France Photos: Paris: Musée d'art médiéval de Cluny

Paris: Musée d'art médiéval de Cluny

(vero;2021-Dec-15)

The Museum of Cluny is a museum of medieval arts and crafts housed in the Hôtel de Cluny, a Gothic mansion built in 1485 as the town residence of the abbots of Cluny which incorporated the ancient Roman thermal baths of Lutetia. It was acquired in 1832 by Alexandre du Sommerard, a noted archeologist and art collector to house his ever growing collection of medieval and renaissance art. Upon his death in 1842, the collection was purchased by the French state and the building was opened as a museum in 1843, with Sommerard's son serving as its first curator.

The collection was reorganised in the early 1950s to present a coherent history of medieval civilisation and includes gold- and silver work, stained glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles, and everyday articles. It is currently closed and undergoing major renovations in order to solve accessibility issues and to make the museum fit for the 21st century. Re-opening is scheduled for Spring 2022. We highly recommend a visit, Cluny is one of our favourite museums in Paris. It is located in the Quartier Latin between Boulevard Saint-Michel and Boulevard Saint-Germain, click here for practical information on (re-)opening times and prices.

And now: Take a walk through the museum and see a selection of works which caught our attention. Or go straight to one of the most famous exhibits of the museum: The Tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn

Take a walk through the museum

Ivory plate showing the crowning of the Virgin.

Detail of the middle part of a tryptic named Heavenly Concert (1st quarter of the 16th century) - Around the Virgin and Child and among angels are gathered Saint John the Baptist (with the lamb), Saint Anthony (with the book) and Saint Job the patron saint of musicians (in the right bottom corner).

Detail of the right part of the same tryptic as in the previous picture featuring an angel blowing into a chalemie (ancestor of the oboe).

Tapestry from the 1st quarter of the 16th century depicting Arithmetic, one of the seven liberal arts and, among these, one of the four mathematical "arts", along with Geometry, Astronomy and Music. It is personified by a young woman, surrounded by elegantly dressed young people, counting tokens in her right hand and holding a book covered with numbers in her left hand.

Two of several stained-glass windows from the early 14th century dedicated to the apostles. Saved from a cloister now demolished, they came most probably from the old royal castle of Rouen on which site the cloister had been built. Saint Peter sits on the left with his key and Saint James the Great on the right with his scallop shells, pilgrim stick and hat.

Stained-glass window picturing the blinding of Samson by the Philistines - Samson was a mighty warrior and judge of Israel, renowned for the prodigious strength that he derived from his uncut hair. He was bound by birth to serving the God of Israel and keeping a lifelong vow of abstinence from drinking wine, cutting his hair, or coming into contact with a dead body. A vow difficult to keep, as he fought violent wars against the Philistines to fulfil his service to his God, all the while leading quite a dissipated life. He eventually fell victim to his foes through his love of Delilah, a Philistine woman, who beguiled him into telling her the secret of his strength and who betrayed him to her people. As he slept, Delilah had his hair cut; left powerless when he woke up, Samson was captured, blinded, and enslaved by the Philistines. But God was keeping an eye on him: as Samson's hair grew back, he regained his old strength and demolished the great Philistine temple of their god at Gaza, killing himself and the people inside in the process.

Stained-glass window depicting Joseph being sold as a slave by his brothers. Joseph was the last born of Jacob and his preferred child, so much that he bought him a very expensive coat which exacerbated the rancour and jealousy of his ten brothers. One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check whether his brothers and the flock were doing well. This was the opportunity the brothers had been waiting for: some of them plotted to kill him, throw him into a water tank and pretend that he had been attacked by a wild beast. But Ruben, the eldest brother intervened and convinced the others to refrain from killing Joseph and sullying their hands with his blood: throwing him into a cistern and letting him die there would suffice (he hoped to go back and save him later). As soon as Joseph had joined his brothers, they stripped him of his great coat, seized him and threw him into an empty cistern. Then they sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a desert caravan led by Ishmaelites on its way to Egypt. Then Judah (the third born) said to his brothers, "What good will it do us to kill our brother and conceal his death? Let us rather sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." You can read about the story of Joseph in this Wikipedia article (spoiler: it ends well!).

