The Magical Musee de Cluny
Be sure to visit this wonderful museum if you are in Paris.
Imagine having a one-day museum pass in Paris, a city redolent with history and with over 100 museums, all worth visiting. This is the dilemma with which faced my friend and I on our four day stay in Paris.
Which to choose? One day is not enough to explore any museum in Paris fully, let alone a few of them. However, we decided that the best idea was to leave one day aside wholly for visiting museums. As we had seen Paris’ famous, large museums — the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay — we wanted to see a smaller, more unusual museum. I had read about the tapestry, The Lady and the Unicorn, so we decided to visit this historical collection and see it for ourselves.
The ancient convent, built of wood and stone, of the Abbots of Cluny, dating from the fifteenth century, provides the perfect setting for the medieval treasures contained within. The museum was constructed over the remains of Roman baths which are nearly 2000 years old, once used by the Roman emperors when they invaded in the second and third centuries. It is still possible in this almost eerie atmosphere to imagine the monks praying in this haven in the centre of a busy Paris. The Musee de Cluny provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of medieval France.
We enjoyed our visit to this fascinating collection of objets d’art from the Middle Ages best of all the museums we entered. Here we saw intricately carved altarpieces, exquisite jewelry, armour used by knights of old and delicately woven tapestries. Grim faces from medieval paintings stared up at us on the first floor. I especially liked the room full of delicately designed, ornate crosses of all different shapes and sizes on the second floor, many encrusted with jewellery. Some of the highlights include the stunning stained-glass panels from Sainte-Chapelle, the beautiful Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and the 21 sculpted heads of the Kings of Judea in the Roman part of the museum.
One of a series of Franco-Flemish tapestries dating from the 16th century, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are the centerpiece of the museum. Woven of silk and wool with silver threads and in gorgeous colors of red and blue, each tapestry depicts one of the five senses. These tapestries are famous for their realistic detail — the aristocratic and aloof Lady dressed in her exquisite clothes surrounded by her servants, and enjoying a peaceful, sunny day in a garden full of flowers — provides a glimpse into the age of chivalry and courtly love. The pure white unicorn, at once the symbol of holiness, chastity and lovers, adds a touch of fantasy to the aristocratic setting.
No visit to the museum is complete without a walk in the medieval gardens which were inspired by the famous tapestry and are filled with flowers and sweet-smelling herbs.
One could spend all day gazing at this exquisite tapestry, reminiscent of a more peaceful and romantic time.
