Date Night

Editorial assistant Nadja Hansen expounds on why the Met is a great place for a date.

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You get to learn a lot about how people think without the regular formulaic, "What do you do and how big is your family?"

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  • Nadja Hansen
    1280852
  • Crow and Heron, or Young Lovers Walking Together under an Umbrella in a Snowstorm  |  ca. 1769  |  Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese)  |  Polychrome woodcut print on paper  |  Rogers Fund, 1936 (JP2453)
    7541024
  • Couple at Coney Island, New York  |  1928  |  Walker Evans (American)  |  Gelatin silver print  |  Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.110)
    7021024
  • Lovers Sitting on a Rock  |  1796–97  |  Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish)  |  Brush and gray wash on laid Netherlandish paper  |  Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.103.6)
    6271024
  • Pygmalion and Galatea  |  ca. 1890  |  Jean-Léon Gérôme (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Gift of Louis C. Raegner, 1927 (27.200)
    7981024
  • The Love Letter  |  ca. 1770  |  Jean-Honorè Fragonard (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 (49.7.49)
    8071024
  • The Love Letter  |  ca. 1770  |  Jean-Honorè Fragonard (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 (49.7.49)
    792927
  • Woman with a Lute  |  ca. 1662–63  |  Johannes Vermeer (Dutch)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)
    8941024
  • Woman with a Lute  |  ca. 1662–63  |  Johannes Vermeer (Dutch)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)
    9451024
  • Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands  |  1917  |  Alfred Stieglitz (American)  |  Platinum print  |  Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, through the generosity of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation and Jennifer and Joseph Duke, 1997 (1997.61.2)
    7721024
  • Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)  |  1788  |  Jacques-Louis David (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10)
    7611024
  • Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)  |  1788  |  Jacques-Louis David (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10)
    1060756
  • Eternal Spring, also known as Eternal Springtime  |  probably modeled 1881, this marble executed 1906–7  |  Auguste Rodin (French)  |  Marble  |  Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917 (17.120.184)
    9241024
  • The Storm  |  1880  |  Pierre-Auguste Cot (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887 (87.15.134)
    6791024
  • The Storm  |  1880  |  Pierre-Auguste Cot (French)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887 (87.15.134)
    1103753
  • Loving couple (mithuna)  |  Eastern Ganga dynasty, 13th century  |  Orissa, India  |  Ferruginous stone  |  Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970 (1970.44)
    5551024
  • Loving couple (mithuna)  |  Eastern Ganga dynasty, 13th century  |  Orissa, India  |  Ferruginous stone  |  Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970 (1970.44)
    12561024
  • Venus and Cupid  |  late 1520s  |  Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venetian)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 (1986.138)
    12371024
  • Venus and Cupid  |  late 1520s  |  Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venetian)  |  Oil on canvas  |  Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 (1986.138)
    7991024
  • Grand Salon From the Hôtel de Tessé  |  1768–72, with later additions  |  Pierre Noël Rousset (French); Nicolas Huyot (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Pierre Fixon (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lefranc (French)  |  Oak, painted gray, carved and gilded; marble; plaster  |  Gift of Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, 1942 (42.203.1)
    9751024
  • Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris  |  18th century (ca. 1775–78, and later)  |  French (Paris); Made in Paris, France  |  Oak and plaster, painted and gilded; bronze-gilt, mirror glass, oak flooring, etc.  |  Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1972 (1972.276.1)
    7551024
  • Bedroom from Sagredo Palace, Venice  |  18th century (ca. 1718)  |  Stuccowork probably by Abbondio Stazio of Massagno and Carpoforo Mazzetti; ceiling painting probably by Gaspare Diziani of Belluno  |  Italian (Venice)  |  Wood, stucco, marble, glass  |  Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.1335.1a–d)
    8101024
  • Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Peter Paul (born 1637)  |  mid- to late 1630s  |  Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish)  |  Oil on wood  |  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238)
    7951024
  • Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Peter Paul (born 1637)  |  mid- to late 1630s  |  Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish)  |  Oil on wood  |  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238)
    10171024
  • Nadja Hansen
    1280852
  • My name's Nadja Hansen, I work in the editorial department as an editorial assistant, and I'm going to be talking about Date Night at the Met.

