The Cloisters - 2/15/09

My last museum experience was a visit to the Cloisters, the upper Manhattan branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated solely to the exhibition of medieval art. What a fantastic place!

Originally a formal military fort, the Cloisters is at the top of Fort Tryon Park and overlooks the Hudson River. The museum looks like a castle inside and out and I found it hard to believe that this building was originally used by the military. I had always though that the Cloisters was originally built as it stands today, but my visit allowed me to learn that many architectural aspects of the Cloisters were actually portions of medieval ruins dismantled in their home country, pieced back together and incorporated into the museum. When you look closely at the various room portals (doorways) one can see that the materials of the walls and the doorways don’t exactly match up but the seamless method in which the structures were installed requires a conscientious eye to spot the slight differences.

I was hard pressed to choose one piece in the Cloisters on which to base my paper. I have settled on reviewing two pieces that I have a fondness for. The first is a 16^th century brass lectern. I was not able to get a shot of the information card so I cannot say what country this piece is from, but I would assume that it would be from a poorer country as it is made out of brass and not some other more expensive type of metal.

The eagle that forms the center of the lectern is said to be Saint John’s eagle, one of the four evangelists. In addition to the huge eagle, the lectern has been designed to look like tree branches supporting the raptor.

Three lion statuettes work as feet for the piece and there are several statues of humans installed at different heights and levels of the lectern’s core which resembles a cathedral tower. The reason why this piece caught my eye was the simple fact that it was made of brass. I collect brass pieces, so that would be a good excuse, but the real thought that crossed my mind was the idea that this lectern wasn’t the overdone and lavish gold covered religious pieces that I was used to seeing – it was brass. A simple metal that is easy to mold, brass looks for all-the-world like gold from afar. I liked the fact that a simple artisan had the same thought and strayed from building the normal wooden or stone lectern.

The second piece that I really liked is a simple late 15th century German carving of Mary Magdalene, or the Magdalene.

Everyone has heard of Mary, whether it be in the form of the prostitute-turned-saint or that of the wife of Jesus. I did not see this statue until after I had read the DaVinci Code and had I, it would not have held for me the same feelings that it does now. The DaVinci Code story (and its non-fictional predecessor Holy Blood, Holy Grail) holds that Mary Magdalene was pregnant with Jesus’ child and after his death fled to Europe where Jesus’ child lived to carry on the blood line of Christ, a theory defiantly denied by the Catholic Church. Now being the research driven person that I am, I began on my own little quest to find the Magdalene hidden in religious art. I have found many a portrait of the “Virgin and Child” or “Mary and Child” that do not reveal the actual sex of the baby. Could these paintings actually be of Mary Magdalene and her child instead of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus? Your guess is as good as mine, but the fact remains that there is much about Mary Magdalene that needs to be revealed.

I liked this statue of the Magdalene because of its flowing simplicity. Mary’s hair curls down to her robes which wrap around her body in a singular direction.

The fact that she is holding a jar (possibly the alabaster jar) is not wasted on this viewer. If one reads enough of the DaVinci Code or Holy Blood, Holy Grail the jar’s illusion to the Holy Grail is immensely apparent. Am I just another DaVinci Code freak or am I on to something? I urge you to look closely at the details of any religious painting or sculpture of “Mary” that you see in the future and ask yourself the same question: “Who is Mary?”

I immensely enjoyed my museum experiences and can easily say that this was one of the best classes that I have ever taken! My appreciation of art and the museums that care for the pieces has grown 100-fold and I will not be the same person for it – I will be better. Thank you!