Metropolitan museum of Art New York

In my last post on “One day in New York City” I wrote about my visit to the Metropolitan museum of Art – the mother of all museums and a temple of art.  The one on Fifth avenue that I visited, is over 2 million sqft in area and has over 5000 years of art. Before my visit, I had planned on seeing the Greek exhibit, Some renaissance paintings, Impressionist wing and the Manus Machina exhibit as I thought only that was possible in the four hours that I had there. But as soon as I stepped inside I became greedy, (yes, this was the FOMO that I was talking about in my previous posts) and wanted to see more. I ended up seeing both the Greek and Roman wings, the Polynesian,  Americas, and a part of the Arts of Africa  wing, Modern art – realism, Impressionism, a little bit of post-modern art, a portion of the Old masters section, the Manus Machina exhibit, a section of the Byzantine gallery, and the Egyptian section with the mummies and the temple. To streamline the visit, I looked only at Jewelry and accessory exhibits in the Roman, Americas, and Egyptian wing.

Metropolitan museum of Art New York

Here are pictures of a few favourites. You can find the pictures from the impressionist wing in my post on Expression of impressions.  I apologise in advance for the dull and sometimes unsharp pictures; a lot of the exhibits had dim lighting and flash photography was not permitted.

Greek and Roman

greek jewelry

These were the first two galleries that I saw and they far surpassed my expectations. Even after seeing the entire gallery I couldn’t believe the amazing craftsmanship of the jewelry that was displayed. I have studied Greek art and taught Greek ideals and costumes for a while now but truth be told I never expected them to be so well made with intricate work and luscious stones. The Intaglio rings and Signet rings of the emperors and officers in garnet and coral were fascinating.

greek hair ornament

Of all the jewelry that  I saw, I was most fascinated by this Greek Hair bun ornament. I have seen variations of this ( Kondai valai – Hair burn fillet) being worn in India, but I never expected to see a Greek version of it, that too it gold. The round focal is reminiscent of the traditional Indian “Naga choodamani” where a snake is the focal instead of a woman’s face. Could this have been a probable Indo-Greek Design collaboration?

wooden mask totem

Polynesia and  Americas

This was the wing I didn’t even plan to see – I thin I might not find anything more than some totems or masks here. Boy, I was wrong. This was the wing that I spent the most time in and enjoyed the most. I was like watching all the ‘Treasure hunt” movies at once and being transported to an era that was mythical, rich and full of glory.

columbian gold jewelry
The jewelry was from various places like Panama, Costa Rica, and Columbia and warranties its own post so I’ll offer only a glimpse here. The elaborate nose rings, plain pectoral ornaments, burial masks and pendants were beyond amazing. Could the head beads have been worn by Head hunters of the period?
mayan burial mask
Burial Masks

Industrial Revolution

The Romanticism era paintings by artists  like Johan Christian Dahl and the large industrial revolution inspired paintings of speed, technology, rural Vs urban life were very interesting to see. As expected it charged me with emotion, passion, and mystic contemplation.
christan dahl eruptioin of mt.vesuvius
dahl countrylife painting

Modern Art

How can I write a post about the Met and not include the precious Water lilies? In true impressionist ideology, Monet recorded the play of light and time at the same place on the same object (the lily pond) over and over again. As this was the time when photography was introduced, Monet wanted to produce paintings that like photographs depended on the light.  This is one of four pictures of water lilies (out of the series of over 250 paintings) that Claude Monet finished, signed, and sold.

water lillies

Prelude to a Civilization by Victor Brauner was another painting that really attracted me.  The figures were almost as primitive as Warli (of India) but with  bright colors and a background texture.

Prelude to a Civilization by Victor Brauner

I am a big used of surrealistic concepts in my work, so I used this opportunity to see one of Dali’s famous surrealistic paintings – Christ of Saint John of the Cross, up close and personal.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross surrealism, dali

Even those you who very little about western art would have heard of Pablo Picasso and cubism. Here is a Self-portrait of Picasso. I tried to take a selfie staring into the camera like he does in the portrait but it came out looking very scary and I had to crop me out of it. 😀

picasso

Having read that the Docents and guards at the MET are very helpful I asked them if there were any work of art by Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Raphael in the museum. I was told that there was one Altar piece painting – Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints in gallery 609. So I ran through the European paintings section looking for it.  I would have almost missed it if not for the group of tourists gathered in a circle (before the painting in an otherwise empty hall).
raphael, madonnaruff, collar

A few of the pictures in the hall made me stop, whip out my camera and take pictures. Why? The subjects of  those paintings wore ruffs, whisk collars, engageantes of lace – items of clothing that I teach about in Costume appreciation. There was Marie Antoinette in La Levite, in Robe De Anglaise and men in breeches and surcoats. It was a pity that I couldn’t stay there was long and admire the garments. In my hurry, I forgot to even note who the artists of these paintings were.

spanish jewelry

Here are some pieces from the Spanish Hall, a charming corridor that  made me stop in my tracks as I was running down to see Raphael. I was spellbound by the beauty of these jewels.
To add to my collection of Chainmail and armour photographs, I clicked one of this parade of statues (German Man and horse armour by Kunz Lochner) and stood there to admire them for  awhile

armour

Regionalism

 A section of the wall murals of Thomas Hart Benton – America Today  is the symbol of regionalism  the 1930s artistic movement that celebrated rural life in the United States
Thomas Hart Benton - America Today

As I was trying to find my way out of one of the gallery when I missed a turn and landed up in a niche which had a small display of products. I almost left, but then, I thought I saw something familiar – Siphon bottles by Norman Bel Geddes. Muffling a yippee, I spent 10 minutes with designs of my most favourite product designers of all time – Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, Wolfgang Hoffmann and Henry Dreyfuss. I muttered a “thank you” to my design history teacher Deepa Kamath Ma’am who had opened my eyes to the world of art and design back in 2004, making me who I am today.

industrial design, raymond loewy

I have tens of pictures left and tons of memories that I can recount, but considering that I have been trying to write this post for the past 2 weeks, I am going to stop here and let it go. If I ever get a chance to visit New York once again I would really love to spend at least 2-3 full days at the Met Museum and take in the essence of art without running like a madwoman and taking pictures.

Travel Tips:

1. Avoid carrying backpacks, however, small they might be; You’ll be asked to wear them in the front, which is inconvenient
2. If you want to click pictures of famous paintings in crowded halls, try taking selfies. The crowd will leave you alone and you get to be in frame along with your favourite painting
3. The museum is open on all days; but only till 5:30 PM in the evenings and galleries are cleared around 5:15-  5:20 pm. If you want to see more than 2-3 sections properly, reach early – around 10:30 AM so that you don’t have to run like me
4.  You can enter by pay $5-$10 as entry fees so spend money in the museum shops to support art as much as you can. Alternatively, make a larger donation.
5. It is a huge place, so little children and elders might find it very tiring. The best way to the museum is by yourself or with a friend who knows art history. Guided empty met tours are also available.
6. Cell phone cameras seem to capture pieces in glass cases better than DSLR cameras and vice versa for the canvas paintings; so carry both if you want to take lots of clear pictures.
7. Around closing, only the restrooms near the Greek gallery are open so plan accordingly.
8. Exhibits keep changing throughout the year – so be prepared for surprises. Regardless of which exhibit you go to you’ll find something interesting and informative.

I hope you found it interesting
Cheers

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13 responses to “Metropolitan museum of Art New York”

  1. Neena Shilvock avatar

    You have really crammed a lot in, in such a short space of time. You'll have to do it all again at a more relaxed pace. Isn't it nice though to do it on your own, seeing what you would like, and having a load of fun. Glad you had such a great trip

  2. Little Treasures avatar

    I did find it immensely interesting and captivating! It got my travel juices flowing! Lots of helpful tips I will try to remember! Thank you for sharing this with us!

  3. Divya N avatar

    I don't think I would been able to see so much if I went along with a group or even with one more person. Its amazing what you can accomplish if you close your mouth and open your eyes and ears 🙂

  4. Divya N avatar

    Do visit the MET if you ever go to NYC, you would love it there

  5. bairozan avatar

    It's a post full of information and really handy tips for the traveler but most of all, it conveyed the joy and excitement you felt there. It is a privilege to be close to the work of artists that you admire and have studied 🙂

  6. Divya N avatar

    Yes, when we study or teach a class, we see the paintings as pictures on powerpoint slides with no context or idea of size. But when you see them in museum its different – I never expected the water lillies to be so big or the cubist guitar painting to be so small. Also the full impact of the greatness of impressionism hit be only when I saw the brushstrokes up close.

  7. Vijay Devarajan avatar

    Really appreciate the amount of research you have done
    Regards
    Vijay Devarajan

  8. Vijay Devarajan avatar

    Nice post, enjoyed it. Hope you had a fab time in New York. You could post some tips in trip advisor

  9. Divya N avatar

    Nice to hear from you after a while Vijay. Yes, the tips have been posted in Trip advisor too

  10. Cinnamon Jewellery avatar

    Thanks for sharing your photos and experience Divya.

  11. Bhushavali N avatar

    Same pinch…. I too saw the Water Lilies in National Gallery London!!! I needed 2 days to just have an overview of National Gallery, so I can totally get you plight at MET Museum. You want to see it all, but there's is just not enough time…… The Greek hairbun is definitely intriguing…

  12. Divya N avatar

    Yes Bhusha, to look (I mean just look) at the art that we have been taught about and we have been teaching itself will take many days but understanding them would take forever. I wish we had galleries like these in chennai

  13. […] a quick lunch consisting of a muffin and an apple, I ubered to the Met. The Metropolitan museum of art is heaven on earth for artists, designers and connoisseurs of beauty. I really missed my mom and […]

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