Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of ArtSince its installation in 1932, the Cloister Gallery has been the setting of group tours, University and Museum classes, weddings. and, of course, visits by thousands of families and individuals. The gallery's popularity is due in large part to its display of beautiful objects made in Europe during the Middle Ages. The gallery's most striking feature is its dramatic installation of three arcades from three long-demolished or abandoned buildings in southern France. Only a handful of American museums are fortunate enough to have such galleries. Responding to visitor demand, Richard H. Putney, professor of art history at the University of Toledo, was commissioned to write about Toledo's cloister arcades and some of the medieval art objects. His text covers essential aspects of style, chronology, and historical setting, but his central focus is on the relationship of some of the works of art in the collection to the people--churchmen, monks, noblemen, peasants, and artists--who made up medieval society |
Common terms and phrases
13th century Adalbero altar arch armor art and architecture Becket bishop Book Cover building Byzantine called carved cathedral century Champlevé Champlevé enamel chasse church churchmen Cloister Gallery color columns craftsmen cross Crucifixion death decorated depiction devoted display Dragon Early Medieval Edward Drummond Libbey Edward Grim embellished essential Eucharist example figures France Limoges Gallery's Gift of Edward honor human imagery important ivory Last Judgment late medieval later Middle Ages Libbey Endowment Limoges lives medieval art medieval artists medieval builders medieval Christian medieval society medieval world metalwork Middle Ages monastery monastic monks Museum of Art painting panel peasants Polyptych Pons prayer pronounced Purchased with funds R. W. Southern relics religious reliquary rock crystal Roman Empire Romanesque and Gothic sacred saints sculpted capitals secular sidebar spiritual St.-Michel-de-Cuxa St.-Pons St.-Pons-de-Thomières stained glass stone style symbolic Theophilus Thomas Becket Toledo Tomb Sculpture trans University Press York