The Wall Street Journal has a review of the current display of “The Mourners:
Medieval Tomb Sculptures From the Court of Burgundy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: By the time we encounter most older art on display in a museum it’s been set up in a context that radically manipulates the ways in which we read it.
This is especially true in the case of ecclesiastical art, whose sacred meanings museums work hard to neutralize in favor of aesthetic or art-historical values. So it’s illuminating to contemplate why this doesn’t happen in the current display of “The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures From the Court of Burgundy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A group of modestly sized (c. 15-inch-high) alabaster figures ripped from their context—the tomb of John the Fearless (reigned 1404-19)—seems barely enough to constitute a major exhibition. Yet this grouping casts a magic spell that is as sublime and compelling as anything you are likely to encounter in any museum this season.
Unable to visit? Here’s a virtual tour of the exhibit.
More about: The Mourners from the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy are deeply affecting works of art. Beyond their evident visual and narrative qualities, we cannot help but be struck by the emotion they convey as they follow the funeral procession, weeping, praying, singing, lost in thought, giving vent to their grief, or consoling their neighbor. Mourning, they remind us, is a collective experience, common to all people and all moments in history. … [continue reading]