  • I think it's a great date place because the art really lends itself to a conversation. You get to learn a lot about people's opinions, or people's insights

  • what people are attracted to, what they're not attracted to, in a very natural and inadvertent way. And it's an interesting way to get to know somebody

  • without the regular formulaic, "What do you do and how big is your family?" When I'm first getting to know someone, it's awkward for me to go look at

  • a bunch of lovers running around, or more sensual or erotic art. So I purposely avoid those galleries and I head more for works of art that

  • without having coupling in it or without any kind of romantic encounter, there's a love affair that's implied. I think sometimes taking a date

  • to look at those types of pictures can almost be innocent, but flirtatious in a way.

  • There's this young girl that seems to be tuning a lute and she's leaning forward out the window and she has this almost childlike eagerness. You get the implication that a music teacher or musical companion that she has

  • more than platonic feelings for is on their way and she just can't wait for them to arrive.

  • There's a wonderful photograph by Alfred Stieglitz of Georgia O'Keeffe, who was not only his lover but also he was an early champion of her art. So the way that he's almost eroticizing her hands and that he's focusing on the instrument of her creativity has dual meanings.

  • I love this painting by David. It's such a wonderful depiction of mutual admiration and respect. They were real people that lived in revolutionary France and he was a great scientist, and she was not only his wife, but she was also his

  • collaborator. Unfortunately it ended like so many romances do, in tragedy, when he was guillotined towards the end of the revolution.

  • I think that there's some works of art that if you're just a real romantic, you have to seek them out.

  • The Storm is one of my favorite paintings in the world. And I actually had a humongous poster of it up in my apartments, both in graduate school and in undergraduate. Looking back on it, I kind of have to laugh because I didn't think of it at the time, but it really was a kind of advertisement to anybody who walked into my apartment, any potential suitor, that

  • I was a die-hard romantic, and if that ended up scaring anyone away, I guess I'll never know.

  • There are other works that are a tenth-date type of thing, like Loving Couple, that I adore from the sweeping lines of the vegetation over them and the diagonals

  • and this intense stare that they're giving one another. It definitely is a very erotic scene.

  • Venus and Cupid by Lorenzo Lotto - I don't know if you could even call it erotic because it's so enigmatic to modern eyes. This cupid seems to be peeing on this Venus, and it's so beautifully painted that it's really an exquisite work of art

  • but the subject matter is something I would shy away from before I got to know someone.

  • There's some wonderful spaces in the museum that just by their very nature exude romance for me.

  • All of the European period rooms are so feminine and elegant. There isn't one detail in the room that isn't

  • beautifully thought out, and just being in them evokes tender feelings.

  • I think the Metropolitan Museum is the perfect place. If you're on a blind date, for example, and you don't know how well it's going to go,

  • or if you're with somebody that you just can immediately tell you have a connection with, and you just want to talk for hours. But if you're with somebody that you can see is losing interest in talking about art or looking at art...

  • That's when I use the tactic of going straight to the bar, which always is much appreciated.

  • JP2453
    Crow and Heron, or Young Lovers Walking Together under an Umbrella in a Snowstorm, ca. 1769, Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese), Polychrome woodcut print on paper Rogers Fund, 1936 (JP2453)
  • 1987.1100.110
    Couple at Coney Island, New York, 1928, Walker Evans (American), Gelatin silver print Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.110)
  • 35.103.6
    Lovers Sitting on a Rock, 1796–97, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish), Brush and gray wash on laid Netherlandish paper Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.103.6)
  • 27.200
    Pygmalion and Galatea, ca. 1890, Jean-Léon Gérôme (French), Oil on canvas Gift of Louis C. Raegner, 1927 (27.200)
  • 49.7.49
    The Love Letter, ca. 1770, Jean-Honorè Fragonard (French), Oil on canvas The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 (49.7.49)
  • 25.110.24
    Woman with a Lute, ca. 1662–63, Johannes Vermeer (Dutch), Oil on canvas Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)
  • 1997.61.2
    Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands, 1917, Alfred Stieglitz (American), Platinum print Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, through the generosity of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation and Jennifer and Joseph Duke, 1997 (1997.61.2)
  • 1977.10
    Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), 1788, Jacques-Louis David (French), Oil on canvas Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10)
  • 17.120.184
    Eternal Spring, also known as Eternal Springtime, probably modeled 1881, this marble executed 1906–7, Auguste Rodin (French), Marble Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917 (17.120.184)
  • 87.15.134
    The Storm, 1880, Pierre-Auguste Cot (French), Oil on canvas Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887 (87.15.134)
  • 1970.44
    Loving couple (mithuna), Eastern Ganga dynasty, 13th century, Orissa, India, Ferruginous stone Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970 (1970.44)
  • 1986.138
    Venus and Cupid, late 1520s, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venetian), Oil on canvas Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 (1986.138)
  • 42.203.1
    Grand Salon From the Hôtel de Tessé, 1768–72, with later additions, Pierre Noël Rousset (French); Nicolas Huyot (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Pierre Fixon (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lefranc (French), Oak, painted gray, carved and gilded; marble; plaster Gift of Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, 1942 (42.203.1)
  • 1972.276.1
    Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, 18th century (ca. 1775–78, and later), French (Paris); Made in Paris, France, Oak and plaster, painted and gilded; bronze-gilt, mirror glass, oak flooring, etc. Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1972 (1972.276.1)
  • 06.1335.1a-d
    Bedroom from Sagredo Palace, Venice, 18th century (ca. 1718), Stuccowork probably by Abbondio Stazio of Massagno and Carpoforo Mazzetti; ceiling painting probably by Gaspare Diziani of Belluno, Italian (Venice), Wood, stucco, marble, glass Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.1335.1a–d)
  • 1981.238
    Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Peter Paul (born 1637), mid- to late 1630s, Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish), Oil on wood Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238)
  • Crow and Heron, or Young Lovers Walking Together under an Umbrella in a Snowstorm, ca. 1769, Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese), Polychrome woodcut print on paper Rogers Fund, 1936 (JP2453)
    Couple at Coney Island, New York, 1928, Walker Evans (American), Gelatin silver print Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.110)
    Lovers Sitting on a Rock, 1796–97, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish), Brush and gray wash on laid Netherlandish paper Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.103.6)
    Pygmalion and Galatea, ca. 1890, Jean-Léon Gérôme (French), Oil on canvas Gift of Louis C. Raegner, 1927 (27.200)
    The Love Letter, ca. 1770, Jean-Honorè Fragonard (French), Oil on canvas The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 (49.7.49)
    Woman with a Lute, ca. 1662–63, Johannes Vermeer (Dutch), Oil on canvas Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)
    Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands, 1917, Alfred Stieglitz (American), Platinum print Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, through the generosity of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation and Jennifer and Joseph Duke, 1997 (1997.61.2)
    Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), 1788, Jacques-Louis David (French), Oil on canvas Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10)
    Eternal Spring, also known as Eternal Springtime, probably modeled 1881, this marble executed 1906–7, Auguste Rodin (French), Marble Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917 (17.120.184)
    The Storm, 1880, Pierre-Auguste Cot (French), Oil on canvas Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887 (87.15.134)
    Loving couple (mithuna), Eastern Ganga dynasty, 13th century, Orissa, India, Ferruginous stone Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970 (1970.44)
    Venus and Cupid, late 1520s, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venetian), Oil on canvas Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 (1986.138)
    Grand Salon From the Hôtel de Tessé, 1768–72, with later additions, Pierre Noël Rousset (French); Nicolas Huyot (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Pierre Fixon (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lefranc (French), Oak, painted gray, carved and gilded; marble; plaster Gift of Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, 1942 (42.203.1)
    Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, 18th century (ca. 1775–78, and later), French (Paris); Made in Paris, France, Oak and plaster, painted and gilded; bronze-gilt, mirror glass, oak flooring, etc. Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1972 (1972.276.1)
    Bedroom from Sagredo Palace, Venice, 18th century (ca. 1718), Stuccowork probably by Abbondio Stazio of Massagno and Carpoforo Mazzetti; ceiling painting probably by Gaspare Diziani of Belluno, Italian (Venice), Wood, stucco, marble, glass Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.1335.1a–d)
    Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Peter Paul (born 1637), mid- to late 1630s, Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish), Oil on wood Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238)
    8000–2000 B.C.
    2000–1000 B.C.
    1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
    1–500 A.D.
    500–1000 A.D.
    1000–1400 A.D.
    1400–1600 A.D.
    1600–1800 A.D.
    1800–1900 A.D.
    1900–Present

    Works of art in order of appearance

    Last Updated: June 22, 2015. Not all works of art in the Museum's collection may be on view on a particular day. For the most accurate location information, please check this page on the day of your visit.

