The Cloisters

The Cuxa Cloister, mid-12th century French or Spanish Marble; 90 ft. x 78 ft. (2,743 x 2,377 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1925 (25.120.398, .399, .452,) The Benedictine monastery of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, located at the foot of Mount Canigou in the northeast Pyrenees, was founded in 878. In 1791, Cuxa's monks departed in the wake of the French Revolution, and much of the monastery's stonework was subsequently dispersed. The monastery's cloister, built during the twelfth century, originally measured some 156 by 128 feet, or approximately twice its current size at The Cloisters, much of whose architecture is modern. Like the ensemble from Saint-Guilhem, elements were purchased by George Grey Barnard and brought to the United States; part of the cloister survives at the monastery which, once again, houses a community of monks. The cloister was the heart of a monastery. By definition, it consists of a covered walkway surrounding a large open courtyard, with access to all other monastic buildings. Usually attached to the southern flank of the church, a cloister was at the same time passageway and processional walkway, a place for meditation and for reading aloud. At once serene and bustling, the cloister was also the site where the monks washed their clothes and themselves. The warm beauty of the native pink marble used at Cuxa harmonizes this cloister's many elements, such as the varied capital sculptures carved during different periods in its construction. Some of these are fashioned in the simplest of block forms, while others are intricately carved with scrolling leaves, pinecones, animals with two bodies and a common head (a special breed for the corners of capitals), lions devouring people or their own forelegs, or a mermaid holding her tail. While many of these motifs may derive from popular fables or depict the struggle between the forces of good and evil, the conveyance of meaning seems to have been less important for the Cuxa artists than the creation of powerful works capturing the energy and tension between the forms depicted. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/ViewOne.asp?item=25.120.398 , .399, .452,&dep=7

The Cuxa Cloister, mid-12th century French or Spanish Marble; 90 ft. x 78 ft. (2,743 x 2,377 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1925 (25.120.398, .399, .452,) The Benedictine monastery of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, located at the foot of Mount Canigou in the northeast Pyrenees, was founded in 878. In 1791, Cuxa's monks departed in the wake of the French Revolution, and much of the monastery's stonework was subsequently dispersed. The monastery's cloister, built during the twelfth century, originally measured some 156 by 128 feet, or approximately twice its current size at The Cloisters, much of whose architecture is modern. Like the ensemble from Saint-Guilhem, elements were purchased by George Grey Barnard and brought to the United States; part of the cloister survives at the monastery which, once again, houses a community of monks. The cloister was the heart of a monastery. By definition, it consists of a covered walkway surrounding a large open courtyard, with access to all other monastic buildings. Usually attached to the southern flank of the church, a cloister was at the same time passageway and processional walkway, a place for meditation and for reading aloud. At once serene and bustling, the cloister was also the site where the monks washed their clothes and themselves. The warm beauty of the native pink marble used at Cuxa harmonizes this cloister's many elements, such as the varied capital sculptures carved during different periods in its construction. Some of these are fashioned in the simplest of block forms, while others are intricately carved with scrolling leaves, pinecones, animals with two bodies and a common head (a special breed for the corners of capitals), lions devouring people or their own forelegs, or a mermaid holding her tail. While many of these motifs may derive from popular fables or depict the struggle between the forces of good and evil, the conveyance of meaning seems to have been less important for the Cuxa artists than the creation of powerful works capturing the energy and tension between the forms depicted. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/ViewOne.asp?item=25.120.398 , .399, .452,&dep=7

Pair of Doors with Hinges and Reinforcing Bands Wood, paint, and wrought iron France, Ile-de-France, 13th century Accession # 25.120.875. 876 Text from the Cloisters label.

