We went to the Musee de Cluny today to escape the heat. The site was originally Roman baths and then later an abbey — a somewhat odd juxtaposition. I could still smell the wet presence of the baths which make the museum all the more cool and lovely inside.
I visited Meeta in Oxford and we went to Bath and stopped at the Roman baths there — the smell there was identical to the smell at Cluny today — earthy, damp, limestone — which a perfect antidote to the heat, noise and pollution of Paris.
From the decorative arts perspective, however, the tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn was the highlight of the museum. It has been superbly curated; you step up and around a corner into a darkened room and when you turn the corner, there it is, coolly glowing at you. Dramatic, yes, but deservedly so. I want to know more about it — how long it took to weave, how many weavers there were, why it was commissioned. Compared to the other art of the period, which to me appears religious and moody, this tapestry vibrates with a vitality missing from much of the other art in the museum.
