The legend tells of seven brothers condemned to death because of their Christian faith. They took refuge in a cave, where they fell into a sleep that lasted several centuries. When the cave was inadvertently opened, the brothers were awakened, and the miracle was recognized by the local bishop. In this panel, one of eleven from the lost window, the Christian emperor Theodosius with two companions rides to Ephesus to see the brothers.
#59. Scene from the Legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
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Title:Theodosius Arrives at Ephesus, from a Scene from the Legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
Date:ca. 1200–1210
Geography:Made in Rouen
Culture:French
Medium:Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint
Dimensions:Overall: 25 x 28 1/8in. (63.5 x 71.5cm)
Classification:Glass-Stained
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1980
Accession Number:1980.263.4
From the nave aisle (?) of the cathedral of Notre-Dame, Rouen; Augustin Lambert, Paris (1923) ; Raymond Pitcairn American, Bryn Athyn, PA. (from 1923–1966) ; Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA. (sold 1980)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection," February 25–September 15, 1982.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
Lafond, Jean, and Abbé Loisel. "Les Vitraux." In La Cathedrale de Rouen. Paris: Henri Laurens, 1927. pp. 111–112.
Verdier, Philippe. "A Stained Glass from the Cathedral of Soissons." The Corcoran Gallery of Art Bulletin 10 (1958). pp. 4–20.
Grodecki, Louis. "Les Vitraux Soissonnais du Louvre, du Musee Marmotten et des Collections Americaines." La Revue des Arts 10 (1960). pp. 163–78.
Lafond, Jean. "La Verriere des Sept Dormants d'Ephese et l'Ancienne Vitrerie de la Cathedrale de Rouen." In The Year 1200: A Symposium. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp. 399–416.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notable Acquisitions, 1980-1981 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1981). pp. 24–25.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "One Hundred Eleventh Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1980, through June 30, 1981." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 111 (1981). p. 42.
Hayward, Jane, and Walter Cahn. Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. no. 56d, pp. 149–52, pl. X, p. 21.
Kleinbauer, Walter Eugene. "Recent Major Acquisitions of Medieval Art by American Museums." Gesta 21, no. 1 (1982). p. 77, fig. 11.
Caviness, Madeline H., ed. Stained Glass Before 1700 in American Collections: New England and New York (Corpus Vitrearum Checklist I). Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 15. Washington, D.C.: National Art Gallery, 1985. p. 96.
Cothren, Michael W. "The Seven Sleepers and the Seven Kneelers: Prolegomena to a Study of the 'Belles Verrières' of the Cathedral of Rouen." Gesta 25, no. 2 (1986). pp. 220 n. 11, 225–26.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 119, pp. 99–100.
Carboni, Stefano, and Timothy B. Husband. "Ars Vitraria: Glass in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Medieval Art and the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 59, no. 1 (Summer 2001). p. 34.
Hayward, Jane. English and French Medieval Stained Glass in The Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Volume 1, edited by Mary B. Shepard, and Cynthia Clark. Corpus Vitrearum USA, Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. no. 11, pp. 97–104, fig. 11.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 38, pp. 72, 195.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 70.
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