Medieval Sculpture

Medieval Sculpture comprises carved and modelled works made in Europe and the Byzantine world during the Middle Ages. Stone figures and narrative reliefs gave church entrances, capitals and screens a visual and religious role, while wooden statues and ivory carvings supported more intimate devotion. Sculptors adapted inherited forms to architectural spaces and to the meaning of the subjects represented. Romanesque and Gothic traditions developed different treatments of figure, gesture and drapery rather than a single uniform style. Tomb monuments, secular objects and luxury carvings extend the tradition beyond church decoration, revealing the varied patrons, materials and purposes of medieval sculptural work.