Manuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a Psalter

Manuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a Psalter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This intensely colored illumination, by an unknown artist for an unknown commission, is a singularly beautiful evocation of David as author of the 150 psalms. Quill in hand, he cocks his head to listen to the voice of God, whose face appears in the clouds. The image serves as a counterpoint to the text, in which David implores: "Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me."

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a PsalterManuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a PsalterManuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a PsalterManuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a PsalterManuscript Leaf with King David in an Initial I, from a Psalter

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.