Spanning the 12th to early 16th centuries, Art and Nature in the Middle Ages explores the diverse modes of expression and variety of representations of nature in European medieval art, whether plant or animal, sacred or profane, real or imagined, highlighting the continuities and changes. The exhibition, featuring work from the Musée de Cluny, musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris, and on view exclusively at the DMA in the United States, presents more than 100 extraordinary objects, rarely before shown in the United States, that reflect the wide range of styles, techniques, and iconography that flourished during this period. The featured works of art—which include an astonishing array of media, from stained glass windows to illuminated manuscripts—emphasize the fundamental bond between humans and nature, and nature’s constant presence in the immediate environment and spiritual life of men and women in the Middle Ages.
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Art and Nature in the Middle Ages is made possible through generous loans from the collection of Musée de Cluny, musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris.
The exhibition is presented by Texas Instruments. Additional support is provided by the Marguerite and Robert Hoffman Operating Fund and the Robert Lehman Foundation.
Images: Aquamanile (water jug): unicorn, Lower Saxony, Germany, late 13th/early 14th century, bronze, Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes de Cluny, Cl. 2136 © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY Photo: Gérard Blot; The Seigniorial Life: Chivalry (Gallantry), southern Netherlands, c. 1520, wool and silk tapestry, Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes de Cluny, Cl.2179 © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY Photo: Franck Raux; Four-lobed reliquary: Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, Limoges, France, c. 1228–1230, champlevé enamel, Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes de Cluny, OA81 © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY Photo: Jean-Gilles Berizzi; White roses decoration, from the Franciscan Church in Colmar (?), Alsace, France, c. 1330 Ornamental stained glass, Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes de Cluny, Cl.13747k © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY Photo: Gérard Blot