Sensing the power and influence behind each exhibit

by Renata Crespo

A few weeks ago, my whole class visited The Cloisters, and it was very impressive. During our trip to the 190th stop on the A line, my husband and I had an animated conversation with a new colleague from China; that was his first day in the class. In the beginning, he was a little quiet, but as we were interested in knowing more about his country, he had to talk a lot to answer all our questions, and we learned a lot about his country.

When we arrived, we walked through Fort Tryon Park, which was very close to the metro station. I enjoyed that park very much, with its breathtaking view of the Hudson River, tall trees, flowers and calm. There I met a cute squirrel up close; he was looking at us waiting for some food. It was so lovely!

After a while, we could finally see the museum; it was like a big castle behind the trees. Visiting The Cloisters was an amazing experience. Not only because of the stained glass windows, tapestries or art objects, but also because the whole building itself was an artwork to be appreciated. My husband and I followed the guided tour given by the museum, and it was entertaining. We listened to interesting stories about the pieces and explanations about the life of monks in a monastery.

On our way back, my husband and I were talking about our experience. We were very impressed by the power of money that could afford each stone and portal of that construction, as everything had come from Europe. With money, Americans could import a piece of European history, and today it's very useful for teaching their kids about the Middle Ages and its monasteries and cloisters. This dark era so far and so different from America can now be felt and experienced by their sons because of The Cloisters.