Statue of Adam from the middle of the 13th century - This statue comes from Notre-Dame de Paris and was originally paired with a statue of Eve which has disappeared. This representation of a naked man following the aesthetics of the Antiquity is very rare in a church. Adam was displaced after the Revolution and his legs and arms were broken during the 19th century. During the restoration of the statue, the forbidden fruit he was probably holding in his hand and which was lost has been replaced by a blessing gesture.

Resurrection of the Dead (2nd quarter of the 13th century) - These sculptures belong to the two lintels that supported the tympanum of the central portal of Notre-Dame de Paris. The theme is the Last Judgement. Angels are blowing their trumpets on the right side and you can see a Dead coming out of his tomb on the left side. The two fragments in the middle show two damned people below and a chosen one above.

Heads of the Kings of Judah - Second quarter of the 13th century. The twenty-eight monumental statues of the kings of Judah that dominated the western facade of Notre-Dame de Paris were removed and destroyed during the French Revolution. They were lost until 1977, when twenty-one of them were discovered during works in the courtyard of a private mansion in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

I like this picture, although I do not know whose tombstone it is. One thing though: whoever he was, he probably went straight to Heaven…

Capital with acanthus decoration - This capital comes from the abbey of Saint-Denis (patron saint of France) which was founded by King Dagobert (reign from 629 to 639). For twelve centuries, except for a few kings of the Merovingian (500—751) and Capetian (987—1328) dynasties, the abbey church turned basilica served as a necropolis for the French Royalty and their close family.

Priest of Serapis known as Julian the Apostate - This Roman statue was found in Paris in the 19th century. Based on the observation of some coinage on which he appears bearded and crowned as on the statue, and on the fact that he liked to dress up and lived for a time in Lutetia, this statue has first been thought to represent the emperor Julian the Apostate (331-363 AD). However, recent research has linked the work to the reign of Hadrian (76-138 AD), so that after all we do not know who this priest was.

Detail of the Bas-Relief of Saint Pantaléon (3rd quarter of the 13th century). Pantaléon (c.275-305 AD) was a physician at the court of Emperor Maximian. Highly regarded for his knowledge and skills, he converted to Christianity, opposed the priests of Aesculapius and began treating the sick in the name of Christ. But although he was very popular with the people, he was denounced, tried and sentenced to death. He escaped six attempts at execution, but as he refused to renounce his faith, he was tortured for a long time and finally beheaded. Pantaleon was mostly venerated in the East; in the Middle Ages he came to be regarded as the patron saint of physicians and midwives. Some of his relics are kept in the abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris.

Ivory plate showing the Crucifixion (1st quarter of the 11th century) - The composition is structured by a large cross on which Christ is depicted clothed which is quite rare. The arms of the cross are extended by representations of the sun and the moon in medallions. Below on the left, the Virgin Mary and Saint John watch the crucifixion. On the right, the holy women are greeted at the tomb by an angel who tells them that Christ has risen. Above the arms of the cross, the story continues on the right with the Ascension, the end of Christ's earthly life, and on the left with the return of Christ's reign, enthroned and surrounded by the symbols of the evangelists.

Ivory Crosier (mid 12th century) - Upper part of a pastoral staff carved in two different ivories: walrus for the scroll of the crosier and hippopotamus for the knot (probably a modern addition). The scroll, which ends in a not very threatening dragon's head is decorated with a scroll of foliage, with a lion on the side shown and an eagle on the other.

Small ornate column from the abbey of Saint-Denis.

Ivory composition showing Christ bearing his cross on the lower level and damned souls having a really bad time in Hell on the upper level.

Ivory case called Attack on the Castle of Love (1st Quarter of the 14th century) - This case represents a series of scenes related to courtly love. On the lid, the attack on the castle is depicted allegorically: the ladies shoot flowers as arrows, while a tournament depicts the battle of love.

