts found in Strasbourg, the tomb of Archbishop Jacob van Sierck (1462) in Trier, and the crucifix at Baden-Baden (1467). Among his most profound works are the “Strasbourg Self-Portrait” (1467), a sandstone masterpiece of timeless intensity, and his portrait busts of “Bärbel von Ottenheim” and “Count von Lichtenberg” (both 1464). Gerhaert was invited to Vienna by Emperor Frederick III, and one of his last works was the emperor’s tomb, begun in 1469.