This wonderfully crafted limestone Head of a Woman (ca. 1500-1525 A.D.) wears a jeweled cap characteristic of early sixteenth-century European fashion. Her identity remains a mystery, although Saints Barbara, Catherine and Mary Magdalene, among other Biblical figures, have been suggested. Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture on the ground level of the Robert Lehman Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents more than 80 sculpted heads dating from the Third Century A.D. through the early 1500s. This international loan exhibition presents limestone, marble, polychromed wood and silver gilt heads from the Byzantine, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other regional traditions. The show is divided into seven sections that deal with: iconoclasm; the evolution of sculptural portraiture and identity; Gothic Italy and the influence of antiquity; head reliquaries as objects of religious power; and recent advancements in archaeology, art-historical interpretation, connoisseurship and scientific research.
"Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture" is on view from September 25, 2006 to February 19, 2007 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198 (Telephone: 212-535-7710; Website). The museum is open Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM and Friday and Saturday from 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM. SUGGESTED admission is $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for senior citizens (65 years of age and older) and $10.00 for students. This includes same-day admission to The Cloisters, The Met's prestigious branch of Medieval art located in Manhattan's scenic Fort Tryon Park. Paid parking is available in The Museum Garage.
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From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.