Detail of the altarpiece of Saint Romain de Blaye (3rd quarter 13th century) - This stone altarpiece comes from the abbey of Saint-Denis illustrating the life of Saint Romain de Blaye, one of the evangelisers of Aquitaine in the 4th century and whose relics were presented in a chapel in the chevet of the abbey church. Two episodes from the life of Saint Romain de Blaye frame the Baptism of Christ depicted in the centre. Not on the picture but on the left side the saint receives help from Saint Martin (the character with a hood over his head) in his fight against the idols; on the right, we can just see Saint Martin (again hooded) witnessing the death of Saint Romain at his bedside.

Detail of a character on the altarpiece of Saint-Germer de Fly dedicated to the Crucifixion of Christ (13th century).

Keystone with vegetal decor from the abbey of Saint-Denis.

Tapestry showing a beautiful lady among a hunting scene. Is she keeping track of the killed animals?

Detail of a stained-glass window from the chapel of the Hôtel of Cluny picturing Christ bearing his cross (1st quarter of 16th century).

Stained-glass window showing the coat of arms of the Müllenheim family.

A very beautiful and delicate wooden statue of Mary Magdalene (4th quarter of the 15th century).

Detail of the Pietà de Tarascon - 15th-century Provençal painting presenting the theme of the Pietà: the weeping Virgin carries the body of her son on her lap. She is surrounded by Saint John on the left and the Three Marys on the right (only two featured on this photo). In the foreground, Mary Magdalene is embalming the body at the feet of Christ.

Detail of a wooden composition of the Holy Family (1st quarter of 16th century) showing Baby Jesus waking his father up.

Wooden statues of the Virgin and Saint John of Prato (2nd quarter of 13th century) - I like these two characters very much, how they express sorrow and compassion; they were part of a sculpted group representing the Deposition of the Cross and framed the main group of Christ taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Enamelled copper plaque showing The Crucifixion (Limoges workshop). The greens and blues are striking and the rendering quite delicate. The lower register shows two donors, a layman and a cleric with the coats of arms from France and Anjou. Inscriptions, now almost illegible accompany the figures, giving the name of the cleric, the name of the enameller, Nardon Pénicaud, and the date of the work, 1 April 1503.

Christ in Majesty (12th century) - This enamelled and gilded copper plate comes probably from the binding of a precious liturgical book. A powerful Christ in Majesty sits enthroned on a rainbow, blessing and holding the Book on a gold background. He is surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists: the lion of Saint Mark, the bull of Saint Luke, the eagle of Saint John and the angel of Saint Matthew. The heads of Christ, the angel and animals have been embossed on the copper plate.

This reliquary jewel was probably made in Prague in the mid-14th century. It was used to fasten the sides of a ceremonial garment. The relics it contained gave its bearer prestige and protection. The luxury of the materials and the care taken to make it suggest that it was an imperial commission. Set with precious stones and enriched with enamels, it bears the crowned eagle on a background of flames, the emblem of Bohemia.

This photo is a panorama: press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it. The picture shows only a small part of a set of twelve tapestries presenting in twenty-three scenes the life, martyrdom and post-mortem miracles of Étienne (Stephen in English), the first Christian martyr. It was commissioned by Bishop Jean III Baillet (1477-1513) of Auxerre, whose coat of arms appears on many occasions. You can see here details of the sixth tapestry relating the translation of the relics of Saint Stephen to Constantinople: a senator from Constantinople had died in Jerusalem and his wife had arrived to bring his body back home. The tapestry shows on the left how the Bishop of Jerusalem listens to the reading of the bill signed by the Emperor which the lady presented to him to back her request. The central scene represents the senator's wife and her retinue embarking with the sarcophagus of the one she believes to be her husband: but there had been a mix-up and inside were the relics of Saint Stephen… As a storm breaks out, Saint Stephen appears (on the left in the scene); on the right, demons flee and the storm abates. The last scene, on the right represents the arrival of the body of Saint Stephen in Constantinople. He is welcomed by the bishop Eusebius and his retinue.

