Columnar Figure of an Apostle
Unknown Artist
c. 1180
Medium
limestone
Dimensions
97.8 × 24.1 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
General Income Fund
Accession Number
1919.38
About this artwork
This figure of an apostle, probably Saint John the Evangelist, attached to its supporting column, came originally from the cloister of the Church of Notre-Dame-en-Vaux at Châlons-sur-Marne. A cloister was a covered walkway usually around all four sides of a square area of grass (the "cloister garth"). The seclusion of the cloister was the exclusive domain of the monks or clergy and off-limits to others. Here, the monks were able to pray, study, meditate, and exercise in privacy and solitude. Thi...