This monumental image of the Virgin and Child is carved in the style of Parisian sculptures from about 1340. Here, the Christ Child playfully reaches for the Virgin's veil. Remarkably, the sculpture retains most of its original paint and gilding and appears today much as it would have in the fourteenth century.
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Lord Caledon ; James Simon, Berlin ; Deutsches Museum ; [ Nicolas Brimo, Paris (sold 1935)] ; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1935–1937)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
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Volbach, W. F. "Die Gotische Plastik." Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 41 (June-July 1920). cols. 205–7.
Demmler, Theodor, ed. Die Bildwerke des Deutschen Museums: Volume III, Die Bildwerke in Holz, Stein und Ton; Grossplastik. Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1930. no. 8010, pp. 27–28.
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "The Opening of The Cloisters." Art News 36, no. 7 (May 1938). p. 14, fig. ill. p. 9.
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Rorimer, James J., and Margaret B. Freeman. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art, in Fort Tryon Park. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938. p. 48, fig. 24.
Rorimer, James J. "New Acquisitions for the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 33, no.5, part 2 (May 1938). p. 12, fig. 8.
Forsyth, William H. Medieval Sculptures of the Virgin and Child: A Picture Book. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1939. fig. 8.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art in Fort Tryon Park, New York. 11th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. pp. 58–60, fig. 28.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Medieval Art in Fort Tryon Park. 3rd revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. pp. 87–88, fig. 38.
Stoddard, Whitney S. Monastery and Cathedral in France: Medieval Architecture, Sculpture, Stained Glass, Manuscripts, the Art of the Church Treasuries. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1966. pp. 275, 335, 346, 347, fig. 337.
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Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. no. 22, p. 368.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p. 110, pl. 103.
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Philippe de Montebello, former Director of The Met, guides viewers through The Cloisters, pointing out Romanesque and Gothic architecture and artwork, beautiful tapestries, and the diverse species in the gardens. He outlines the history of the building and its many influences and highlights significant works of art in the collection.
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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