Chapter House from Notre-Dame-de-Pontaut, 12th century French; Made in Pontaut, Gascony Limestone; Overall: 453 x 304 in. (1150.6 x 772.2 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1935 (35.50) "Whenever any important business has to be done in the monastery, let the Abbot call together the whole community and state the matter to be acted upon." So Saint Benedict began Chapter 3 of his "Rule for Monasteries." The chapter house was devised to facilitate such meetings. Usually located off the cloister, chapter houses, such as this example, were generally rectangular in shape and furnished with stone-hewn benches encircling the room. The abbot sat on a separate, often raised seat. The room was illuminated by windows on the rear wall, as well as by the arcades at the entrance. This view of the Pontaut Chapter House from Pontaut in southwest France shows the entrance from the cloister. Originally the interior walls were plastered and perhaps painted. (Some color can still be seen on the ribs of the vaults.) The decorations of the capitals and abacus blocks are imaginatively varied and include rosettes, palmettes, and basket-weave patterns as well as carvings representing pinecones. Like many other church buildings, the abbey of Pontaut suffered from changing political fortunes and neglect: it was partially destroyed in 1569 during the Wars of Religion and was abandoned by 1791 in the aftermath of the French Revolution. By the nineteenth century, the chapter house was being used as a stable, and it fell into a dilapidated condition until its purchase in the early 1930s. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/the_cl...

Chapter House from Notre-Dame-de-Pontaut, 12th century French; Made in Pontaut, Gascony Limestone; Overall: 453 x 304 in. (1150.6 x 772.2 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1935 (35.50) "Whenever any important business has to be done in the monastery, let the Abbot call together the whole community and state the matter to be acted upon." So Saint Benedict began Chapter 3 of his "Rule for Monasteries." The chapter house was devised to facilitate such meetings. Usually located off the cloister, chapter houses, such as this example, were generally rectangular in shape and furnished with stone-hewn benches encircling the room. The abbot sat on a separate, often raised seat. The room was illuminated by windows on the rear wall, as well as by the arcades at the entrance. This view of the Pontaut Chapter House from Pontaut in southwest France shows the entrance from the cloister. Originally the interior walls were plastered and perhaps painted. (Some color can still be seen on the ribs of the vaults.) The decorations of the capitals and abacus blocks are imaginatively varied and include rosettes, palmettes, and basket-weave patterns as well as carvings representing pinecones. Like many other church buildings, the abbey of Pontaut suffered from changing political fortunes and neglect: it was partially destroyed in 1569 during the Wars of Religion and was abandoned by 1791 in the aftermath of the French Revolution. By the nineteenth century, the chapter house was being used as a stable, and it fell into a dilapidated condition until its purchase in the early 1930s. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/the_cl...

Window with Grisaille Decoration Pot-metal and colorless glass, with silver stain and vitreous paint France, Normandy, Rouen, 1320-1330 Accession Numbers: 1984.199.1-.11; 48.183.2 The five panels assembled here come from at least four different lancets of the choir windows at Saint-Ouen at Rouen. They incorporate three different patterns of stylized leaves and tendrils, one with silver-stained blossoms, and three different strap work designs in four combinations. All are known to have originated in this glazing program. The botanical theme is continued in the border pattern and in three of the central bosses or fermaillets. The combination of grisaille, silver stain, and colored glass is typical of 14th century French stained glass. Text from the Cloisters label.

Window with Grisaille Decoration Pot-metal and colorless glass, with silver stain and vitreous paint France, Normandy, Rouen, 1320-1330 Accession Numbers: 1984.199.1-.11; 48.183.2 The five panels assembled here come from at least four different lancets of the choir windows at Saint-Ouen at Rouen. They incorporate three different patterns of stylized leaves and tendrils, one with silver-stained blossoms, and three different strap work designs in four combinations. All are known to have originated in this glazing program. The botanical theme is continued in the border pattern and in three of the central bosses or fermaillets. The combination of grisaille, silver stain, and colored glass is typical of 14th century French stained glass. Text from the Cloisters label.

Window with Grisaille Decoration Pot-metal and colorless glass, with silver stain and vitreous paint France, Normandy, Rouen, 1320-1330 Accession Numbers: 1984.199.1-.11; 48.183.2 The five panels assembled here come from at least four different lancets of the choir windows at Saint-Ouen at Rouen. They incorporate three different patterns of stylized leaves and tendrils, one with silver-stained blossoms, and three different strap work designs in four combinations. All are known to have originated in this glazing program. The botanical theme is continued in the border pattern and in three of the central bosses or fermaillets. The combination of grisaille, silver stain, and colored glass is typical of 14th century French stained glass. Text from the Cloisters label.

