The Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and Angels

The Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and Angels

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This medallion reveals how close metalwork and painting were at the beginning of the fifteenth century: such images, often referred to in inventories as tableaux d'or, use the same pictorial conventions as panel paintings to engage the viewer. An object for private devotion, it encouraged the owner to reflect on and emulate the suffering of the holy figures. Mary and John, shown half-length, hold the dead Christ upright against the edge of the sarcophagus, a scene not mentioned in the Gospels. An angel hovers above Christ's head, with the crown of thorns in his hands. Two other angels hold a curtain behind and in front of the three main figures, both concealing and unveiling them, as in a vision.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and AngelsThe Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and AngelsThe Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and AngelsThe Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and AngelsThe Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and Angels

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.