Arm Chair
Unknown Artist
late 15th century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Overall: 34 x 26 x 20 in. (86.4 x 66 x 50.8 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Furniture
Culture
North Italian
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1957
Accession Number
57.144.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant arm chair, crafted in northern Italy during the late 15th century, the transition from medieval to Renaissance furniture design. Measuring 34 x 26 x 20 inches, it was likely intended for a person of high status, as arm chairs were symbols of authority and comfort reserved for nobility or clergy. Housed in The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Cloisters Collection, 1957), it reflects the region's burgeoning interest in humanism and classical revival, where everyday objects became canvases for artistic expression. Carved from wood—a medium prized for its workability ...