Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The many devotional images of the Virgin—to be found in every medium—reflect the belief in her ability to comfort, to intercede, and to nurture. Symbolically, ivory was an ideal medium to represent her, and prayers to the Virgin often refer to her as an “ivory tower.”

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