Triptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ

Triptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ

Master Pertoldus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This triptych is remarkable for its completeness as well as for the high quality of its execution. At the center of the shrine is Crucifixion, with Christ before Annas on the bottom panel of the left wing, and the Bearing of the Cross above. On the right wing, the Agony in the Garden is at top, with the Entombment below. Above the center section are three medallions (the one on the left is a modern replacement) representing, from left to right: Saint Catherine, the Virgin and Child, and Saint George and the Dragon. The Annunciation appears on the large medallion below the Crucifixion. In addition to these carved appliqués and the silver figure of Christ at the top, the triptych is embellished with skillful engravings. Saints Andrew, Benedict, and Catherine appear on the base, while the Last Supper is depicted in the reverse of the central shrine, flanked by the Flagellation and the Arrest of Christ (left), and the Crown of Thorns and the Resurrection of Christ (right). The inscription above the Crucifixion—RUDBERTI ABBATIS PERSTO EGO IUSSO SUO (I stand by order of Abbot Rupert)—links the triptych to Abbot Rupert Keutzl of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Peter at Salzburg. The date 1494 appears three times on the object. Documents record a triptych made about this date by the goldsmith Pertoldus, but we cannot be certain that that work is the same as The Cloisters' triptych.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Triptych with Scenes from the Passion of ChristTriptych with Scenes from the Passion of ChristTriptych with Scenes from the Passion of ChristTriptych with Scenes from the Passion of ChristTriptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ

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.