Diptych of Consul Areobindus (506 AD) - This ivory plaque, the reverse side of which was used as a writing surface, is part of a diptych carved on the occasion of the election of the consul of Constantinople Areobindus in 506. It is typical of the Roman and Byzantine tradition of newly elected consuls offering such items to their most loyal supporters. Areobindus is standing in front of a podium, wearing his insignia and surrounded by assessors. With his right hand raised, he launches the games with the "mappa", a kind of cloth that was used to signal the beginning of the circus games. Below, but not on the photo, the games are depicted with gladiators fighting wild animals.

Back to the tapestry of Saint Étienne / Stephen, the first Christian martyr (see photo 35). The scene shows how Stephen's body is found: tried for blasphemy and killed by stoning (you can see three stones around his head), his body is laying in a field surrounded by animals (and a cute porcupine). People arrive from the right and one can just see in the top left of the picture how angels take his soul to Heaven.

Detail of a painting depicting the Jouvenel des Ursins family - The members of this opulent family are lined up displaying their armorial bearings. The family included a provost of the merchants of Paris, a president of the Parliament of Poitiers, two bishops and archbishops, and a royal chancellor. One of them, Jean, bishop of Beauvais and then of Reims presided over the rehabilitation trial of Joan of Arc in 1456. Among the ladies depicted on the painting are a widow, two nuns, and two married women recognisable by their horned headdresses. This painting was located in the family chapel located in the choir of Notre-Dame de Paris. It is one of the few examples of Parisian painting in the middle of the 15th century.

The Chess Players (15th century) - This panel of civil stained-glass comes from the Hôtel de la Bessée in Villefranche-sur-Saône. It shows a chess game which is also the codification of a love game; the lady seems to feign surprise at her distracted suitor.

Detail of a fireplace lintel from the city of Le Mans decorated with a frieze of ten figures in relief forming five couples. A central couple stands on either side of a shield hanging from a tree while the other couples exchange gifts according to the codes of courtly love, a bird as for the couple shown on our photo. All the figures are dressed in wide-sleeved houppelandes in the fashion of the 1400s.

Detail of the wooden altarpiece of the Passion of Champdeuil (1st half of the 16th century) - Our photo shows an episode of the Passion, when Veronica gives Jesus her veil so that he can wipe the sweat from his forehead as he carries his cross to the Calvary. When he returns the veil to Veronica, the image of his face is miraculously captured on it. The resulting relic became known as the Veil of Veronica.

The Presentation at the Temple. Marble sculpture dating from the second half of the 14th century.

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The Tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn

The Tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn is a set of six hangings which have been woven in Flanders in the 15th century and have been designed around a representation of the five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight, plus one: inscribed "my only desire", a motto framed by the initials A and I, maybe referring to the ones of the couple who commissioned the work: Antoine and Jacqueline Le Viste. The beautiful red colour, the luxuriance of their flowery background and a similar composition for each set ensure a sense of peace and harmony. On a large dark-green oval, a lady, elegant, adorned with jewels and often assisted by a noble maiden, stands solemnly between a lion and a unicorn both carrying banners or shields. Each group is framed by trees, the ground on which they stand is planted with flowers, and the red backgrounds are scattered with flowering plants and animals.

What makes this tapestry even more special is the mystery surrounding it. Nobody knows in which sequence it should be shown and the sixth piece's meaning and symbolism is subject to much debate. Two interpretations stick out:

The first is based on the Platonic conception according to which, in order to reach knowledge, the supreme state of his condition, man has five senses leading to a sixth called the understanding, the intellect. In Plato's view, the five senses are guided by desire, an organising power aimed at seeking the perfectibility of things in order to attain knowledge and truth. Thus, in each of the other tapestries, the senses participate in the acquisition of knowledge.
The second, which is based on the treaty "Morality of the Heart and the Five Senses" by Jean de Gerson (1402), equates the sixth sense with the heart, being at the top of a hierarchy of senses described in medieval literature, ranging from the most material (touch) to the spiritual. Unlike the other organs, which give rise to a sensitive experience of the external world, the heart is said to be an internal sense that allows one to refocus on the self. The tent could represent this interiority.

If you can read French, we recommend this article from the Connaissance des Arts magazine which gives insight on the symbolism of the various elements of the tapestry. You can also check this automated translation.

