Museum Monday: Musée de Cluny

Medieval Masterpieces in an Abbot’s Mansion

(4 min read) France’s premier medieval museum showcases a millennium of treasures within the unique setting of a Gothic mansion built atop ancient Roman baths.

1. A gallery with late 15th and early 16th century artifacts.

Overview

Recently renovated — it reopened in 2022 — France's “National Museum of the Middle Ages” houses perhaps the world's finest collection of medieval art and artifacts. Even better, it is displayed within the extraordinary architectural ensemble of the 15th century Hôtel de Cluny (built for the abbot of Cluny Abbey), adjoining 2nd-century Roman bath ruins, and a contemporary extension completed during the renovation.

2. Looking up into a courtyard at the Hotel de Cluny, built by the abbot of Cluny from 1485-1510.

Entrance to the museum is through the modern extension, with galleries flowing in rough chronological sequence both architecturally and thematically. The journey begins in the impressive Roman baths with ancient and Byzantine-era pieces, progresses through Romanesque works, and culminates with late Gothic and early Renaissance masterpieces.

3. Romanesque-era artifacts in a part of of the Roman baths.

4. Heads of the Kings of Judah from Notre Dame de Paris, c1200-1220.

My photos are largely sequenced chronologically, with descriptions of the galleries and artworks in the captions. Six additional Notes in the “Art in Detail” section below focus on specific pieces or displays from the museum.

5. The jambs and archivolts of a Last Judgement portal from c1200-1220, installed as an entry into one of the Roman bath rooms.

6. Original apostles and stained glass from St-Chapelle, mid 13th century.

7. Apostles in stained glass from the royal castle of Rouen, c1270-1300.

8. Vault bosses from the Cluny College, c1269-75.

9. Arms and related artifacts.

10. The ceiling of the mansion’s late Gothic chapel; see “Art in Detail” below for more photos of the chapel.

11. Part of a cycle of tapestries of the life of St Stephen above (c1500), with late 15th C choir stalls below, and other art and artifacts scattered about.

I skipped one gallery in my arrangement above, and that is the penultimate one (if I recall correctly), dedicated solely to the museum’s most famous treasure — the six-part tapestry set known as “The Lady and the Unicorn” (figure 12).

12. Four of the six “The Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries.

I include some very small details of the tapestries in one of my Notes embedded below, and was thinking of spending a little more time with them here . . . but then I realized that they really deserve an entire post.

In fact, if you like both tapestries and unicorns — and think that tapestries about unicorn might be one of the coolest things you could lay your eyes on — let me know in the comments. Because I am strongly considering doing a three-part series which would culminate in detailed looks at three sets of unicorn tapestries: here, at the Met (NYC), and in Stirling Castle (Scotland).

But if you are interested in that, make sure to subscribe to The Gothic World, which is where I would post the series.

(NB: Subscribing to both The Gothic World and Both/And will result in occasional double emails when I cross post — I apologize in advance.)

Art in Detail

For a detailed look at some of the pieces here that I found particularly interesting or photogenic, check out these recent Substack Notes (presented in rough chronological order):

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Practical Information

Where: Paris, France (5th arrondisement)

My Visit: 27 November 2024

Best For: Lovers of medieval art and history.

Pro Tip: If you arrive when the museum opens and want to see the Lady & Unicorn tapestries in peace and quiet, don't follow the standard chronological route. Instead, start at the end — you'll pass through only one or two galleries before reaching the tapestry room. After absorbing their magical atmosphere, you can explore the rest of the galleries either in reverse chronological order (as I did) or by returning to the main entrance area.