Medieval Paintings
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
by
Patrica McManus
pmcmanus@murray.fordham.edu
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About the Collection
(This information was taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art web site.)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds an extensive Medieval Art Collection that is considered to be rivaled by few other collections worldwide. The collection of art ranges from the fourth to the sixteenth century and includes tapestries, paintings, jewelry, stained glass, and much more.
The Paintings
The paintings in the Metropolitan Museum’s Medieval Collection share a common thread in that they, for the most part, deal with religious subject matter. Much of art in medieval times was focused around Christianity, as evidenced in the Metropolitan Collection. Madonnas and depictions of Christ dominate the Medieval Collection at the MET.
Madonnas
The Metropolitan Collection houses many paintings depicting Madonnas, a popular subject matter in Medieval times. Mary is seen time and time again in the paintings in this collection, signifying more than just her popularity but rather her importance to Christians in Medieval times. The photos depict Mary in majesty. The triptych, done by Giovanni di Tano Fei, an artist active between 1384 and 1405, is among the most beautiful renderings of Mary in the Metropolitan Collection.
The Artists
The collection of Medieval paintings at the MET, also known as early Renaissance paintings, generally falls into the time period of roughly between the early 1200’s to the early 1500’s. Much of the collection consists of the work produced in this time frame by the following artists:
Early Medieval Artists
Simone Martini 1284-1344
Master of Varlungo 1285-1310
Lippo di Benivieni 1296-1327
Later Medieval Artists
Master of St. Cecelia early 14th cent.
Naddo Ceccarelli early 14th cent.
Master of the Dominican Effigies 14th cent.
Master of the Life of St. John the Baptist
Ugolino da Siena 1315-1340
Bernardo Daddi 1327-1348
Don silvestro de’ Gherarducci 1339-1399
Bartolo di Fredi 1356-1410
Lorenzo Veneziano 1357-1372
Lorenzo Monaco 1370-1423
Bicci di Lorenzo 1373-1452
Giovanni di Tano Fei 1384-1405
Master of Marradi 15th cent.
Fra Filippo Lippi & Workshop 1406-1469
Carlo Crivelli 1430-1495
Cosimo Roselli 1439-1507
Sandro Botticelli 1445-1510
Bartolomeo Vivarini 1450-1491
More Medieval Paintings
Still more Medieval paintings and treasures of all varieties are on view at the Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum located in northern Manhattan. More information about the Cloisters is available on the World Wide Web.