"The collection of Italian medieval sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters began with the acquisition in 1908 of a Romanesque column statue; today the Museum's holdings comprise more than seventy works dating from the ninth to the late fifteenth century ... The birthplaces of these works range from Sicily to Venice; some typify local styles, others illustrate the intense artistic exchanges taking place within Italy and between Italy and the wider world ... Technological advances of the last decades have made it possible to determine more precisely the materials and techniques from which works of art are made, the history of their alteration, and the mechanisms of their deterioration. Using such techniques, scholars have been able to ascertain, for example, that sculptures previously thought to be modern works carved in the medieval manner were in fact completely authentic. This innovative volume represents a watershed in the study of sculpture: a collaborative dialogue between an art historian and a conservator—between art history and art science—that deepens our understanding of the object we see, while illuminating its elusive, enigmatic history"--From publisher's description.

"By surveying these elaborate tapestries, delicate carvings, and other objects in roughly the historical sequence in which they were created, we glimpse the evolving styles and artistic traditions of the Middle Ages and gain a more meaningful understanding of the contexts in which many of them appeared. Among the masterpieces on display at The Cloisters are the famed Unicorn Tapestries, the richly carved twelfth-century ivory cross associated with the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, known as the "Cloisters Cross," the exquisite Annuciation triptych by the Netherlandish painter Robert Campin, and many fine examples of manuscript illumination, enameling, metalwork, and stained glass." "Complete with digital color photography, map, floor plan, and glossary, this book is a contemporary guide that will reward students and enthusiasts of the Middle Ages as well as visitors seeing the Museum for the first time."--BOOK JACKET.

Publisher description

. By way of introduction to the objects themselves are three essays. The first, by Laurence B. Kanter, presents an overview of Florentine illumination between 1300 and 1450 and thumbnail sketches of the artists featured in this volume. The second essay, by Barbara Drake Boehm, focuses on the types of books illuminators helped to create. As most of them were liturgical, her contribution limns for the modern reader the medieval religious ceremonies in which the manuscripts were utilized. Carl Brandon Strehlke here publishes important new material about Fra Angelico's early years and patrons - the result of the author's recent archival research in Florence.

This beautiful book features masterpieces of sculpture in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum dating from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century. Celebrated works by the great European sculptors - including Luca and Andrea della Robbia, Juan Mart©Ưnez Monta©ł©♭s, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Jean-Antoine Houdon, Bertel Thorvaldsen, Antoine-Louis Barye, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Edgar Degas, and Auguste Rodin- are joined by striking new additions to the collection, notably Franz Xaver Messerschmidt's remarkable bust of a troubled and introspective man. The ninety-two selected examples are diverse in media (marble, bronze, wood, terracotta, and ivory) and size - ranging from a tiny oil lamp fantastically conceived and decorated by the Renaissance bronze sculptor Riccio to Antonio Canova's eight-foot-high Perseus with the Head of Medusa, executed in the heroic Neoclassical style. Incorporating information from the latest scholarly research and recent conservation studies, sculpture specialist Ian Wardropper discusses the history and significance of the highlighted works, each of which is reproduced with glorious new photography.

This delightful book describes and illustrates the Metropolitan Museum's collection of nearly 40 illuminations from Italian choral manuscripts. Representing the work of Gothic and Renaissance masters both celebrated and anonymous, these precious paintings in miniature---with their compelling narrative, brilliant color, and shining gold---bear witness to exceptional aesthetic accomplishment. The choir books they illuminate are a rich source of information about the development of chant, whose unexpected transcendent tonalities have abiding appeal today. They also serve as primary sources for the study of the lives of religious communities and of the philosophy and faith that infused medieval Europe, offering a glimpse of Italy at the dawn of the Renaissance.