Head of a Youth

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The pilgrimage church of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard reveals the strong influence of antiquity on Romanesque art in France. This head can be associated with the church on stylistic grounds and demonstrates the influence of locally available ancient Roman sculpture. The ancient tradition was transformed through the simplification and stylization of facial features. Surprisingly the left and right sides of the face reveal two different stylistic modes.

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