Mourning Saint John, c. 1240-1260. 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.

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Photo credit: © Heritage Art/Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: 13th, art, austria, century, cleveland, heritage, lungau?, museum, painted, region, salzburg, sculpture, unknown, wood