The MET

The infamous Metropolitan Museum of Art, such high expectations go along with the name, and boy did they live up to the hype. Saturday was the perfect (winter) day for a New York trip, it wasn’t freezing, snowing, or raining, so I took advantage of the day. I decided to drive rather than take the train with my mom and 15 month old son. I packed a bunch of snacks for the baby, and made sure not to forget the stroller and headed on the highway. It was an hour and forty minute drive and we paid to park in a nearby garage and made our way toward the famous Met steps. I have been to the Met once before so I was surprised by the stairs but I loved the atmosphere the same as I did with my first visit. This was my mom’s first visit so she loved it and we took a bunch of pictures.

 

            The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by “Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould who had a vision initially of a Ruskinian Gothic structure.”(History of the Museum 2018) Since the initial public opening it has been expanded over the years, but all surrounding the original structure. The museum is known around the world and has countless pieces of art, objects, and sculptures from artist all over. There are said to tens of thousands of pieces held in the museum. It’s a near impossible task to visit the museum once and see all that it has to offer. It is better to tackle the museum in sections, and on different days. Here a few pieces that I just really enjoyed looking at.

"Emperor Henry IV at Canossa" Ubaldo Gandolfi

"Helmet Mask", Moyamba district Mende or Sherbro peoples 19th-20th century

"Black-on-White Pottery of the Prehistoric Southwest"

"Prei Dieu" Stammer & Breul 1855

            My first impression was honestly on the building as a whole, the way people moved to the areas they were either familiar with or drawn to. The friendliness and helpfulness of the guards, so willing to suggest and provide some insight of their own. The first collection that caught my eye were some life-like Greek sculptures. A strength was that there were themes of either time period or location to the neighboring pieces. The initial collection I saw were Greek sculptures from 2^nd or 3^rd period BC. This allowed for the public to see what art was like varying from country to country.

Marble Head of a god, probably Zues, Fletcher Fund 3rd Century BC

Bronze statue of a man, Collection of Shelby White and Leon Levy 1st century BC

The piece I chose to focus on is “Ugolino and His Sons” by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1865/1867). The medium of this massive piece is marble. This piece was created between 1865 and 1867, it’s said that the artist often re-did and attempted to prefect his work multiple times before its finish, obsessing over the final product. By first glance I thought the work showed the struggle of human anguish, clearly defined in the facial features of the sculpture. There are five enter-twined bodies, all wrapped up and around a larger figure whom is clearly overwhelmed with thought. I then read that the piece was rather based off the ultimate rise and fall of “the Pisan traitor Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, his sons, and his grandsons were imprisoned in 1288 and died of starvation.” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2008). I think this piece shows a struggle, one that many people can relate to. One of the inner struggle (his thoughts) accompanied by the outside (dying). The little details like the strain of the man’s forehead to the ripples and bends on their backs show not only the emphasis on the struggle, but also how it can be illustrated throughout the human body.

 

            Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, among a family of stonemasons, grew up in Paris and attended school to study mostly liberal arts. His rise to stardom started with winning some contests and awards, “despite being caught cheating.” (NGA) His sculpture “Ugolino” introduced his art to Paris and afforded him great success and money. He was estranged from his family so once becoming ill, he traveled the world alone eventually dying in 1875. The war and some smaller pieces of art were the cause of his financial troubles, which he then sought to correct with “focused on amassing income through commercial edition”. (NGA)

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            Carpeaux’s body of work traditionally fit into the baroque and rococo period of work. His most famous pieces being sculpture of marble and more on the theatrical side. Many questioned if his work plagiarized that of others, because of its similarities to other rococo “architectural decorations”. (NGA) He directly influenced some latter artists who either mocked, or were greatly inspired by his work.

            Overall, I was greatly pleased with my visit to the museum and would go back in a heartbeat! There were so many pieces, and so many different mediums or timeframes to choose from that it was hard to pick an area to devote my time. Although the Ugolino was my favorite sculpture, there was a section of the museum that showcased a bedroom during the Venetian era that was totally captivating, I took a video of the room but I wish I took some pictures because the room was so intricate and just breathtaking.

References

History of The Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/history

N. (n.d.). National Gallery of Art. Retrieved from https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2056.html