Santiago in Philadelphia

Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia Museum in back, Philadelphia, PA, 1998

© EOP

Earlier this week I spent several days in Philadelphia, a city well-endowed with things to see and do, W. C. Fields notwithstanding. In the midst of a heatwave, the Philadelphia Museum was a cool respite from the outdoors. The large exhibit of medieval materials, most from France but with a few representative pieces from elsewhere in Europe, was new to me and well worth the visit.Included in the medieval collection is a Romanesque arched Portal from the Abbey Church of Saint-Laurent, France a 12th century building near Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, a pilgrimage church on the Chemin St.Jacques. It is one of many churches and other facilities along the Chemin influenced by the Benedictines of Cluny. The arched doorway leads to a small cloister with a Spanish fountain from Monastery of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa in Catalunya, an exhibit that brings back many memories of France and Spain and of the Chemin/Camino!


Tickets to view the Barnes Collection in Merion were a primary reason for the trip to Philadelphia. The collection is due to be moved to a site in central Philadelphia in a couple of years, and the current year is the last to visit the peculiar museum in its suburban splendor. Most people go to see the awe inspiring collection of French art from the impressionists through the 20th century. Scattered among the gems of that part of the collection are a number of pieces of other provenance, including some fine sculptures and paintings from Renaissance Europe. Spread in several galleries are a third life size statute of St. Roch, a painting of St. James the major in a guise largely unrecognizable to those of us familiar with Santiago Peregrino (pilgrim accouterments including staff, hat and scallop shell)  and Santiago Matamoros astride a horse, and a painting of St. Sebastian with Santiago Peregrino. I foolishly did not carry a notebook, and the museum prohibits photographs and does not offer reproductions in its shop. Any follower of Santiago able to visit the museum is advised to look for the statue near the head of the stairs on the second floor and the paintings in the galleries east of the main room on the first floor.