Front cover image for Europe in the Middle Ages

Europe in the Middle Ages

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Charles T. Little (Curator, Editor, Contributor), Timothy Husband (Curator, Editor, Contributor), Philippe De Montebello (Writer of introduction)
Europe in the Middle Ages offers a broad selection of the arts of the medieval world, all drawn from the rich collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Examples from the Early Christian period include a sarcophagus lid from Rome and Coptic textiles and ivory from Egypt; from Constantinople, a marble portrait bust of Constans, younger son of the emperor Constantine, and the sumptuous silver "David plates"; and from the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire, the magnificent silver-gilt "Antioch Chalice." Local styles are represented by Celtic gold tores from Belgium, lance mounts from Gaul, a Viking sword, and gold belt fittings from the Avar tribe. The court style of the Carolingian Empire is shown in the "Saint John the Evangelist" and "Emmaus" ivories. English Romanesque art is nowhere more beautifully represented than by the famous ivory cross attributed to the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, while the Continental Romanesque is seen in the capitals of the Cuxa Cloister. The arts of the late Middle Ages are represented by stained-glass panels from Soissons and from the abbey of St.-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, as well as by the exquisite miniature painting of Jean Pucelle, the "Mérode Altar Piece" by Robert Campin, and the famous "Unicorn Tapestries." In all, over one hundred fifty objects are reproduced, giving a rich picture of the splendid and varied arts of the middle Ages. -- publisher
Print Book, English, 1987
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., 1987