Head of a Cleric from a Tomb Effigy

Head of a Cleric from a Tomb Effigy

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The identity of this remarkably realistic portrait is not known, but the shaved head (tonsure) indicates that a priest or a monk is represented. The supposed Moyenmoutier origin and similar sculptures in Basel and the Upper Rhine region suggest a creative, itinerant carver working in eastern France.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head of a Cleric from a Tomb EffigyHead of a Cleric from a Tomb EffigyHead of a Cleric from a Tomb EffigyHead of a Cleric from a Tomb EffigyHead of a Cleric from a Tomb Effigy

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.