Saint James the Greater

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Saint James the Greater, the patron saint of pilgrims, is identified by his cockleshell hat and walking staff. Despite its small scale, this carved statuette conveys a sense of monumentality through its strong facial modeling and bulky, deeply cut drapery patterns. Both suggest the influence of the South German sculptor Veit Stoss (d. 1533), who worked in Cracow and Nuremberg.

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