The Cloisters museum collects artifacts, such as playing cards, plants, crosses, columns, arches, tapestries, stained glass, prayer books, and much more, from the Middle Ages. The tour guide provided in-depth details about the tomb of an effigy of Jean d’Alluye, the unicorn tapestries, and Romanesque and Gothic style architecture.
According to the tour guide, in the Middle Ages, the churches transformed from a Romanesque to a Gothic architectural style. The Cloisters featured an apse from a church with thick walls, round arches, and small windows to illustrate the Romanesque construction. Another exhibit illustrated an archway with biblical figures as well as two kings, which also demonstrated the typical Romanesque style. Conversely, the Gothic architectural style emerged with pointed
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According to the tour guide, during the Middle Ages, the tapestry industry flourished and approximately one-third of the population in Brussels participated in this business. Individuals used tapestries to demonstrate their wealth and prestige. The tapestries on display depict various scenes of a unicorn. One tapestry illustrates the unicorn purifying the drinking water, which has been poisoned by a snake, with his horn. In another tapestry, several men with spears surround the unicorn and attempt to attack it. A virgin woman tamed the unicorn in a different tapestry. A further tapestry shows the unicorn constrained by a chain and a fence surrounded by wild orchids and a pomegranate tree to indicate the animal’s tameness. The guide suggested that this themes of these tapestries are marriage, procreation, righteous, and tameness. Moreover, the guide suggested that these tapestries and the unicorn frequently symbolize Christ. Overall, I found this exhibit the most fascinating because the historical significance of unicorns and their horns is not widely
Another example of Christian iconography is The Transfiguration. It is located in the Church of Saint Catherine’s monaster...
The churches are built almost entirely of stone. Built on a symmetrical concept, they both have three portals as an entrance to the nave. Symmetrical towers rise several stories above the left and right portals. It is important for one to recognize that the stone ribbed vaulted ceilings were added on after the
I chose two cathedrals for my post, the Durham Cathedral and the Chartres Cathedral. The Durham Cathedral, my example of Romanesque architecture, was built from local sandstone in 1087-1133 CE (the east wing was replaced in 1242) and is currently located in Nothern England. The Gothic style structure, the Chartres Cathedral (also known as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame), was mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220 CE due to a fire causing it to be rebuilt. Assembled utilizing limestone, this colossal structure is currently located in France and is known for it’s strikingly beautiful stained-glass windows. These structures share a few similarities, like their ribbed groin vaults (the crossing segments on the ceiling of the hallways), the high-placed windows as well as their huge circular window that were added to provide light and a
The Unicorn Tapestries is a set of seven tapestries dated c. 1495-1505 from Brussels. They each hang at 12'1" x 8'3." They are Franco-Flemish work and are commonly referred to as The Hunt of the Unicorn. The Unicorn Tapestries are located at The Cloisters in Northern Manhattan. The seven tapestries in the series are The Start of the Hunt, The Unicorn is Found, The Unicorn Leaps out of the Stream, The Unicorn at Bay, The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn, The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Castle, and The Unicorn in Captivity. The tapestries serve as illustrations of the story of the main figure, the Unicorn.
This cathedral was built during the Medieval Period for the worshipers of God. To this day pilgrims come to see the pure, Gothic cathedral. The massive cathedral seems to loom overhead as if a symbol of God watching over the worshippers that visit. The earlier church burned in 1194, it was rebuilt and has gained a much more appreciated and admirable character distinction, statuary, and stained glass. The distinct character of the thirteenth century was captured, through the “Age of Faith” period. The architecture is Gothic which was very popular in the 1200s. Gothic architects created a frame of support with columns and arches so that the walls no longer need to support the ceilings, but are freed up to hold windows. The Gothic structure allows for plenty of windows. Chartres has a significant collection of medieval stained glass, with over 150 early thirteenth century windows. The windows allowed sunlight to enter the dark, Gothic cathedral in order to highlight the story of Christ through the stained glass windows told throughout history to pilgrims alike. These windows create a spiritual and promising place for thought and prayer. Stained glass was used to help teach the stories of Christ to people that were illiterate during the medieval times. While most worshippers of that day were illiterate, comprehending the symbolism of the story of Christ in each of the windows was vital and gave meaning towards adversity during the medieval ages, as they struggled through their dark and dreary lives, which were filled with hopefulness, while viewing the story through the stained glass windows. The windows are also...
