Cloisters Apocalypse

Cloisters Apocalypse

Stylistically speaking, the manuscript appears to come from Normandy and furthermore, a dedication page at the end of the manuscript with a coat of arms that has been partially erased points to de Montigny family, a Norman noble house from Coutances. However, it is unique among early-14th century illuminated Apocalypse manuscripts from the region because it has an introductory image cycle from the childhood of Jesus and finishes with a series of images emphasizing John of Patmos’ personal connection with Jesus Christ. Although it is not known how, the manuscript came to Switzerland by 1368, possibly Zofingen Abbey in Aargau, and may have influenced German artists preparing to work on the famous Codex Manesse and thus represents an important link between the Channel School and the Gothic style of southern Germany. Over the next few centuries, the Cloisters Apocalypse passed through various private hands before it was acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1968.

A Softer Image of the Apocalypse

72 miniatures, including 4 full-page miniatures divided into two registers, gorgeously illustrate the events of the Book of Revelation. The full pages depict scenes from the life of Christ beginning with the Annunciation and ending with the Flight to Egypt and it is these introductory images full of pleasant scenes of domesticity that set the tone for the rest of the work. While the image program is very similar to the Lambeth Apocalypse, which originated ca. 50 years previously, the atmosphere in which the events are presented is totally different. Events in the Lambeth Apocalypse are terrifying: faces are contorted in horror, bodies are deformed and twisted in physical and psychological pain, and menacing monsters roar. The Cloisters Apocalypse, on the other hand, bears a closer resemblance to a contemporary bestiary and presents the events as though they were a natural part of history; even the grotesques and monsters appear more comical than terrifying.

The Manuscript Collection at The Cloisters

Also known as the Met Cloisters because they are a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters is a museum specializing in medieval European art and architecture. Located on four acres in Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park, the museum consists of elements from four medieval French cloisters that were taken apart, transported, and reconstructed according to the designs of architect Charles Collens and under the close, sometimes onerous management of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The museum opened in 1938 after decades of work.
Most of the collection of ca. 5,000 items consists of sculptures, statuary, paintings, tapestries, panel painting, altarpieces, and stained-glass windows but also includes a small selection of illuminated manuscripts that is nonetheless of the highest quality. Aside from the present Apocalypse manuscript, it includes the Belles Heures du Duc de Berry, the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, the Psalter of Bonne de Luxembourg, and a small book of hours attributed to Simon Bening that was acquired in a 2015.