The Cloisters
Encyclopedia
The Cloisters is a museum located in Fort Tryon Park
, New York City
. The building, which is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, was reconstructed in the 1930s from the architectural elements of several European medieval abbey
s. It is used to exhibit art and architecture from Medieval Europe.
The Cloisters, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan
island on a hill overlooking the Hudson River
, incorporates parts from five French cloistered
abbeys. Buildings at Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville
were all disassembled brick-by-brick before being shipped to New York. Between 1934 and 1938, the features were reassembled in Fort Tryon Park
.
The area around The Cloisters was landscaped with gardens planted according to horticultural information obtained from medieval manuscripts and artifacts, and the structure includes multiple medieval-style cloistered herb gardens.
The museum and adjacent park, which incorporate four acres (16,000 m²), were created through an endowment grant by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
, who also donated the majority of his medieval art collection to the project. Much of this art collection came from George Grey Barnard
, an American sculptor and collector of medieval art, who had already established a medieval-art museum near his home in Fort Washington
.
After Rockefeller purchased Barnard's entire collection, he gave the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. Barnard's collection, combined with a number of pieces from Rockefeller's own collection (including the Unicorn tapestries), became the centerpiece for The Cloisters. Rockefeller subsequently purchased more than 65 acres (263,045.9 m²) of land north of Barnard's museum with the intention of converting it into a public park and site for the new museum. Rockefeller also bought and donated several hundred acres of the New Jersey Palisades
to the State of New Jersey
on the other side of the Hudson River to preserve the view for the museum.
The museum buildings were designed by Charles Collens the architect of New York City's Riverside Church
who reconstructed the cloister elements salvaged from Europe by simplifying and merging the various medieval styles. In 1988, the Treasury gallery within The Cloisters, containing objects used for liturgical celebrations, personal devotions, and secular uses, was renovated. Other galleries were refurbished in 1999.
works of art, with a particular emphasis on pieces dating from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Notable works of architecture include the Cuxa cloister, with an adjacent Chapter House; and the Fuentidueña Apse from a chapel in the province of Segovia
(Castilla y León, Spain
).
Among the works of art are seven Flemish
tapestries depicting The Hunt of the Unicorn
, Robert Campin
's Mérode Altarpiece, and the Romanesque
altar cross known as the Cloisters Cross
or Bury St. Edmunds Cross, which was acquired under the curatorship of Thomas Hoving
.
The Cloisters also holds many medieval manuscripts and illuminated books, including the Limbourg brothers
' Les Belles Heures du Duc de Berry
and Jean Pucelle's
book of hours
for Jeanne d'Evreux
.
Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The building, which is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, was reconstructed in the 1930s from the architectural elements of several European medieval abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
s. It is used to exhibit art and architecture from Medieval Europe.
The Cloisters, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
island on a hill overlooking the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, incorporates parts from five French cloistered
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
abbeys. Buildings at Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales département, in southwestern France...
, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France....
, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville
Froville
Froville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is noted for its romanesque church, with a gothic cloister, part of which was moved to the Cloisters Museum of New York City....
were all disassembled brick-by-brick before being shipped to New York. Between 1934 and 1938, the features were reassembled in Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park
Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
.
The area around The Cloisters was landscaped with gardens planted according to horticultural information obtained from medieval manuscripts and artifacts, and the structure includes multiple medieval-style cloistered herb gardens.
History
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
, who also donated the majority of his medieval art collection to the project. Much of this art collection came from George Grey Barnard
George Grey Barnard
'George Grey Barnard was an American sculptor, "an excellent American sculptor", the French art dealer René Gimpel reported in his diary , "very much engrossed in carving himself a fortune out of the trade in works of art." His lasting monument, rather than any sculpture of his own, is the...
, an American sculptor and collector of medieval art, who had already established a medieval-art museum near his home in Fort Washington
Fort Washington (New York)
Fort Washington was a fortified position near the north end of Manhattan Island and was located at the highest point on the island. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the U.S...
