This is a magnificent museum with an astonishing collection of art ranging across media, centuries and countries.

They, of course, have a whole lot of exquisite art but for me there were two favorite sections: the Dutch Golden Age and the Medieval period. Both of which are quite fantastic. Their coverage of the Medieval Period also has lots of weapons and armor. I have a page devoted to that right here: Weapons and Armor at the Detroit Institute of Art.

This statue of The Thinker caught me by surprise -twice. I didn't expect it to be here. I thought it was in Paris. That was the first surprise. So I looked it up and much to my surprise there are about fifty of them scattered around the world. That was my second surprise. Some are bronze and some are plaster.

This is the Woodward Avenue entrance.

This picture is just inside that main entrance on Woodward Avenue. Out that doorway/window is the thinker.

And here is a look into the beginning part of the European: Medieval and Renaissance Section. Note something about this next photo: The Ceiling. That is an authentic medieval ceiling. It was taken apart from an actual medieval building in Europe and reconstructed here in the museum. This exemplifies one of the things I love about museums. If you really take the time to look they go way beyond just sculptures and paintings.

Virgin of the Rose Garden (1745)

Here is another example of what I mean. This marble screen is about waist high and it was carved between 700 and 800 AD.

See how worn the top of the screen is? That is caused by over a thousand years of hands on it.

The first part of the Dutch Golden Age.

The Death of Lucretia -Mid 1640's, The school of Rembrandt (The Dutch Golden Age)

"The Nightmare" by Henry Fuseli (1781) (Gothic)