Detail of the Bishop Saint in the Cloisters, June 2011

Blessing Bishop (Saint Nicholas of Bari)

Date: ca. 1350–75

Geography: Made in probably Umbria, Italy

Culture: Central Italian

Medium: Poplar, paint, gilt

Dimensions: Overall: 73 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 13 1/2 in., 39lb. (186.7 x 44.5 x 34.3 cm, 17690.3g)

Classification: Sculpture-Wood

Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1925

Accession Number: 25.120.218

Label:

The bishop's chasuble, the principle vestment worn by a priest, is represented with a black orphrey ornamented with a series of quatrefoils. The top medallion shows Christ with his hand raised in benediction, while the others contain letters that spell AVE MARIA. The grandeur and nobility of this figure, a rare example of Gothic wood sculpture from Italy, results from the careful balance of the elements of the bishop's vestments-the tall miter and the long elliptical drapery folds-with the attenuated proportions, the frontality of the pose, the authority of the facial expression, and the refinement in the painted surfaces, especially on the face and beard.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/472312