For the two panels above the single border panel: The Annunciation, ca. 1290–1300 German Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint; 1993.251.1: 29 1/8 x 28 3/4 in. (74 x 73 cm); 1993.251.2: 29 3/8 x 29 in. (74.6 x 73.7 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1993 (1993.251.1, .2) These panels once initiated a glazing cycle dedicated to the Life of Christ installed in the axial bay of the Altenberg convent church choir. The angel Gabriel [on the bottom left] holds a scroll inscribed "AVE• [MARIA] GR•A[TIA] • P LENA" ("Hail [Mary], full of grace"), and behind the dove of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin an inscription reads "ECCE• ANC •ILLA• I[ESU] • N[OSTRI]• D[OMINUS]" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"). The angular linearity of the painting style, with its bold slashing strokes, combined with the strong junctures of color, make these panels exceptional examples of German glass painting of the period. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=7&view... , .2

For the bottom two panels: The Annunciation, ca. 1290–1300 German Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint; 1993.251.1: 29 1/8 x 28 3/4 in. (74 x 73 cm); 1993.251.2: 29 3/8 x 29 in. (74.6 x 73.7 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1993 (1993.251.1, .2) These panels once initiated a glazing cycle dedicated to the Life of Christ installed in the axial bay of the Altenberg convent church choir. The angel Gabriel [on the bottom left] holds a scroll inscribed "AVE• [MARIA] GR•A[TIA] • P LENA" ("Hail [Mary], full of grace"), and behind the dove of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin an inscription reads "ECCE• ANC •ILLA• I[ESU] • N[OSTRI]• D[OMINUS]" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"). The angular linearity of the painting style, with its bold slashing strokes, combined with the strong junctures of color, make these panels exceptional examples of German glass painting of the period. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=7&view... , .2

The Annunciation, ca. 1290–1300 German Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint; 1993.251.1: 29 1/8 x 28 3/4 in. (74 x 73 cm); 1993.251.2: 29 3/8 x 29 in. (74.6 x 73.7 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1993 (1993.251.1, .2) These panels once initiated a glazing cycle dedicated to the Life of Christ installed in the axial bay of the Altenberg convent church choir. The angel Gabriel [on the bottom left] holds a scroll inscribed "AVE• [MARIA] GR•A[TIA] • P LENA" ("Hail [Mary], full of grace"), and behind the dove of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin an inscription reads "ECCE• ANC •ILLA• I[ESU] • N[OSTRI]• D[OMINUS]" ("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"). The angular linearity of the painting style, with its bold slashing strokes, combined with the strong junctures of color, make these panels exceptional examples of German glass painting of the period. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=7&view... , .2

Theodosius Arrives at Ephesus (Scene from the Legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus), 1200–1205 French; Made in Rouen Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint; 25 x 28 1/8 in. (63.5 x 71.5 cm) The Cloisters Collection, 1980 (1980.263.4) According to their legend, seven noble retainers of the Roman emperor Decius were converted to Christianity and refused to perform pagan rites. To escape persecution, the seven hid in a cave and prayed for deliverance. God answered their prayers by putting them into a deep sleep just as imperial soldiers discovered the hiding place and sealed the cave with a huge stone. Two centuries later, during the reign of Theodosius II, a shepherd removed the stone to use it as building material, and one of the sleepers, Malchus, ventured forth to buy bread. After he tried to pay the baker with an ancient coin, he was brought before the prefect and the bishop, who, although skeptical at first, realized when they arrived at the cave that they were witnessing a miraculous resurrection. Hearing the news, Theodosius traveled to the cave to venerate the seven, but after talking to the emperor, they once again fell into a deep sleep. Despite the popularity of the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus during the Middle Ages, its appearance as a theme in French stained glass is highly unusual; no other extensive cycles predate the glass from the nave of the Cathedral of Rouen. The attribution of the Seven Sleepers series to the Cathedral of Rouen is based on its similarity to a window devoted to Saint John the Evangelist still found in the cathedral's nave. Both share a light, bright palette of unusual colors. The expressive, boldly silhouetted figures and the dramatic narrative make these windows among the finest of the period, rivaling the stained glass at the cathedrals of Chartres and Bourges. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_art/ViewOne.asp?item=1980.263....

Two Sections of a Border Pot-metal glass and vitreous paint France, Picardy-Champagne, Braine or Reims, about 1185-1205 From either the abbey church of Saint-Yved or the abbey church of Saint-Remi Accession # 1978.408.1, 2 Text from the Cloisters label.