Mediaeval means church

Then just across the road to the Schnutgen Museum. I had described this collection to Megan as one of religious statuary so I was surprised to find Schnutgen described simply as a collection of mediaeval art for it was virtually all religious, through stained glass and religious robes and reliquaries and implements for masses and memories and ivory and bronze and mostly statues of saints and Mary and Jesus. None-the-less, the collection is impressive and worthy although I had seen it before and the gruesome aspects of mediaeval religiosity, in the days of short and painful lives, did grate. I was amused by the stutue of Jesus on a horse on wheels for a procession; slightly horrified and a little confused by a locked cell with skull from centuries later; taken aback by the modelled head of St John the Baptist on a plate and amused by the reappearance of St Denis (?) holding his skull and mitre. Otherwise just enjoying a connection with another era, for these are still people and products of their society as we all are; their society is just different.

The Schnutgen Museum of mediaeval history in in Cologne.

Middle age as early

Quiet Monday is over and it's down to some serious museum stops. First is the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne's museum of visual arts from 13th century. The art is on three levels of a modern building. First floor is mediaeval Durer, Cranach, various triptyches and altarpieces. I love this era for its ardent faith and apparent openness. Of course this is mostly a thing of wealth but it's attractive nonetheless. My discovery here was Stefan Lochner, renowned Cologne artist, especially his glorious Madonna. Interestingly the gallery claims to hold up to half of the art produced in this period, if I read right. And it was a significant art site influenced by Italy and the Netherlands. Then to the second floor for the Baroque and Tintoretto and Rubens and van Dyck and Rembrandt (another self portrait and another). And up another floor for more modernism leading to Renoir and Cezanne and Van Gogh. The whole gallery is laid out to tell a story over the ages and the labelling is excellent.

Then another hit of mediaeval art at the museum Schnutgen. This is a collection of mediaeval religious art located in in a reused old Church. Lots of old carved stone and timber and polychromatics and reliquaries and stained glass with that mediaeval faith and fear of the fall all and just a touch of clerical elitism. Again just my thing.