Enthroned Virgin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Created in northern Austria along the Danube River, this sculpture is notable for the deep lyrical carving of the drapery. The delicately applied paint on the Virgin’s face is original. The current appearance of much of the surface is due to a past restoration that removed layers of overpaint exposing some areas of gesso and bole, reddish soft clay used as a base for gold leaf. Painted in intense azurite, the blue lining of the Virgin’s mantle, on the other hand, largely retains its original appearance. The Virgin’s hands, which would have held the infant Jesus, were carved separately and have been lost. This sculpture can be seen in the context of the monumental Kefermarkt altarpiece in Upper Austria which is dated about 1490–1497.

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