Museum of Cluny displays newly acquired medieval artwork

The Museum of Cluny is one of the leading medieval museums in the world. Also known as the Musée national du Moyen Âge (the National Museum of the Middle Ages), and placed under the aegis of the French Commission of Historic Monuments and Patrimony, the museum covers the history of art from antiquity to the Renaissance. It has benefited from a host of donations, including figures of the Apostles and stained glass from the Sainte-Chapelle.

Now, the Museum of Cluny has opened a special exhibition to showcase 33 newly acquired artworks including paintings, sculptures, and figurines. According to the note published on Medievalists.net, many of these pieces are on display for the first time.

Minucchio da Siena, Rose d’or, 1330, H. 60 cm, musée de Cluny © Musée de Cluny

The Museum of Cluny is home to more than 24,000 works of art. It reopened earlier this year after going through extensive renovations. This new exhibition, Acquisitions récentes: 2017-2022, began on October 18 and will run until April 2, 2023.

The building hosting the museum is a rare example of Parisian medieval civil architecture. It was formerly the town house of the abbots of Cluny, and it was built after the Cluny order acquired the property as early as in 1340. Built by Pierre de Chaslus, the structure was rebuilt in the 15th century by Jacques d’Amboise, who was then the abbot in commendam of Cluny. As a result of these reforms, the building combines Gothic and Renaissance elements.

It was refashioned into a public museum in the mid-19th century, to preserve relics of France’s Gothic past.

For more details, you can visit the Museum’s website here.

Read more:Trove of medieval manuscripts found in a church in Romania

Read more:Rarely seen medieval manuscripts make it to a new Korean art fair