Mar 7
While I love Gothic art, there is something especially appealing about the Irish Gothic style. The heavy infusion of Celtic design and the stylized figures energize this art and gives it a playful feel. Many of the medieval ruins I found in Ireland where not particularly ornate which made the appearance of Gothic figures and motifs that much more enjoyable.
Doorway decoration from the Monastery at Dysert O’Dea (County Clare):
The monthly ArtSmart Roundtable brings together some of the best art history-focused travel blogs with a post on a common theme. For March we are discussing Art Worth Traveling For. You can find links below to all the group’s amazing destinations this month. We also want to welcome the Roundtable’s newest member, Murissa from The Wanderfull Traveler!
I love medieval art and architecture. In the back of my mind, I have the perfect medieval art itinerary planned: starting among the great Cathedrals of France, I move south through the Pyrenees into Spain and enjoy all the pilgrimage churches along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Someday I’ll do all of this! But in the meantime, for an infusion of Medieval art without leaving the US, I have to recommend a visit to the hauntingly beautiful Cloisters Museum in New York City. Going far beyond the normal concept of a museum, the Cloisters recreates the atmosphere of a medieval monastery by literally transporting parts from Europe and reconstructing them in Northern Manhattan.
The Cloister from Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, (ca. 1130–40) as can be viewed at the Cloisters Museum in New York City. This structure is Catalan in style but is from present day France. (Photo: The Cloisters Collection)
Some people buy clothes, crafts or nicknacks as souvenirs when they travel. I like to buy food!
While driving in the Peloponnese, I stopped in a small town grocery store to get car snacks and water. Since I think its fun to browse foreign food items, I wandered up and down the short aisles. I happened upon a shelf of these boxes:
I recognized the casserole on the front as Pastitsio – the Greek equivalent of lasagna made with thin tube pasta, meaty sauce and a fluffy topping. So I bought a box. Read more
Looking up from the ruined domestic buildings of the lower city, you can see the active Monastery of Pantanassa further up the mountain in the the Upper City of Mystras, Greece.
So many European cities are jumbles of art and architecture, a testament to the evolving history of the urban area. Beneath these modern cities are fractured layers of a Renaissance, Gothic and Ancient past, but you have to try hard to imagine how things looked during any one period. It’s truly amazing to find a city that retains its character from one specific age. The abandoned Byzantine city of Mystras in the mountains just above Sparta in the Southern Peloponnese, is one such frozen city. You can walk through the ruined streets and largely intact religious buildings of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and be right back in 1350 AD.
I live in an urban neighborhood but have noticed a few red-tailed hawks around, either gliding gracefully spying prey or perched watching pedestrians. These birds of prey can be found throughout North America. Audubon depicted this animal as strong and aggressive showing two fighting over a freshly killed rabbit.
Apparently these birds have always been aggressive. John James Audubon, “Red tailed Hawk” from Birds of American
Walking around this weekend to admire the snow, I saw one of the neighborhood hawks catch and eat a pigeon! It was an unexpected but beautiful example of nature in an otherwise urban area. I watched the hawk for some time and found that Audubon didn’t come close to capturing the subtle coloring or fluffy under-feathers of this gorgeous bird.
Daydream Tourist 