House Altarpiece

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The predominance of female subjects suggests that this miniature altarpiece belonged to a woman. Saint Anne holds her diminutive daughter the Virgin Mary and her grandchild Jesus in the center; Saints Catherine and Barbara appear on the interior of the wings and Saints Ursula and Dorothy on the outside. The kneeling patroness occupies the place of honor to the right of the holy group. The man’s long shirt, imitating coarse animal hair, indicates that he was a member of a lay penitent order or perhaps both belonged to a lay confraternity devoted to the cult of Saint Anne. At the bottom is the image of the face of Jesus, which was believed to have been imprinted miraculously on the veil of Saint Veronica just prior to his Crucifixion. The painted surfaces are exceptionally well preserved.

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