Kneeling Virgin

Paolo Aquilano

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Virgin kneels and looks down tenderly, indicating that once, an image of the baby Jesus was next to her and that this sculpture may have formed part of a group representing the story of Christmas. The undulating planes of the Virgin’s cheeks are subtly modeled to suggest both supple flesh and underlying bone structure. The combination of certain details—the tight belt cinching the waist, the gathered folds of the skirt, and the sophisticated coiffure with the hairline shaved to produce a high forehead—are typical Renaissance characteristics that contrast with those of the Late Gothic sculptures in this gallery. Its attribution to Paolo Aquilano is based on stylistic affinities with a signed and dated terracotta sculpture in L’Aquila.

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