North Italian 14th Century, Costume Ornament with Profile Portrait, c. 1380/1400, repoussé silver, gilded, and translucent enamel, attached to a strip of velvet, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.190

Decorative Arts

Decorative arts are windows into the culture and styles of their periods. More than just decoration, they tell stories about customs and values. The metalworkers, ceramicists, weavers, cabinetmakers, or glassblowers who created the works are often anonymous. But they left a mark on history through their technical skills and innovative styles.

  • This horizontal tapestry is divided into three vertical sections by architectural columns and arches. The center column is a little wider than those to either side, but all three sections are packed with people, all with ivory-white skin. In the center column, a crowned Jesus is seated on a throne at the top center. His elaborately patterned robe falls in folds down past his feet. He hovers above a landscape view, which is flanked in the foreground by groups of men and women. About a dozen people are clustered on each side, many of them looking up at Jesus, and most of them wearing religious garments that range from monks and nuns to cardinals and bishops. Two crowned men kneel to our right in the center panel, their hands pressed together in prayer. Each column on either side of the central panel is divided so there is a smaller vignette above taller vignettes below. Large groups of people gather in each scene. Much of the tapestry’s surface is now brown, but it is punctuated throughout with patches of rust red, sky blue, and pale yellow.
  • Five women and three men gather around the limp, nude body of a man being laid on a stone slab in this square tapestry. The people’s skin is pale, nearly ivory white. The torso of the dead man, Jesus, is being supported by two women, one of whom wraps her arms around his shoulders. The man has a brown beard and hair, and his eyes are slightly open. He has holes in the hand and foot we can see and a gash over his right ribs. A silvery blue cloth is between Jesus and the stone surface, where a copper-colored ointment jar sits with the lid off near the front right corner. The woman embracing him has a white head covering and lapis-blue and white dress. The other woman supporting his torso, to our right, wears a dress that shimmers between frosty lemon-lime green and cobalt blue. Her strawberry blond hair is braided, wrapped around her head, and ornamented with pearls. A third woman to our left bends over and touches Jesus’s far hand to her cheek. She and the others standing in a row behind this group wear robes in tones of slate blue, pale green, blue, and rose red, though some areas appear gray with damage or wear. Behind Jesus and these three women are two more women and three men. They all look on except one woman and man, who look at a chalice a man standing to the right holds. That man has a long gray beard and hair, and a pouch hangs at his waist. The man next to him holds a ring of thorns. The landscape beyond the group has trees with yellow-highlighted and blue-shaded trees and distant buildings and mountains under a blue sky. The scene is framed by an ornamental design of chubby, pale-skinned baby boys playing games amid fruit, flowers, and ribbons. Two boys at the top play with hobby horses. To the right, one child feeds another as a third plays with a stick and chest-high hoop. A boy blows bubbles in the lower right corner, and another plays a drum nearby. A boy with rings of bells wrapped under his knees runs toward the drummer. Two in the lower left corner have captured a bird, and another above them walks on stilts.
  • Blue floral patterns adorn this bulb-shaped white flask made of imitation porcelain. The round opening at the top of the flask has a low lip. The rounded vessel tapers from wide shoulders to a narrower flared foot at the bottom. There are two handles on either side of the top opening and a short spout near the rim directly between them. The rim is decorated with dots set within squares, and the handles are painted with blue stripes.

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Architecture

Artists often depict the built environment. We can visit some of the world’s most magnificent buildings and architectural innovations through artworks.

This free-standing, white marble sculpture shows the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a balding, bearded man. In this photograph, his body faces us and he looks straight ahead. Bushy eyebrows arch low over deeply set eyes, and his forehead hollows inward at his temples. He has high cheekbones and the skin of his cheeks draws slightly in. His thin lips are set in a straight line within a full beard. His high-necked robe falls slightly open over his chest and is cut also away over the shoulders to show the crinkled fabric of the garment beneath. The bottom edge of the sculpture curves upward in a very shallow U across the bottom, and is supported by a square pedestal foot decorated with scroll designs. The background behind the bust lightens from charcoal gray along the top edge to pale gray across the bottom, and the sculpture casts a shadow behind its base.

Baroque

In the 1600s, following the Renaissance, an expressive style took hold of European art, architecture, and music. Baroque art often features dramatic contrasts in elements such as shapes or lighting. This creates a sense of movement and intense emotion.