Touch - According to medieval beliefs, the unicorn can only be tamed by a young virgin. To evoke touch, the lady touches the horn of the animal while holding the staff of a banner with her other hand. An intriguing detail is that the small animals in the tapestry all wear collars and harnesses with iron rings; a way perhaps of associating this most material and earthly of the senses with the notion of possession. For he who lets himself be touched gives himself and abandons himself. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Taste - The lady picks out individual sweets from a precious cup held by a maiden, and feeds them to a parakeet on her left hand. Sitting in the foreground a monkey with a mischievous grin brings a stolen treat to his mouth (not on our photo), while the little dog, impatient to be able to enjoy it too, waits for his turn at his mistress' feet. A particularly joyful and brilliant representation of taste. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Smell - A pretty maiden hands carnations from a tray to the lady who is making a crown of flowers. Absorbed in this meticulous task, the beautiful woman has not noticed the little monkey crouching behind her. The primate, a sympathetic assistant to the understanding of the message, smells the perfume of a rose that he has just stolen from a basket, thus mimicking the sense represented. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Hearing - To suggest hearing, the lady plays the organ by gracefully striking a keyboard. The maiden who accompanies her activates the bellows of the instrument beautifully decorated with gems, a lion and an unicorn sculpted on each side. A refinement undoubtedly in keeping with the delicacy of the melody, which the spectator can only imagine. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Sight - Linked to temptation and earthly pleasures, the senses are also seen by theologians as a means of understanding God's creation and elevating the soul. To represent sight, the highest sense according to the medieval hierarchy, the lady hands a precious mirror to a unicorn so that the animal can admire its reflection. At the same time, she tenderly lays her eyes on the creature, whose reflected image observes her in return. A perfect triangulation of looks. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

A beautiful lady in front of a tent. Has she just left it or is she about to enter it? Dressed in sumptuous finery worthy of a princess of courtly literature, the lady seems to have come straight out of a fairy tale. Elegant, chaste and refined, this beauty with a lily complexion, clear eyes and fine golden hair embodies the ideal woman according to medieval criteria. But what is she doing? Is she taking jewels out of the casket to wear? Or is she returning them in a gesture of renunciation? An enigmatic gesture that must be read in the light of the inscription "My only desire". But what desire is it? Could this tapestry represent an "inner" sense, a sixth sense that renounces all others for something more spiritual? Or could it be simply a commission for a wedding, dedicated to a future wife who by committing herself to a single being mourns the loss of her sensory freedom? Questions over questions… Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Detail of the tapestry dedicated to taste: the lady feeding her parakeet with a sugared almond.

On each tapestry, there is a lion (on this picture, the one from the tapestry of sight) accompanied by a unicorn (from the tapestry of taste) both carrying heraldic banners. Symbol of audacity, courage and nobility, the lion allows to embody a male presence - that of the sponsor or the future groom? - in this ensemble where men are physically absent. As for the unicorn, people in the Middle Ages believed in the existence of this now mythical animal. With a horse's body, a goat's head and legs, and a long twisted narwhal's tooth as a horn (whose powder would protect against poison), this magical animal described in Marco Polo's Book of Wonders (1298) is ambivalent. On the one hand it is a symbol of purity (it can only be approached by a young virgin), on the other hand its sexual connotation is proven in theological treatises. Here again both carnal and spiritual are set against each other. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Detail of the tapestry dedicated to desire: the pretty maiden holding the chest of jewels for her lady.

Detail of the tapestry dedicated to desire: the lady in front of the tent. Golden flames, emblems of the Holy Spirit, dot its precious blue fabric - a colour associated with the Virgin, nobility and spirituality. Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

Each scene takes place on a green island, itself placed on a background of a vibrant red gained from a plant, the Translated from Beaux Arts magazine.

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Go back to Limoges: The Enamel Collection in the Musée des Beaux-Arts or go on to Rennes: Musée des Beaux-Arts or go up to Museums

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Paris: Musée d'art médiéval de Cluny

Take a walk through the museum

The Tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn