Pietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the Great

Pietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the Great

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Images of the Virgin Mary holding her deceased son in her lap often graced public and private chapels, hospitals, and cemeteries as commemorations of the dead. While Saint Nicholas and Saint James were patrons of many hospitals, the small size of this group suggests private use, arguably by members of a family that looked to the holy figures as their personal patrons.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the GreatPietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the GreatPietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the GreatPietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the GreatPietà with Saint Nicholas and Saint James the Great

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.