Impost Block with Acanthus Decoration

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This capital resembles sculpture in the crypt of the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, north of Paris. As the burial place of French kings, Saint-Denis enjoyed unrivaled prestige; artistic innovations adopted there resonated throughout the region and indeed, throughout France. The choir of the abbey constructed under Abbot Suger is often considered the first example of a new architectural style, known today as Gothic. In the wake of the French Revolution, sculpture and building materials from a number of monuments were sent to Saint-Denis for storage; this piece may, therefore, come from another church in the area.

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