Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

Master of Rabenden

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This Virgin and Child originally was joined by a seated Saint Anne, the Virgin’s mother, to form the Holy Kinship, a group representing three generations of the Holy Family. The scale of the group suggests that it comes from the lower section, or predella, of an altarpiece. Predella sculpture thematically expanded the subject of the main altar above it, which, in this case, may have been dedicated to the Virgin.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.