In building the interior of this temple, it shows how the Romans brilliantly were able conceive the idea and realize the quality of spaciousness. While the Florence Cathedral incorporated some newer ideas that evolved allowing for better, lighter construction materials to be used that centered on the Gothic style, allowing for larger window construction which later allowed stained glass to be included and a better support system; the flying
Leniaud, Jean-Michel and Francoise Perrot. The Sainte Chapelle. Paris: Centre des monuments nationaux, 2007. Print .
Innocence plays quite a big role in the image of unicorns as they are often used in children’s shows and books based on this symbolism. Just think how many hours of shows you’ve had to sit through involving unicorns when your younger siblings refused to give you the remote. In conclusion, I hope you have all learnt a few facts about this mythical creature that seems to have become the new “craze” over the last year, but I do ask that you please refrain from attempting to turn any calves in to unicorns or try to break into any prehistoric fossil museums to make your own unicorn skeleton because you think it will go with the aesthetic of your room. We can only hope that one day someone will find a real-life unicorn, or something close to what it has been dreamed up to be, but until then, I guess we will just have to make do with our single-horned
Architecture in the Middle Ages in northern Europe was based on arches, such as the gable, buttress, and ribbed vault. These houses had roofs that were high and sloping, which were imperative in wetter climates of the north, and inspired the used of decorative elements such as stonework and brick, oriel and lancet windows, or weathervanes. Colonettes rose to these ceilings and eliminated the used of masonry walls, now leaving enough interior room and wall space for windows. Large windows were made of stained glass, in later years portraying religious figures, and the glow of light was said to symbolize “heavenly spiritual light.” These subjects soon passed as the sixteenth century approached with a more classical form of architecture. This style, full of symmetry, rounded arches, and columns, and lacking culture, branded medieval design “barbaric”. Now collectively called Victorian the architecture was made up of several main styles. These include Italianate, Second Empire, Stick-Eastlake, and Queen Anne.
The Gothic style evolved from that of Romanesque, building on concepts and ideas that led to the creation of larger and grander structures. Today, mankind looks in awe at the structures that were built hundreds of years ago without the assistance of modern technology and equipment. These architectural styles are indisputably different, but equally profound. They made use of differing techniques to become tangible structures that can still be seen
The Romanesque architecture style, which occurred during the late 11th century to the middle 12th century, literally means “roman-like” architecture. The Romans, who were inspired by the Etruscans, used barreled and groined vaulting. Romanesque architects later adapted the use of rounded arches, giving the style its name. The Romanesque style, being inspired by the Roman architecture, used the plan of the basilica style. Romanesque cathedrals were not originally designed for aesthetic purposes. Romanesque style replaced flat wood ceilings with stone vaulting. It was one of the first styles to use mainly all stone, but the walls of the Romanesque cathedrals were built very thickly. They were almost like a fortress. Romanesque cathedrals had few windows as a result of their thick walls so the churches were very dark. In a sense, this echoed the life that was outside of these sanctuaries’ walls during the Middle Ages.
A: There is more to tapestry than just a picture. Most people who study medieval tapestry have learned a lot about history. Each piece of tapestry tells a story or an event about the past. Tapestries show the relationships between other tapestries and relationships between people. From tapestry, we can learn life lessons and interesting facts about the medieval time (American Tapestry
The wooden carvings, stained glass windows and banners adorned with the crests of the Garter
The earlier designs of medieval architecture had features like pointed arches in the nave, window and doorways, small clusters of columns, pillars, small windows and thick walls. This was during the Romanesque period and a lot of the early Romanesque architecture had influence from the byzantine period, which was the previous time period of architecture.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Unicorn Is Found (from the Unicorn Tapestries). 2000-2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/70007564 (accessed Novemeber 30, 2011).