Mourning Virgin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carved almost in the round, this figure and that of John the Evangelist to the right of the door originally flanked a sculpture of Christ on the cross. The group was probably installed on a beam that spanned the width of a church choir. The figures reminded the faithful of the words in John's Gospel (19:26-27): "When Jesus therefore has seen his mother and the disciple whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman behold thy son. After that he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother."

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