    Crow and Heron, or Young Lovers Walking Together under an Umbrella in a Snowstorm
    ca. 1769
    Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese)
    Polychrome woodcut print on paper
    Rogers Fund, 1936 (JP2453)
    Not on view
    Asian ArtSecond Floor
    Couple at Coney Island, New York
    1928
    Walker Evans (American)
    Gelatin silver print
    Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.110)
    Not on view
    PhotographsSecond Floor
    Lovers Sitting on a Rock
    1796–97
    Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish)
    Brush and gray wash on laid Netherlandish paper
    Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.103.6)
    Not on view
    Drawings and PrintsSecond Floor
    Pygmalion and Galatea
    ca. 1890
    Jean-Léon Gérôme (French)
    Oil on canvas
    Gift of Louis C. Raegner, 1927 (27.200)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    The Love Letter
    ca. 1770
    Jean-Honorè Fragonard (French)
    Oil on canvas
    The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 (49.7.49)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    Woman with a Lute
    ca. 1662–63
    Johannes Vermeer (Dutch)
    Oil on canvas
    Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands
    1917
    Alfred Stieglitz (American)
    Platinum print
    Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, through the generosity of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation and Jennifer and Joseph Duke, 1997 (1997.61.2)
    Not on view
    PhotographsSecond Floor
    Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)
    1788
    Jacques-Louis David (French)
    Oil on canvas
    Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    Eternal Spring, also known as Eternal Springtime
    probably modeled 1881, this marble executed 1906–7
    Auguste Rodin (French)
    Marble
    Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917 (17.120.184)
    Not on view
    European Sculpture and Decorative ArtsSecond Floor
    The Storm
    1880
    Pierre-Auguste Cot (French)
    Oil on canvas
    Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887 (87.15.134)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    Loving couple (mithuna)
    Eastern Ganga dynasty, 13th century
    Orissa, India
    Ferruginous stone
    Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970 (1970.44)
    Not on view
    Asian ArtSecond Floor
    Venus and Cupid
    late 1520s
    Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venetian)
    Oil on canvas
    Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 (1986.138)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor
    Grand Salon From the Hôtel de Tessé
    1768–72, with later additions
    Pierre Noël Rousset (French); Nicolas Huyot (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Pierre Fixon (French); Louis-Pierre Fixon (French); Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lefranc (French)
    Oak, painted gray, carved and gilded; marble; plaster
    Gift of Mrs. Herbert N. Straus, 1942 (42.203.1)
    Not on view
    European Sculpture and Decorative ArtsFirst Floor
    Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris
    18th century (ca. 1775–78, and later)
    French (Paris); Made in Paris, France
    Oak and plaster, painted and gilded; bronze-gilt, mirror glass, oak flooring, etc.
    Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1972 (1972.276.1)
    Not on view
    European Sculpture and Decorative ArtsFirst Floor
    Bedroom from Sagredo Palace, Venice
    18th century (ca. 1718)
    Stuccowork probably by Abbondio Stazio of Massagno and Carpoforo Mazzetti; ceiling painting probably by Gaspare Diziani of Belluno
    Italian (Venice)
    Wood, stucco, marble, glass
    Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.1335.1a–d)
    Not on view
    European Sculpture and Decorative ArtsFirst Floor
    Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Peter Paul (born 1637)
    mid- to late 1630s
    Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish)
    Oil on wood
    Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in honor of Sir John Pope-Hennessy, 1981 (1981.238)
    Not on view
    European PaintingsSecond Floor

    © 2011 The Metropolitan Museum of Art