Enthroned Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This enthroned Virgin and Child triumphant over two dragons reflects the image from the Book of Psalms (91:13): “Thou shalt walk upon the asp and basilisk and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.” The lively facial expression and the emphasis on heavy drapery forms are characteristics of stone sculpture at the Cathedral of Regensburg, in Bavaria, at the end of the thirteenth century. Recent conservation has revealed the best preserved of several paint layers, dating to the Baroque era.

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