Relief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint Luke

Relief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint Luke

Master Christophanus or Stephanus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This relief depicts an ox, the symbol of Saint Luke, holding a book with an inscription from the opening of his Gospel. A second inscription refers to the master sculptor Stephanus and his associates. Nothing more is known of the sculptor, but the hallmarks of his style, with its crispness and richness of decorative forms contrasting with plain surfaces, are characteristic of sculpture in Abruzzi during the late twelfth century. Because of changes in the liturgy promulgated at the Council of Trent (1544-68), medieval pulpits were frequently dismantled and their parts scattered.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Relief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint LukeRelief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint LukeRelief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint LukeRelief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint LukeRelief from a Pulpit with the Symbol of Saint Luke

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.