Most Americans will know about Tilman Riemenschneider from the wonderful 1980 publication, Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany, by Michael Baxandall, one of the rare discussions of German wood sculpture in English, or perhaps from the scattered fragments of the artist’s works in American museums, such as Cleveland or Raleigh (an essay by William Wixom in the present catalogue chronicles “Riemenschneider in America” and offers a useful checklist). Now viewers have the opportunity to visit an unprecedented exhibition of the artist’s works, first in Washington and then in New York, thanks to the remarkable organizational, curatorial, and editorial skills of Julien Chapuis of the Cloisters. The sumptuous catalogue that accompanies the exhibition displays frequent color, an impressive array of essays by leading contributors (many from Germany), and full entries for each object on display. The purpose of this review, however, is not merely to review the catalogue, although as the permanent record of a major exhibition and one of the most accessible, focused studies on this master sculptor, this volume deserves scrutiny on its own. The first priority really should be to assess how effectively such an exhibition can work to suggest the achievement of Riemenschneider in the gallery and also...