Linsen Chai

Over the course of nearly three years, the Northern Renaissance Galleries, at the crossroads of the Lehman Collection, the Medieval Hall, and the Wrightsman Galleries proposes a new approach in rethinking and exposing the complexity of the artistic traditions of the Holy Roman Empire.

The complex task at hand was to deconstruct the traditional notion of the "Kunstkammern" or cabinet of curiosity so to expose the different social, economic, and religious layers pertaining to each object through thematic groupings. Design-wise, this meant to strip the gallery of its numerous additions and expose its original 1880 large arched entrance. Similarly, the previous layout of the gallery proved to be cacophonic with its large number of small vitrines. The new 8' high vitrines allows for an uninterrupted visual place for the nearly 130 objects withheld in the space.

The gallery is anchored by a large oak chest on the north side, flanked by delicate objects epitomiing the craft within the collection. On the opposite end, the south side is framed by two large tapestries and centers an expansive wall of vivid stained glass windows. The design and detailing of the custom casework were realized in partnership with Goppion Technology, resulting in an elegant typology of freestanding cases, lightbox cases for the stained glass windows, as well as the small wall cases for the treasury wall.