Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)

Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This lintel surmounted a small portal, perhaps leading to the cloister at Saint-Père-en-Vallée, a Benedictine abbey situated in the shadow of Chartres Cathedral. The fluid drapery style and especially the serene quality of the faces closely resemble sculpture at the cathedral. Nearby is displayed the head of Joseph from the Chartres choir screen. Both the head and the bearded figures in the entombment scene show strong similarities.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)Lintel with the Entombment of Christ (right) and the Holy Women and Angel at the Sepulchre (left)

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.