In the News

The Spiritual Network

The New York Times
March 24, 2011

"Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe" at the Walters Art Museum here is the most beautifully mysterious exhibition I've seen this season. It's also a model of institutional sharing. The Walters, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the British Museum, all with deep medieval holdings, have combined their forces brilliantly.

Where Revered Relics Repose

The Wall Street Journal
March 2, 2011

The first major show of its kind in the U.S. ... assembles a fascinating array of objects tracing the evolution and permutations of reliquaries from late antiquity to the Renaissance, via Byzantium, plus a section on postmedieval versions of the impulse to preserve and venerate.

Art From a Time When Seeing Was Believing

Newsweek
February 27, 2011

A landmark new exhibition called Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe, at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, presents just those kinds of magically gorgeous objects. It is truly a "treasure" show, chock-full of gold and gems. It also takes us back to an age where the respect we had for art could verge on awe, even terror.

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe

The Washington Post
February 2011

For those who consider museum-going a secular religion, here's a meta-experience: "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe" opens Feb. 13 at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and features 133 objects linked to medieval Europe's pilgrims—the ones who worshiped saints' remains the way we worship the "Mona Lisa." Co-organized by the Walters in conjunction with the British Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art (the exhibition's other stops), this show promises to delight any art lover.

The Week Ahead: Jan 2–8

New York Times
December 31, 2010

Major exhibitions of reliquaries are infrequent, in part because, as religious items, these objects are considered a niche interest. There is also the matter of access: some of the greatest reliquaries remain tucked away in European church collections. The Cleveland show brings a number of such masterpieces out of seclusion, some for the first time.

"Vatican Treasures on Tour"

New York Times
October 15, 2010

"'Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe' opens at the Cleveland Museum of Art, with a half-dozen Vatican loans."

"Don't Miss: Upcoming Exhibits"

The Wall Street Journal
October 16, 2010

"The 150-work 'Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe' borrows pieces from the Louvre, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the pope's private chapel at the Vatican to explore the importance of relics in the development of Christianity—and the history of art."

"St. Baudime Arrives in Cleveland"

Getty Images
November 8, 2010

Photographs of the French national treasure, The Reliquary Bust of St. Baudime, upon its arrival at the Cleveland Museum of Art on November 8.

"'Treasures of Heaven' exhibition at Cleveland Museum of Art puts spotlight on the divine"

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)
October 25, 2010

"Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the British Museum in London, the show is a head-slapping revelation. It makes it crystal clear that reliquaries are central to an understanding of the Middle Ages."

"The curatorial team behind the show, which included the Cleveland museum's chief curator, C. Griffith Mann, and former medieval curator, Holger Klein (who now teaches at Columbia University), did an excellent job providing points of entry for visitors."

"Reliquary of St. Baudime travels outside France for first time for debut at the Cleveland Museum of Art"

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)
November 8, 2010

"As journalists watched during a press conference Monday, museum officials uncrated and inspected the Reliquary Bust of St. Baudime, which has been allowed to travel outside France for the first time."

"Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe at Cleveland Museum of Art"

WEWS-TV (Cleveland, OH)
October 15, 2010

"Take in the Cleveland Museum of Art's new exhibition 'Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe,' and prepare for a stunning, moving walk through the Middle Ages."



"Cleveland will Premiere First Major U.S. Exhibition of Christian Relics and Reliquaries"

Art Daily
April 20, 2010

"The relics and reliquaries showcased in treasures of heaven provide evidence of religious objects traveling across tremendous distances and of people making pilgrimages across the Mediterranean to walk in the footsteps of important figures from sacred history. The medieval devotion to relics gave birth to new forms of monumental architecture, supported extensive pilgrimage networks and prompted significant developments in the visual arts."

"Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe"

Art Museum Journal
April 19, 2010

"This groundbreaking international loan exhibition features more than 150 religious objects from Late Antique, medieval and early modern Europe, many never before seen outside of their home countries."

"The museums' use of painting, photography, audio and video introduces contemporary visitors to the importance of relics and reliquaries to medieval and Renaissance audiences."

"History of relics, reliquaries define CMA's Treasures of Heaven"

West Side Leader (Akron, OH)
October 28, 2010

"Each of the pieces on display has a story, and each makes it well worth the effort to read the didactics that accompany the works to learn their origin and significance in the lives of the faithful from years gone by."

"In 'Treasures of Heaven' at CMA, reliquaries made for bones of saints shed light on history of Europe, Christianity"

The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH)
November 7, 2010

"Most of the 135 'Treasures' on display at the CMA exhibit are small, but their scope is vast—tracing 1,300 years of history from the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire to the Protestant Reformation."

"Exhibit Boasts 150 Treasures from Churches and Collections"

The Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, OH)
November 14, 2010

"This exhibit, which has its premiere in Cleveland, is a groundbreaking effort in both research and connoisseurship."

"Heavenly Treasures: Rare artifacts shed light on history of Europe and Christianity"

The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
November 14, 2010

"Many of these reliquaries have never before been away from their churches, and, according to Griffith Mann, chief curator at the museum and co-curator for this exhibit, it was a huge challenge to get them here and put the exhibit together."