The Burg Weiler Altar Triptych (Altarpiece with the Virgin and Child and Saints)

Master of the Burg Weiler Altarpiece

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This imposing and well-preserved altarpiece achieves monumentality through the modeling and scale of the major figures. The grouping of these figures in a frieze-like arrangement and the repeating patterns of the floor and background provide visual unity. The saints on either side of the Virgin are identified both by the inscriptions below and by their attributes. From left to right are SS. Jodokus, Wendel, Apollonia, Barbara, Catherine, Lawrence, Sebastian, and Maurice. A pair of angels hovers above while gently lowering an elaborate crown onto the Virgin's head. The outer panels represent St. Theodulus and martyrs of the Theban Legion, revealed when the altarpiece is closed.

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