Grisaille Panel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These grisaille panels are part of a set of eight from a window in one of three chapels at the Norman residence of the French monarchs. They represent a mid-century transitional stage in royal French ateliers. The conventionalized acanthus buds are a continuation of earlier tastes, while the ivy leaves, delineated with hair-thin veins, reflect the newer, naturalizing tendencies. The castles in the border are devices of the kingdom of Castile and indicate royal patronage, probably that of Louis IX (1226-1272), who claimed the right to the Spanish throne through his mother, Blanche of Castile. See 69.236.2–.9.

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