Heraklios Approaching the Gates of Jerusalem with the True Cross

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1402 Jean de France, duc de Berry, acquired a gold medal representing the emperor Constantine and subsequently another with the likeness of the emperor Heraklius. The duke had gold copies of the two medals made and from these further copies were made of which the raised silver versions are thought to be the earliest. The Limbourg brothers, who had unfettered access to the duke’s extraordinary collections, clearly knew these medals. The scene of Heraklius approaching the gates of Jerusalem with the True Cross served as the model for their composition of the same subject in the Belles Heures (acc. no. 54.1.1a, b), a luxurious Book of Hours the duke commissioned them to illuminate.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art