Chapel from Notre-Dame-du-Bourg at Langon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The right wall of the Langon Chapel is composed of elements originally from the south wall of the choir in the church of Notre-Dame-du-Bourg, which was founded as a dependency of Notre-Dame-de-la-Grande-Sauve in 1126. These sober, spare, yet imposing elements have been installed with little variation from their Romanesque arrangement. Several original elements have been incorporated into the left wall, which was reconstructed with stonework that harmonizes with the facing wall. The large heads on the capital to the right of the altar were once thought to represent Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, who in 1155 visited the monastery upon which the chapel was dependent. This seems unlikely, however, as similar capitals with crowned heads are rather common in Romanesque architectural sculpture. The images on the capitals appear to have no religious or narrative significance. Shaded areas indicate original elements.

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