Crusaders before Jerusalem
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
61 5/8 x 74 1/2 in. (156.5 x 189.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887
Accession Number
87.15.110
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Crusaders before Jerusalem** by Wilhelm von Kaul captures a pivotal moment from the Crusades, portraying armored knights on horseback gathered before the holy city. Painted in oil on canvas at a grand scale—over six feet wide—this European history painting evokes the drama and fervor of medieval warfare. Kaulbach, a prominent19th-century German artist director of the Munich Academy Fine Arts, was renowned for his monumental scenes blending Romantic intensity with historical narrative, often drawing from biblical and epic themes. The inclusion of Christ in the composition, suggested by tags, ...