Musée de Cluny

Hot take: I didn’t care for the Cluny. Everyone else was talking about how it was the best museum, and it was so incredible, and while I did enjoy it, I thought it was just fine.

Medieval art is mildly interesting, but not really for me. I enjoy medieval art for the silly little guys and weird creatures they draw, and there was a severe lack of that here. It was focused heavily on medieval Catholicism. The stained glass was okay, but we’ve seen better elsewhere (church photo compilation coming soon). There were many reliquaries, including one that supposedly contained Jesus’s umbilical cord. “The Lady and The Unicorn” tapestries were gorgeous, but I disappointed myself by thinking we were going to see “The Unicorn Rests in a Garden” (which is in the Met, so that’s going on my list the next time I’m there).

Throughout the museum, there were contemporary art pieces created in response to or inspired by the medieval art. I think this is one of my favorite ways museums and artists can connect historical pieces to modern audiences. My favorite was, of course, this little guy, inspired by all the little creatures of medieval art, and representative of themes of dance and music.

Another artist had created a series of Magic: The Gathering cards inspired by different themes prevalent in the museum. While I don’t know much about Magic, outside of what I’ve picked up from my brother, it was still fun to see the influences of medieval art and history on modern games and how the two can be connected.

My favorite part of the museum was, unsurprisingly, not medieval at all. Part of the museum is built on the Ancient Roman baths from the early days of Paris’ settlement. It’s absolutely incredible to me that something that old has survived this long. I wish we could have seen more of the baths, but most of the areas were closed to the public.

Overall, it was a perfectly fine museum, especially if you do enjoy medieval catholic art.