Leaf from a Manuscript of Valerius Maximus

Workshop of Pierre Remiet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Charles V of France (r. 1364–80) actively encouraged the translation into French of classical texts, including the writings of Valerius Maximus, a first-century Roman historian. The illustrations here show how the artists of Charles’ circle evoked the ancient world. The lower panels illustrate tales of Roman religion. At left, a priestess kneels before an altar of Ceres, goddess of grain, in an image that resembles scenes of Christians kneeling before the Virgin Mary. At the lower right, a Roman priest loses his official hat and consequently his job. His hat resembles a bishop’s miter, and the Roman temple a Gothic church. The upper two panels juxtapose the ancient and the medieval. The translator Simon de Hesdin (left) presents his text to Charles V. At the right, Valerius Maximus receives the emperor Tiberius, to whom the text was dedicated.

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