The Cloisters

This week I visited The Cloisters in New York City. The Cloisters, a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located in Fort Tryon Park on the northwest tip of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River. This beautiful, enchanting castle is breathtaking. The Cloisters is devoted to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe. As I drove into the park the first thing that caught my eye was the view of the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson River. I parked the car and quickly walked up the trail to the museum entrance. Once inside, I climbed the stone steps two at a time, admiring the limestone covered walls, the wrought iron banisters, antique windows and cathedral sized ceilings.

I proceeded into a courtyard where sunlight splashed onto a garden filled with rows of flowers, crab trees in bloom and a stone fountain. It was a very serene atmosphere. Along the perimeter of the garden were handmade, etched doorways, columns, and doors that led to rooms that held gothic tapestries, historical museum photos, religious paintings, sculptures, alter pieces and unpublished manuscripts and prayer books. The maze of rooms spilled out onto a terrace that surrounded an herb garden, providing another remarkable view of the Hudson. The smells were absolutely delightful.

I rested for a moment and took in the fragrant atmosphere before touring again. On the lower level sat another medieval garden and a café. I grabbed a bite to eat before revisiting a piece that caught my attention earlier. The Death (Dormition) of the Virgin Mary is an alter piece depicting the Apostles administering the last rites of the Virgin Mary. The alter piece was made in the late 15th century in Lower Rhineland, in the western part of Germany. The piece was created in the workshop of Tilman van der Burch and became part of the Cloister’s collection in 1973. The piece was carved out of oak. What made it so interesting is how the artist took isolated figures, the Apostles and the Virgin Mary, and strategically placed them creating a three dimensional structure.

The structure wasn’t very large, I figured it was about 5 feet in length and 4 feet tall. The exact measurements weren’t indicated. It looked like the apostles were visiting Mary in a church where heavy draperies cascaded from the ceiling to the floor, light fixtures hung overhead, lit dimly and sculpted angels covered the church walls. There was a bit of damage to the structure. Some of the apostles were missing hands and objects but that didn’t take away from the wooden beauty. Instead this caused me to imagine what they may have held as they visited Mary for the last time. It also made me wonder what actually took place at such a ritual. Was it a private ceremony exclusively for the apostles or were there others perhaps seated in the church pews? It appears as if one apostle may have held a candle, another looked like he was pouring oil or holy water perhaps to rub on Mary’s skin or on the cloth that shrouded her body. One apostle is kneeling in prayer, while another reads comforting scriptures from the Bible. Although Mary’s spirit was gone, it’s clear that they wanted to make sure that she was respectfully placed and seemed comfortable. The artist took great care in carving out the details of the soft, flowing robes, somber faces, and wall adornments. At certain angles the wood took on a look of marble or stone. It appeared very smooth.

I enjoyed my time at The Cloisters and would definitely visit again perhaps with family and friends. It is definitely one of Manhattan’s best, kept secrets and I recommend it highly. The museum takes you back in time and makes you forget about the city’s hustle and bustle. You can easily lose a few hours if you don’t keep track of time.

This week my children and I visited the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, CT. The museum was small but quaint. The Museum’s permanent collection is made up of approximately 5,000 works of American art. There are 680 oil paintings, 1,050 drawings, 860 graphics, 160 sculptures, 25 photographs, and 1,460 illustrations. The museum houses a children’s art lab and a beautiful café on the park. We enjoyed walking around taking in the different styles before I zoomed in on a piece.

The piece that caught my attention was the “The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001”, by Graydon Parrish. The mural caught my eye immediately. It is humongous oil painting, standing 8 feet tall by 18 feet long. The painting took four years to complete and is an allegorical representation of the September 11th tragedy. It is mind blowing to say the least and very tasteful. I couldn’t capture the entire mural, so I broke it down in photos from left to right, which is how the cycle reads.

Here's my interpretation. The beach is a symbol of Manhattan the island. The papers sprawled around on the sand represent the United States Consitution. I think that Graydon used children to represent the innocent passengers on the highjacked airplanes. They are blindfolded because they didn't know their fate. The twins obviously represent the towers. The man dying represents the many victims, and the women mourning represent the victim's families. I think that the women are naked to reflect lonliness. The older man, lying on the flower petals represents the survivors in the building and in the surrounding areas. He is masked and lying down because he was hurt and will continue to hurt as a result on the hazardous chemicals he inhaled in the air. He is holding a red ribbon which is tribute to lives lost. This red ribbon around the young girl's eyes is hiding her youth and innocence from the destruction that has passed. The Statue of Liberty looms in the background to remind us of America's freedom.

My first trip was to the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven, CT. It was my first time visiting the museum and I was really impressed. It isn’t a huge museum but does house great exhibits in African, Asian, Modern and Contemporary Art. I spent a few hours there, walking around and looking at the various pieces of art. I finally narrowed down my choices to one from their permanent collection. I chose the one that really caught my eye.

The piece I picked was called “Sleeping Children”. It is a sculpture created by William Henry Rinehart in 1859. It was part of the museum’s American Art collection. The sculpture is contemporary and neo classical. When I first laid my eyes on it I thought that it was so beautiful and peaceful. After further research, I found that it was created as a gravesite marker. That kind of blew me away. The peacefulness of the piece symbolized death. Rinehart had created the piece in a time when the death of children was common. This was his rendition of the border between the sleep of life and the sleep of death.

The piece wasn’t very large in size, it measured 33.3 x 18 x 16 in. / 84.5 x 45.7 x 40.6 cm. It was carved out of white marble. As I approached the piece, what caught my attention was the detail. The first thing that I observed was, the children. They looked to be about three or four years old. They looked to be at rest, undisturbed and unaware of their surroundings. It was very comforting. They looked angelic. The smooth white surface of the marble was shiny and almost iridescent. The children seemed so life like in appearance. Rinehart had done an excellent job in carving out their physical features. From their cherub faces, to the folds in the skin around the wrists, to the tendrils that cascaded onto the pillow, I thought that I was looking at real children. I loved the intimate way that they laid and the calmness he created. It led me to wonder if Rinehart had used models or pictures of children sleeping to help him achieve the result of the image. I also loved the details of the bed on which the children lay. It looked like a throne. Well I guess that it was a shrine. Anyway, the detail in the pillow was remarkable, I had to touch the pillow to remind myself that it was marble. It looked so soft and inviting. The sheets gave the final touch of carved perfection. Rhinehart had somehow captured the natural folds, drapes and tousles of the sheets making it appear like the kids were wrapped up snug.

I really enjoyed my museum experience and this particular piece of art. It caught my attention right away. I don’t really know what I noticed first but perhaps it was light reflecting off of the white marble that caught my attention. At first I was taken aback by the association of children and death but I couldn’t draw myself away from it literally. The more I took it in, the more questions began to flood my mind. I felt sorry for the children and their families. Who were they? Were they Americans? Why was death so common in 1859? Was it polio? The lack of proper healthcare and poverty must have been the reason for the deaths. My thoughts then turned to my own children and my family. How blessed we truly are to have food and healthcare resources. We complain about every little thing and we take so much for granted today, I went home and hugged them and thanked God for my angels. I also wondered how Rhinehart felt as he carved and sculptured away. How long did it take him to create the sculpture? Were the children his relatives? It’s amazing how much thought art can evoke in a person.

Schedule of Museum Trips

Week 2: Yale Art Gallery

Week 3: The Met, NYC

Week 4: New Britain Museum of American Art

Week 5: The Wadsworth Atheneum

Week 6: Yale Center for British Art

Week 7: Museum of Modern Art or Peabody??