Where Should I Go to See Some Art?

June 9, 2010 7:56 PM

I really love religious art from the 14th and 15th centuries. What is the best place in New York City to see some?

I'm headed to New York for a business trip next week, but I've got a little time to spare and I would love to see some art. My absolute favorite stuff is religious art from the 14th and 15th centuries. What is the best museum in New York to see art from this era? If it helps, I visited The Getty last year and loved what I saw.

posted by kate blank to Media & Arts (15 answers total)

Cloisters.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:57 PM on June 9, 2010

oinopaponton beat me to it. Everyone is going to tell you to go to the Cloisters Museum, because it has pretty much exactly what you're looking for. You should check it out.
posted by thebergfather at 7:59 PM on June 9, 2010

The Morgan Library has an Albrecht Dürer exhibit this summer but it's not that many drawings, depends how you feel about that sort of thing, Their online exhibit of Catherine of Cleves is really terrific.
posted by jessamyn at 8:00 PM on June 9, 2010

The Met itself has a nice collection of medieval art, and the setting is pretty impressive. Admission to the Cloisters gets you into the main museum (and vice versa).
posted by janerica at 8:14 PM on June 9, 2010

nthing the Cloisters.
posted by soy_renfield at 8:25 PM on June 9, 2010

Cloisters!
posted by dfriedman at 8:27 PM on June 9, 2010

It's called the Cloisters because the museum consists of five actual medieval cloisters, imported stone by stone from Europe. Your question could have been, "I really love religious art from the 14th and 15th centuries. What is the best place in the World to see some?" and the answer still would have been the Cloisters. When you go, please say hello to the Campin Triptych for me.
posted by hhc5 at 9:00 PM on June 9, 2010

Cloisters for a full immersion in pre-Renaissance western European art (including the brilliant Unicorn Tapestries. And then hit the Met for the rest of it if you still have the energy.

Note - getting to the Met from the Cloisters is a bit of a drag with public transit - your best bet is to hop the A/C train downtown - make sure you're on the C by the time you get to 125th - and get out at 86st street. From there, catch a crosstown M86 across the park (or have a lovely 30 minute walk instead) to get to the Met.

Oh, and an awesome article about mathematicians, photo stitching, and the unicorn tapestries.
posted by swngnmonk at 9:05 PM on June 9, 2010

If you don't have time to get to the Cloisters, the Met's general collection has a lot that's very good, including one of my very favorite pieces, The Altar Triptych of Saint Godelieve.
posted by Sara Anne at 9:28 PM on June 9, 2010

Has anyone mentioned the Cloisters yet?
posted by IAmBroom at 10:50 PM on June 9, 2010

The walk from the subway to the Cloisters is more like ten minutes, and it's a pleasure if the weather is fine. The Met has some good medieval art as well, but it's hard to limit yourself to just that.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 11:37 PM on June 9, 2010

Your question could have been, "I really love religious art from the 14th and 15th centuries. What is the best place in the World to see some?" and the answer still would have been the Cloisters.

Well, it would be 2nd after the Uffici.
posted by atrazine at 4:39 AM on June 10, 2010

Fordham has a Guide to Medieval New York.
posted by rustcellar at 5:31 AM on June 10, 2010

I saw some triptychs at The Frick.
posted by motsque at 6:47 AM on June 10, 2010

Thank you so much for all the replies! I will definitely be heading to the Cloisters.
posted by kate blank at 7:16 AM on June 10, 2010