.
After Rockefeller purchased Barnard's entire collection, he gave the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. Barnard's collection, combined with a number of pieces from Rockefeller's own collection (including the Unicorn tapestries), became the centerpiece for The Cloisters. Rockefeller subsequently purchased more than 65 acres (263,045.9 m²) of land north of Barnard's museum with the intention of converting it into a public park and site for the new museum. Rockefeller also bought and donated several hundred acres of the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
to the State of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on the other side of the Hudson River to preserve the view for the museum.
The museum buildings were designed by Charles Collens the architect of New York City's Riverside Church
Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell...
who reconstructed the cloister elements salvaged from Europe by simplifying and merging the various medieval styles. In 1988, the Treasury gallery within The Cloisters, containing objects used for liturgical celebrations, personal devotions, and secular uses, was renovated. Other galleries were refurbished in 1999.
Collection
The Cloisters collection contains approximately five thousand European medievalMedieval art
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa...
works of art, with a particular emphasis on pieces dating from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Notable works of architecture include the Cuxa cloister, with an adjacent Chapter House; and the Fuentidueña Apse from a chapel in the province of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
(Castilla y León, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
).
Among the works of art are seven Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
tapestries depicting The Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn
The Hunt of the Unicorn, often referred to as the Unicorn Tapestries, is a series of seven tapestries dating from 1495–1505. The tapestries show a group of noblemen and hunters in pursuit of a unicorn. It is believed the tapestries were made in the Southern Netherlands.-Production:The...
, Robert Campin
Robert Campin
Robert Campin , now usually identified as the artist known as the Master of Flémalle, is usually considered the first great master of Early Netherlandish painting...
's Mérode Altarpiece, and the Romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
altar cross known as the Cloisters Cross
Cloisters Cross
The Cloisters Cross, also referred to as the Bury St. Edmunds Cross, is an unusually complex 12th century ivory Romanesque altar cross in The Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The cross is carved from walrus ivory and measures 22 5/8 x 14 1/4 in...
or Bury St. Edmunds Cross, which was acquired under the curatorship of Thomas Hoving
Thomas Hoving
Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving was an American museum executive and consultant and the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.-Biography:...
.
The Cloisters also holds many medieval manuscripts and illuminated books, including the Limbourg brothers
Limbourg brothers
The Limbourg brothers, or in Dutch Gebroeders van Limburg , were famous Dutch miniature painters from the city of Nijmegen. They were active in the early 15th century in France and Burgundy, working in the style known as International Gothic...
' Les Belles Heures du Duc de Berry
Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry
The Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, or Belles Heures of Jean de Berry is an early 15th century illuminated manuscript book of hours commissioned by John of France, Duke of Berry...
and Jean Pucelle's
Jean Pucelle
Jean Pucelle was a Parisian Gothic-era manuscript illuminator, active between 1320 and 1350. His style is characterized by delicate figures rendered in grisaille, accented with touches of color....
book of hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
for Jeanne d'Evreux
Jeanne d'Evreux
Jeanne d'Évreux was the third wife of King Charles IV of France, daughter of his uncle Louis d'Évreux and Margaret of Artois. She bore no male heir, thus "causing" the end of the direct line of the Capetian dynasty. Because she was his first cousin, the couple required papal permission to marry...
.
Literature
- Peter Barnet and Nancy Wu, The Cloisters. Medieval Art and Architecture. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Press. New York: 2006.
- Thomas Hoving. King of the Confessors. Simon & Schuster. New York, New York: 1981.
- Thomas Hoving, King of the Confessors: A New Appraisal. cybereditions.com. Christchurch, New Zealand: 2001.
- James J. RorimerJames RorimerJames J. Rorimer , was an American museum curator and the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.-Biography:On his graduation from Harvard University in 1927, James Rorimer was immediately hired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, beginning a career with the Met that would last his entire...
, The Cloisters. The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art in Fort Tryon Park, 11th edition, New York 1951.