The Annunciation

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

To create these panels, a Florentine artist first drew the figures on the cotton canvases and then gave them to an embroiderer, who enriched them with brilliantly colored silks, gold threads and variety of stitches. The scenes have great narrative charm-note especially the housemaid of the Virgin who quietly witnesses the angel's visit, and the baby Jesus who tries to retreat to his mother's arms during the Holy Family's visit to the Temple. The panels are part of a larger ensemble that once decorated an altar. Florentine embroideries rarely survive, though they were once prized throughout Europe. Please note that this textile is exhibited on a rotating basis due to conservation requirements.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art