Both the Virgin and the Christ child are lavishly attired. Their mantle hems are engraved to create the illusion of being fur-lined, and turquoise enamel beads create "pearl"-studded decorative bands on the Virgin’s wrist, knee, and crown and on Christ’s collar. The similarity of their garments emph
This drawing is a study for a fresco in the Parisian church of Les Invalides. The structure's four pendentives are each decorated with images of the Four Evangelists, and the Cleveland sheet relates to the design for St. John. La Fosse developed his ideas in numerous preparatory studies before begin
When King Herod learned that he would lose his throne to a child born in Bethlehem, he ordered all male infants to be massacred. Mary and Joseph thus fled to Egypt to protect their son, Jesus. The age of the boy in this painting suggests that Poussin depicted the less-common subject of the Holy Fami
This figure is one of only two known surviving fragments of the Reliquary Châsse of Saint-Germain. Fashioned from silver, gold, and precious stones, it was designed to hold the body of the saint. A contract from 1409 gives the names of the commissioned goldsmiths: Jean de Clichy, Gautier du Four, an
Noël Nicolas Coypel combined two stories associated with Saint James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Christ. In the foreground is the magician Hermogenes, begging forgiveness. Hermogenes had cast a spell on James, but the saint turned the curse back on him. When James offered to protect H
This figure comes from the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold from the church of Champmol near Dijon (Burgundy, France). Philip, who founded the monastery and designated it as his burial place, hired the best artists, many of whom came from the Netherlands. While the commission was given in 1381, the work
The front face of this capital fragment presents the two mourning women identified by the inscription above: MARIA ET MARTA. On the left face appears the body of Lazarus in a sarcophagus bearing Christ's words: VENI FORAS ("[Lazarus], come forth" [John 11:43]). The Raising of Lazarus is one of the m
According to the Old Testament, Daniel was cast into a lion’s den as punishment for his belief in a single god, but he was miraculously delivered from harm on account of his faith. This story is related here, with Daniel flanked by lions and the angel sent by God to save him. Together with other dec
The Virgin and Child represents one of the most frequent subjects for free-standing sculpture in 14th-century France, motivated by the developing cult of the Virgin and increasing veneration of Mary. Such sculptures were not restricted to churches, but were also found in roadside shrines, entrances
By the 11th century, monumental crucifixes carved from wood and painted were a common feature of church interiors. Placed on or suspended above the main altar, they reminded viewers of Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of mankind at the Crucifixion, an event reenacted every time Mass was celebrated on th
François Bonvin was a prolific watercolorist, and he developed a lifelong interest in modest religious subjects showing scenes of everyday life. This delightfully simple image of a nun knitting reveals the artist's appreciation for 17th-century Dutch artists such as Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), who
Surviving in fragmentary condition, this pair of angels lacks lower arms, hands, wings, and attributes. Their original paint and gilding, now almost entirely lost, once rendered their garments a rich brocade and their hair a luxuriant gold. Nonetheless, in their graceful poses and sublime faces—whic
These monumental stone heads are among the substantial known remains of the sculptural program of Thérouanne’s cathedral, which was razed by Emperor Charles V of Spain in June 1553. These heads were found in a wall of rue Ste. Croix in the town of Saint Omer (a short distance to the north) in Januar
Formerly ascribed to the French painter Simon Vouet (1590-1649), Rest on the Flight into Egypt has only recently been attributed to Poërson, a collaborator and follower of Vouet. Intended to be a small devotional picture, this painting on oak panel depicts a quiet scene of the Holy Family resting; t
This watercolor depicts Christ rising from the tomb as the soldiers guarding it lie asleep, an episode from the Gospels and one of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. It is part of French painter James Tissot's celebrated Life of Christ series, painted between 1886 and 1894 and now held by the Bro
This French Renaissance painting, dated 1537, combines an Old Testament scene of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh with an allegorical portrait of the Dinteville family, a noble French family. It is by an unidentified painter known as the Master of the Dinteville Allegory.
This limestone sculpture with traces of polychromy, made in France around 1300-1330, depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. It measures about 48 1/2 x 21 x 14 inches and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of Medieval Art.
North French illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours showing the Descent from the Cross, made in the late 15th century. Tempera, ink, and shell gold on parchment, 8.7 x 6.9 cm.
This sculpture of Moses, holding the tablets with the Ten Commandments, and the opposite figure, his brother Aaron, form part of a rare ensemble of key figures from the Hebrew Bible. Often shown together on Gothic portals as forerunners of Jesus, they and other statues originally flanked an enthrone
Until 1950 this panel lined the Great Hall of Highcliffe Castle in southern England. Constructed in the 1830s for Lord Stuart de Rothesay, the castle was furnished in part with stonework acquired form the ruined royal abbey at Jumièges in Normandy, where the panels might also have originated. In all
Four key events in the final hours of Jesus’ life are dramatically shown here (from left to right): Peter sheathing his sword after severing the ear of Malchus (seated), the high priest’s servant; Jesus miraculously restoring the ear; Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss; and Roman soldiers arresting J
The ivory figures are mounted on a sheet of whalebone. This plaque is part of a series of Passion carvings that are now dispersed among Antwerp, Oslo, Paris, London, and New York. French, elephant ivory with traces of paint and gilding, 23.2 x 18.3 cm.
Limestone statue of the Virgin and Child with traces of polychromy, made in France by the Atelier of the Juliots. The sculpture is 39.2 cm high.
This leaf survives from what must have been an extraordinarily rich book of hours. Internal evidence within the original calendar and texts indicates that Metz was the probable place of production. Ink, tempera, silver, and gold on vellum, 15.9 x 11.6 cm.
