Detail of the Mourning Virgin in the Cloisters, October 2010

Mourning Virgin


Date: 13th century

Geography: Made in Tyrol, Austria

Culture: Austrian

Medium: Wood and paint

Dimensions: Overall: 51 3/16 x 13 x 8 1/4in. (130 x 33 x 21cm) Brass dowel: 1/2 in. (1.3 cm)

Classification: Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line: Gift of Thomas F. Ryan, 1912

Accession Number: 12.200.2

Description:

Carved almost in the round, this figure and that of John the Evangelist to the right of the door originally flanked a sculpture of Christ on the cross. The group was probably installed on a beam that spanned the width of a church choir. The figures reminded the faithful of the words in John's Gospel (19:26-27): "When Jesus therefore has seen his mother and the disciple whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman behold thy son. After that he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother."

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/463577