Musical Angel

Musical Angel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This angel plucking a gittern (a predecessor of the guitar) was probably once part of an angelic orchestra. Such musical ensembles were frequently included in scenes devoted to the Virgin Mary, such as those depicting her assumption into heaven or coronation as celestial queen.


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.