THE CLOISTERS
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Romanesque Abbey with garden, in a haven of peace and beauty near Manhattan, with famous manuscripts
The most French place in New York, in its history and architecture. The Cloisters includes five medieval French cloisters and exhibits treasures from the Middle Ages. The extraordinary destiny of these European Romanesque and Gothic fragments, recomposed into an American medieval ensemble, merges with the adventurous life of a New York sculptor and collector: George Grey Barnard. He travelled through France for ten years, in search of treasures that he bought from the farmers. In particular, he acquired the cloister of Saint-Michel de Cuxa, in the Pyrénées-Orientales: a tour de force. As a result, the French government had to pass a law in 1913 prohibiting the export of historic monuments. Barnard was able to bring hundreds of pieces back to America. The museum opened in 1938 thanks to the generosity of John Rockefeller Jr., who donated the entire collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Built on a tall wooded hill, Fort Tryon Park, which overlooks Harlem and the Hudson River, the site of this Romanesque abbey makes it one of New York's most endearing museums. In the garden of the cloister of Trie-en-Bigorre, we find the plants represented in the tapestries called "La Chasse à la Licorne". This extraordinary series, one of the masterpieces of medieval tapestry, is worth a visit to the museum. The place also houses famous manuscripts such as Les belles heures de Jean de France. A haven of peace and beauty, just a stone's throw from the city.
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