Altar Angel (one of a pair)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This figure, along with its pair (acc. no. 52.33.2) probably once held either candlesticks or instruments of the Passion. Deriving in style from the smiling angels on the west facade of Reims Cathedral, such works were placed around an altar. They stood on top of small columns that supported rods on which curtains were hung. The angels were originally painted in rich colors and gold. Their upward trailing wings are now lost.

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