Mourning Saint John
Unknown Artist
c. 1240–1260
Medium
painted wood
Dimensions
43.8 × 11.5 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
Accession Number
1958.189
About this artwork
These traditional devotional figures at one time formed a Crucifixion group with a Crucified Christ (now lost). The ensemble may have been mounted high above the entrance to the sanctuary of a church on a barrier called a rood beam, beyond which lay people were not allowed. Crucifixion groups were common in medieval churches where they symbolized the sacrifice and real presence of Christ in the Mass.