Sarah Mallory, Research Assistant, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts; Cristina Carr, Conservator, Department of Textile Conservation; and Elizabeth Cleland, Associate Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Understanding an art object requires close observation and an interdisciplinary course of investigation that integrates the work of curators and conservators, the arts and the sciences. This work, however, is often done behind a curtain (so to speak), and visitors rarely have the opportunity to gain insight into the process. On August 4, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will unveil the secret world of curators and conservators with its latest installation in Gallery 599, Examining Opulence: A Set of Renaissance Tapestry Cushions. This one-room exhibition will give visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the fascinating and indispensable questions Museum curators and conservators pose as they investigate six luxurious, late Renaissance tapestry-woven cushion covers depicting scenes from the lives of biblical figureheads Abraham and Isaac.
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Posted: Monday, July 28, 2014
The Museum offers hundreds of events and programs each month—including lectures, performances, tours, family activities, and more. The following listings are just a sample of our upcoming programs.
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Meryl Cates, Press Officer, Met Museum Presents
Posted: Friday, July 25, 2014
Met Museum Presents begins its third season in September, which will bring an array of dazzling site-specific, gallery-based performances to the Museum. Filling the Met's spaces with music, dance, opera, and theater, world-class performers will continue our mission of creating exciting programs for the Museum and its collection, allowing audiences an unparalleled experience.
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Donald J. La Rocca, Curator, Department of Arms and Armor
Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2014
The industrialization and mechanization of war in the early twentieth century—which meant an increased use of artillery, tanks, and machine guns, and the advent of trench warfare—resulted in an unprecedented number of killed and wounded soldiers right from the outset of World War I in 1914. The large number of head wounds suffered by combatants soon made it apparent that metal helmets, though long out of use, were absolutely necessary on the modern battlefield and that other forms of armor also should be explored. Shortly after the United States entered the war in 1917, the government turned to Dr. Bashford Dean, curator of arms and armor at the Metropolitan Museum, to address the situation.
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Michael Cirigliano II, Website Editor, Digital Media Department
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Numerous representations of the sea are woven into the work of Claude Debussy (1862–1918). The French composer regularly referenced his awe of the sea and its power, and even noted that he had "intended for the noble career of a sailor" in a 1912 letter to close friend and composer André Messager. Although the sea had already played a recurring character throughout much of his piano music, the first appearance of this subject in Debussy's orchestral output was the final movement of his 1899 work Trois Nocturnes, "Sirènes," in which he gave life to the deadly mythological seductresses by adding a wordless female choir to the standard orchestral forces.
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Shi-yee Liu, Assistant Research Curator of Chinese Art, Department of Asian Art
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
"The Administrator of Kuaiji [Wang Xizhi, ca. 303–ca. 361] is all mannerist cliché.
As the study of calligraphy declines, I enjoy a free rein with a laugh.
Scornful of following known calligraphers like a maid,
I take the stone tablet of Mount Hua as my master."
In 1736, leading artist Jin Nong (1687–1773) wrote this iconoclastic quatrain that reflects a momentous turning point in the development of Chinese calligraphy during his time. Abandoning the venerated tradition defined by the classic elegance of its patriarch, Wang Xizhi, Jin Nong turned to an earlier, less-sophisticated model—stone inscriptions of the ancient Han dynasty (206 b.c.–a.d. 220)—for guidance.
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Keith Christiansen, John Pope-Hennessy Chairman, Department of European Paintings
Posted: Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Ever wonder what it would have been like to live in Paris in the golden age of the French monarchy and to have the money to do it in style?
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Meryl Cates, Press Officer, Met Museum Presents
Posted: Thursday, July 3, 2014
For arts institutions, engaging the younger demographic seems to be on everyone's mind. All eyes are on the twenty-somethings, and while those capricious millennials are important, it's the kids—the seven- to sixteen-year-olds seated next to their parents, still curious and open-minded—who are truly the ones with the potential to become loyal and life-long art fans.
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John Carpenter, Curator, Department of Asian Art
Posted: Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Rachel High, Editorial Assistant, Editorial Department
Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2014
The online feature One Met. Many Worlds. launched on June 9, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide recently became available as an e-book on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes; the print version will soon be released in Arabic, German, Korean, and Russian. These two projects present different perspectives on the highlights of the Museum's collection: One Met. Many Worlds. is driven by universal concepts that encourage the viewer to explore artworks in a new ways, while the Guide provides an essential art history background in a more traditional format. I recently spoke with Amy Liebster, associate coordinator for online publications, about both the web feature and the various versions of the print guide.
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