As a medieval history buff I usually have to be content with seeing a bit of sculpture here, a painting or two there, and occasionally a bit of architectural chunk on display against a stark and modern museum wall. Even when there is a museum program or special featured showing it’s rare that examples of medieval anything are shown in a setting that attempts to emulate the place and setting that the original pieces were created for or existed in so elegantly. So you can imagine my delight to finally be able to soak in a more proper medieval atmosphere when we eagerly ventured last Saturday to Upper Manhattan to visit The Cloisters, a rare example of period art existing in and exhibited within period-authentic surroundings.

Approaching The Cloisters Window, Pontaut Chapter House room

As a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and thus subject to the Met’s vast resources, The Cloisters is a unique example of one man’s vision to bring the best of European Medieval art and architecture within reach of the everyman in America. Designed and built in 1938 as a representative structure to hold medieval works of art, The Cloisters provides a unique setting transcending the usual experience one gets from viewing such relics from the Dark Ages in cold, generic museum rooms. We can all thank John D. Rockefeller Jr. for providing the generous gifts of land, building, and initial collection of medieval art and architecture, as well as tapestries, [...]