ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Virgin Mary and Five Standing Saints above Predella Panels

1440–46
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 16
The three lancets on the left were originally placed over the three on the right in the north nave of the former Carmelite church at Boppard-am-Rhein near Koblenz. The slender, elongated figures enveloped in soft, trailing drapery and placed under soaring canopies suggest that the glass painter was well versed in the prevailing style of the Lower Rhineland, particularly that of Cologne. The marked preference for grisaille (shades of gray), both in drapery and flesh tones, further indicates a Cologne connection. At the left Saint Servatius, bishop of Tongres, holds a key presented to him by the pope in recognition of his fight against heresy, symbolized by the dragon he tramples. The antiheretical reference is echoed below by Saint Michael, who weighs souls and tramples evil. The Virgin appears in a robe adorned with representations of corn or wheat, an iconographic type stemming from litanies of the Virgin likening her to a field of grain nourishing humankind with the bread of life. Beneath her are the arms of the bishop of Liège, whose diocese may have donated the window. Below Saint Catherine are the arms of the coopers' guild of which she was patron saint. Saint Dorothy is shown accompanied by the Christ Child.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Virgin Mary and Five Standing Saints above Predella Panels
  • Date: 1440–46
  • Geography: Made in Rhine Valley
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Pot-metal glass, white glass, vitreous paint, silver stain
  • Dimensions: Each window 12 ft. 4 1/2 in. x 28 1/4 in. (337.2 x 71.8 cm)
  • Classification: Glass-Stained
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1937
  • Object Number: 37.52.1–.6
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Ewer with Wildman Finial, Silver gilt, enamel, and paint, German
Ewer with Wildman Finial
German
late 15th century
Dish with Abraham and Melchizedek, Hans of Landshut German, Free-blown glass with paint and metallic foils, South German
Dish with Abraham and Melchizedek
Hans of Landshut
1498
Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion, Copper alloy, German
Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion
German
ca. 1400
Roundel with Three Apes Building a Trestle Table, Colorless glass, vitreous paint and silver stain, German
Roundel with Three Apes Building a Trestle Table
German
1480–1500
Quatrefoil Roundel with Arms and Secular Scenes, Pot-metal glass, white glass, vitreous paint, and silver stain, German
Quatrefoil Roundel with Arms and Secular Scenes
German
1490–1500

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

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.