More about the Exhibition
Included in the exhibition are outstanding works in all media and from all periods covered
by the Museum’s Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters. Highlights include
Bronze Age jewelry of dramatic simplicity, ornate Byzantine silver and enamels, precious
Anglo-Saxon brooches featuring filigree and cloisonné inlay, boldly illuminated Spanish Romanesque manuscript pages, two engaging aquamanilia (water vessels used when washing the hands) in the forms of
a rooster and a lion, and a serenely smiling Gothic stone head. The end of the Middle Ages
is represented by panels of stained glass, a sublime boxwood statuette of the Virgin and Child attributed to Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leiden, an
expressive sculpture of the Saint Anthony Abbot subduing a demon, and a magnificent
tapestry fragment depicting a fabulous lionlike beast. Each work is explained in relation
to the acquisition process and the underlying importance of the object to the Museum.
The "Standing Virgin and
Child", for instance, is one of only eight works in wood that are attributed to
Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leiden, the finest and most influential sculptor of the mid- to late
15th century, a pivotal period in the development of late Gothic sculpture in northern
Europe. Measuring just over 13 inches in height, this exquisite statuette evokes a sense
of drama and monumentality. An outstanding example of the work of a key artist of the late
Middle Ages, this work--which was purchased by the Museum in 1996--is
an important addition to the Metropolitan’s most significant holdings of late Gothic
art.
The works on view in "Mirror of the Medieval
World" are presented thematically, an introduction to the context, forms, and
techniques of the Middle Ages. Works featuring plant, animal, and equestrian imagery are
displayed, followed by a section on depictions of the human figure (including
representations of Christ, the Virgin and Child, angels, and saints). A grouping of
objects that reference architecture are as a transition into the following two areas,
where ecclesiastical furnishings as well as objects of private devotion are shown. The
final four sections focus on worldly concerns such as jewelry, an array of vessels of
various kinds and diverse materials, the themes of romance and vanity, and games.
"This milestone exhibition is the most
appropriate tribute I can imagine to William D. Wixom upon his retirement as Chairman of
the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters," commented Philippe de Montebello,
Director of the Metropolitan Museum. "By displaying these treasures together, we are
celebrating the major achievement of his career--the
dramatic expansion of the Museum’s superb medieval collection, the finest in the
Western Hemisphere. "Mirror of the Medieval World" also serves to welcome and
introduce Peter Barnet, the newly elected Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of Medieval
Art and The Cloisters. Peter brings vast energy, impressive scholarship, and curatorial
expertise to his post."
The exhibition is organized by William D. Wixom
and Peter Barnet. Conservation is by Edmund P. Dandridge, Conservator; Jack Soultanian
Jr., Conservator; and Kathrin Colburn, Associate Conservator. |
