My goal was to simplify this tomb, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s medieval collection on display at its Cloisters branch. I chose to do it by juxtaposing the horizontal figure with the vertical arch soaring overhead. The contrast between the vertical and horizontal elements here is stark and filled with tension. By cutting the arch in half and running its inner edge diagonally from corner to corner, the image become abstracted – leaving completion of both the arch and the reclining figure to the viewer. I further abstract this image by converting it to black and white, draining all signs of life from both figure and arch.