Friday, May 14, 2010

The MOURNERS: Medieval Tomb Sculptures on Special Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is the poster at the lobby of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the special exhibition called "The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy." The special exhibition is at the Medieval Sculpture Hall, and features alabaster mourner figures from the tomb of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret of Bavaria. Each of the statuettes is approximately sixteen inches high. They were carved by Jean de La Huerta and Antoine Le Moiturier between 1443–1456 for the ducal tomb originally in the church of Champmol, and they follow the precedent of the mourner figures carved by Claus Sluter and colleagues for the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold (1342–1404). The tombs are celebrated as among the most sumptuous and innovative of the late Middle Ages. The primary innovation was the space given to the figures of the grieving mourners on the base of the tomb, who seem to pass through the real arcades of a cloister. The exhibit runs through May 23.

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