Medieval Art and Architecture at the Met Cloisters

28 May 2017

Students recently finished a thematic unit, focusing on the practices, perspectives, and products of French people living in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Our studies culminated in a special field trip to the Met Cloisters: a unique museum overlooking the Hudson River in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.

We spent a lovely afternoon exploring the various gardens, open arcades, quadrangles, and walkways that originated in southern France. In particular, students were fascinated by the reconstructed cloisters from the following locations:

⚜️ L'abbaye de Bonnefont-en-Comminges, located 50 miles southwest of Toulouse;

⚜️ L'abbaye de Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, nestled in the Pyrénées about 55 miles east of the Principality of Andorra;

⚜️ and L'abbaye de Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, situated 25 miles northwest of Montpellier's urban center in the region of Occitanie.

Other highlights include illuminated manuscripts, ornate stained glass windows, and the Unicorn Tapestries.

For more information on the Met Cloisters, go to: http://metmuseum.org/visit/met-cloisters