This figure, along with its pair (acc. no. 52.33.2) probably once held either candlesticks or instruments of the Passion. Deriving in style from the smiling angels on the west facade of Reims Cathedral, such works were placed around an altar. They stood on top of small columns that supported rods on which curtains were hung. The angels were originally painted in rich colors and gold. Their upward trailing wings are now lost.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Altar Angel (one of a pair)
Date:ca. 1275–1300
Geography:Made in Artois, France
Culture:French
Medium:Oak with traces of paint
Dimensions:29 1/2 in. × 7 in. × 7 11/16 in. (75 × 17.8 × 19.5 cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Wood
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1952
Accession Number:52.33.1
[ Georges B. Brauer, Florence] ; Octave Homberg 1844–1907, Paris ; by descent, Joseph Homberg, Paris (sold 1952)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 18, 1970–March 29, 1970.
Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 16, 1970–July 5, 1970.
Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "L'art en France au temps de Philippe le Bel," March 17–June 30, 1998.
Aubert, Marcel. "Sculptures du moyen âge: Un nouvel ange 'champenois'." Bulletin des Musées de France 2, no. 8 (1930). p. 162.
Aubert, Marcel. Description raisonnée des sculptures du Moyen Âge, de la Renaissance, et des temps modernes. Vol. 1. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 1950. p. 102.
Rorimer, James J. "Two Gothic Angels for the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 11, no. 4 (December 1952). pp. 105–7.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Eighty-Third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1952." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 12, no. 1 (Summer 1953). p. 17.
Randall Jr., Richard H. "Thirteenth Century Altar Angels." Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 18, no. 1 (1959). pp. 6, 14.
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. p. 155, fig. 78.
Wardwell, Allen. "A French Gothic Virgin of the Annunciation." Museum Studies 4 (1969). p. 9, fig. 4.
Randall Jr., Richard H. "Angels of the Lord." In Arts in Virginia. Vol. 11, no. 3. Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Spring 1971. pp. 26–31, fig. 2.
Lestocquoy, Jean. "L'art de l'Artois." Mémoires de la Commission Départementale des Monuments Historiques du Pas-de-Calais 15, no. 1 (1973). p. 60.
Hayward, Jane, and Walter Cahn. Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. p. 208.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. no. 18, p. 367.
Husband, Timothy B., and Charles T. Little. Europe in the Middle Ages. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. no. 87, p. 96.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at The Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 46, no. 3 (Winter 1988-1989). p. 38.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. no. 18, p. 401.
Avril, François, ed. L'art au temps des rois maudits: Philippe le Bel et ses fils, 1285-1328. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1998. no. 22a, pp. 68, 145, ill. p. 67.
Seidel, Max. "La scoperta del sorriso. Vie di diffusione del gotico francese (Italia centrale, 1315-25)." Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz 51, no. 1/2 (2007). pp. 53–54, fig. 9, 11.
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. 95.
Ciseri, Ilaria, ed. Gli avori del Museo nazionale del Bargello. Milan: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 2018. p. 211.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
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.
