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The Madonna is seated beneath a Gothic-arched canopy flanked by Saints Catherine and John the Baptist. A rectangular frame encloses the group. Most likely from a Sienese church interior, the work is probably a fragment of a larger sculptural program such as a tomb. An authentic Gothic style in sculp
This and 1953.660.2 are believed to be the remaining components of a six-panel altarpiece. The large central panel is now preserved in Barcelona (Museu National d’Art de Catalunya). Ferrer collaborated with the painter Pere Garcia de Benavarri on this commission. Spanish works like these often featu
This precious gold cross was commissioned by Countess Gertrude (died 1077) and given to the church of Saint Blaise following the death of her husband, Count Liudolf of Brunswick (died 1038). The cross is decorated with a large oval-shaped chalcedony at its center and with slightly smaller rock cryst
As Christ dragged his cross through the streets of Jerusalem, Veronica wiped sweat from Christ’s face, which was miraculously imprinted on the fabric. This relief probably came from a choir screen, a barrier between the altar and the congregation, common in medieval churches. Yet the sculpture is mo
Bronze oil lamps were made either with stands, like the nearby example, or with chains for suspension on hooks within homes and churches. This lamp is cast in the form of a griffin, a guardian figure from antiquity frequently used in Byzantine churches, which contained much wealth. The Christian mon
This brooch was probably made to fasten a ceremonial cloak, and may have been intended as a diplomatic gift or memento. The central composition parallels the main face of the famous gold coin, a ducat, of the Venetian Doge Giovanni Dandolo minted in 1288-1289. Unlike the coin, the medallion is neith
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
This sculpture relates stylistically with architrave figures from the facade of Monopoli’s cathedral. It is especially similar to a capital there featuring the prophet Daniel. The figure pouring water on the left probably represents an attendant in the Birth of the Virgin. The remaining figures depi
This small picture belonged to a predella, a series of subsidiary panels consisting of narrative scenes and situated at the bottom of an altarpiece. Predella paintings are significant because the artist was allowed more freedom and inventiveness here than in the higher part of the altarpiece. In thi
After the Crusader conquest of the Holy Land in 1099, Jerusalem experienced a revival of Christian pilgrimage. During the 12th century, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was rebuilt, redecorated, and reconsecrated. With the influx of new pilgrims, especially from Western Europe, lead ampullae (small
This small altarpiece, intended for a domestic interior or private chapel, consists of three panels, allowing it to be folded and easily transported. Surrounding the Virgin and Child in the center are various saints. On the left is Saint Andrew crucified, with St. Francis and St. Paul below; on the
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
A pax is a tablet depicting a sacred subject that a priest held out to be kissed during the Mass. The scene on this tablet is of Christ preaching to ten apostles. The image is by an unknown artist who based it on a plaquette by the gem engraver and medalist Valerio Belli (1468–1546) and demonstrates
This diptych, or two-panel painting, is hinged at the center so that it could be opened and closed and easily transported. It was clearly designed as an object for private devotion. The owner would have been able to contemplate the Passion of Christ and pray before these scenes. The top two images d
These figures of the Virgin and Saint John once formed part of a Crucifixion group that would have originally included a figure of Christ on the cross shown at center. Fortunately the original polychromy of the two figures has been preserved, affording the viewer a rare opportunity to appreciate a r
German artist Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner's innovations in rococo design are magnificently demonstrated in this sheet showing the story of Saint Deicolus and the Boar. The format of the work imitates that of a decorative cartouche, an ornamental framework surrounding an open field usually reserved f
These flasks bear the image of Saint Menas, an early martyr of the Christian Church whose shrine was in the desert southwest of Alexandria in Egypt. These flasks were probably used by pilgrims to hold oil taken from the lamp that burned over this saint's tomb. Probably manufactured near the shrine,
These intricately carved ivory panels once decorated the sides of a portable altar. Three of the plaques, those depicting Christ in Majesty and his apostles, were the first major acquisition of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–58). They were
These panels depicting Saints Anthony the Abbot and Michael originally flanked a central scene of the Madonna and Child with Angels, now lost, to form a triptych. Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici of Florence commissioned the ensemble in 1457 as a diplomatic gift to Alfonso V of Aragon. Fra Filippo Lipp
Although Gherardo Starnina is regarded as one of the most important painters of his time in Florence, little is known about him. He probably studied with a well-regarded Florentine painter who made numerous frescoes. He is claimed to have participated in the painting of the frescoes in the Castellan
Twelve public-domain medieval and Renaissance statues of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, free to download.
This sculptural relief belongs to a large series made for the Franciscan friary of San Vivaldo (founded 1350) in the Tuscan hills southwest of Florence. The friary was enlarged between 1500 and 1530 when 32 chapels were built, each dedicated to an incident in the life or Passion of Christ. San Vival
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
This rare Ottoman embroidery features a floral bouquet that enriches the field under an elegant arch of gilt-metal thread. Flanked by vines of tulips and irises on a silver-metal-thread ground, vases of tulips and jonquils within cartouches adorn the main border and the well-turned corners, a sign o
