The Met: Cloisters edition

Did you know that The Cloisters provides air conditioning? Here is a detail of a Spanish altarpiece of the late 15th c.

Theodosius arriving at Ephesus, in a series about The Seven Sleepers from Rouen about 1200.

If only … Spanish crucifix c. 1200. Virgin and Child in Majesty c. 1100.

Bee on Fuller’s Teasel. (next to Our Lady’s Bedstraw)

Espaliered Pear

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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8 Comments

  1. servusmariaen says:

    The Cloisters was probably my favorite place when I lived in New York City. I went there numerous times and always took out of town guests there. It really is an amazing place. Its a bit of medieval Europe in NYC.

  2. Jack Hughes says:

    excuse my ignorence of New York but what exactly are the cloisters?

  3. TomB says:

    http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newyorkcity/A23975.html

    Jack Hughes, Bing (used to say Google) is your friend here. The Cloisters is remarkable.

  4. Traductora says:

    I remember that pear when it was but a twig.

  5. Gulielmus says:

    The Cloisters is, perhaps, my favorite place in Manhattan- which is saying a lot, since I love Manhattan! So much beauty there, in the building, the site, the gardens, the views over the Hudson (the Rockefellers, who pretty much gave the Cloisters to the Met, also bought the NJ land across the river to preserve the view), and of course the artworks. There is a tiny wooden carving of the three Mary’s at the foot of the cross that takes my breath away every time I see it.

  6. Andreas says:

    This most beautiful setting overlooking the Hudson was for me, a young New York college student in the early 1970s, balsam for the soul. During the week when few tourists frequented the lovely cloister collection and its lush hortus conclusus, I used to flee the campus and make my way to Fort Tryon Park. There, I was able to sit upon the cool ancient inner cloister wall stones, my back resting on one of the many columns, to study and otherwise while away warm and at times wistful Summer afternoons. Recordings of medieval and renaissance choral music playing faintly in the background over hidden speakers added to the restful welcoming ambience. It was here that I also participated in what was then the annual medieval/renaissance festival, where the grounds outside the cloister walls were host to hundreds of singers, actors, jousters, mystery plays, sellers of all types and splendid food and drink. Alas, these are now all fond memories, for it has been many years since my last visit to this jewel of a living museum that Germain Bazin (former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris) has described as “the crowning achievement of American museology”. (ref: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/HAR/HAR015.htm)

  7. Marg says:

    I remember a large rosary bead that opened to show the most remarkable crucifixion scene, all carved out of wood or ivory. My niece worked in the gardens a few years ago, setting up an herb garden. Please pray for her (Celine) a confused product of this neo-pagan era.

  8. ar_danziger says:

    The Cloisters Museum is wonderful…it’s like stepping back in time. I think it might be what I miss the most about living in NYC 6 years ago. The museum is cobbled together from parts of real medieval monasteries and chapels that were taken apart in Europe and reassembled here in the U.S.

    Something else that’s pretty neat- the Cloisters garden has a blog: http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/

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