Crucifix
Unknown Artist
second half 12th century
Medium
Brass
Dimensions
Overall: 11 3/4 x 8 in. (29.8 x 20.3 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Bronze
Culture
Rhenish
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1925
Accession Number
25.120.438
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite brass Crucifix, crafted by an unknown Rhenish artist in the second half of the 12th century, exemplifies the masterful metalwork of the Rhineland region during the Romanesque era. Measuring 11¾ x 8 inches, it depicts the crucified Christ on the cross, a powerful symbol central to medieval Christian devotion. Housed in The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Cloisters Collection, 1925), it reflects the region's thriving workshops, where artisans produced liturgical objects for monasteries and cathedrals amid a surge in pilgrimage and religious fervor. Rhenish metalw...