Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248,the Sainte-Chapelle is considered a high accomplishment because of the relative amount of stained glass. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns.
Although damaged during the French revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive collections of 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world.
The relics arrived in Paris in August 1239, carried from Venice by two Dominican friars. For the final stage of their journey they were carried by the King himself, barefoot and dressed as a penitent, a scene depicted in the Relics of the Passion window on the south side of the chapel.
The Sainte-Chapelle rises above the rooflines of the royal palace. Miniature by the Limbourg brothers, ca 1400
MUSEE CLUNY
Formerly Musée de Cluny, now it is officially known as the Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes et hôtel de Cluny ("National Museum of the Middle Ages – Cluny thermal baths and mansion") in Paris, France.
Among the principal holdings of the museum are the six The Lady and the Unicorn (La Dame à la licorne) tapestries.
And they are stunning.
The Lady and the Unicorn (French: La Dame à la licorne) is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders from wool and silk, from designs ("cartoons") drawn in Paris around 1500.[1] The set, on display in the Musée national du Moyen Âge(former Musée de Cluny) in Paris, is often considered one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages in Europe.
Five of the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses– taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. The sixth displays the words "À mon seul désir". The tapestry's meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding.
A very recent study deduced that the sponsor of the tapestry is Antoine II Le Viste (1470-1534), a descendant of the younger branch of the Le Viste family and an important figure at the court of Charles VIII, Louis XII and François I.
Hmmm, still doesn't explain why.
The tapestries are considered an important link between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Locks of love on the Paris bridge.
Scenery along the Seine.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the pretty picture.
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