The Early Gothic Hall at The Cloisters reopened in the Spring of 2006 after a five-year renovation. Completely refurbished 13th-century limestone windows and two dozen panels of newly conserved and reinstalled stained glass, primarily from the 13th- and 14th-centuries, are among the objects on view. Four recently acquired and exceptional examples of German stained glass from the late-13th century glazing program for the convent church in Altenberg-an-der-Lahn are reunited in this new installation. The renovation of the Early Gothic Hall also features construction of two new limestone apertures in an interior wall (for the display of grisaille glass windows) and new lighting. The display in this room constitutes the largest and most varied group of 13th- and 14th-century panels outside Europe. Also returned to view are more than a dozen important Gothic sculptures and paintings from the Museum’s permanent collection, including the lifesize Virgin from the choir screen of Strasbourg Cathedral (mid-13th century) and a recently acquired late 13th-century head also from the region of Strasbourg on the Upper Rhine. As a result of a new protective glazing program installed along the exterior wall, rare examples of Gothic stained glass are now illuminated by natural daylight, as they were originally meant to be seen.
]]>The American Folk Art Museum is home to the collection assembled over many decades by the Historical Society of Early American Decoration. The Society was founded in memory of Esther Stevens Brazer (1898–1945), a direct descendant of one of Maine’s pioneering families in the tin industry. The Society is dedicated to preserving the techniques of early American decoration in a variety of mediums through their own re-creation of historical forms and through the collection of original works, including decorated tin, furniture, and other objects, as well as stencils, tools, and ephemera related to the development of these arts in America. [Image: Boynton Shop "Apple Basket" (c. 1815–1835) Paint and metallic powders on asphaltum over tinplate]
]]>The Campin Room at The Cloisters, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, recently reopened to the public following an extensive renovation. The gallery houses Robert Campin’s Annunciation Triptych (known as the Merode Triptych), which has been one of the masterworks at The Cloisters for nearly half a century. The new installation highlights the phenomenon of late medieval private devotion. Two new wall cases allow the exhibition of devotional objects formerly seen in the Treasury, and two important 15th-century stained-glass panels—one representing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, the other the Virgin as the Mater Dolorosa—have been installed in the central windows. Acquired in 1998, these panels are on view at The Cloisters for the first time and contribute greatly to the private devotional theme. New, more discreet lighting has been installed and the gallery walls have been re-plastered to match the original color.
]]>Children ages 4 through 12 and their families are invited for an hour-long program at The Cloisters, the branch of the Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, located in upper Manhattan.
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