A Day in the City: Metropolitan Museum of Art

by Kyle

After the arduous journey through the coat check, our weary selves had finally ventured into the actual Metropolitan Museum of Art. First stop, Temple of Dendur. Lindsay led the way, as this was her turf and she was the boss. The museum had reconstructed “an Egyptian temple that was built by the Roman governor of Egypt, Petronius, around 15 BC and dedicated to Isis, Osiris, as well as two deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain…” Thanks wikipedia, I owe you one. Not only was the temple and gate stunning, but the space it had been constructed in and it’s surroundings, a pair of seated pharoahs and a waiting pool, could not have been more appropriate.

Now, it was off to my neck of the woods, the American Wing. The last time I had visited the Met, it was a year and a week before this expedition. I was in the city for the same reasons, the Winter Antique Show and the newly reopened American Wing at the Met. But, unlike like this trip, I had time constraints and practically ran through the museum, missing an entire floor of my favorite section. This time, myself and a very patient Lindsay would casually stroll through the various rooms and aisles until she would notice me squatted down, inspecting a piece as close as I could without security intervention. This happened on more than a few occasions.

We started in a room dominated by opulence, high style and beautiful craftsmanship, decorated with Newport and Boston furniture. We then stumbled through the American art galleries as they were not the top billed portion of the day, and found ourselves on the top floor, the period rooms; the section I had unintentionally ignored on my last visit. This is where I was confronted with what I considered to be the most beautiful piece of furniture on display. It was one of those moments when you’re taken by surprise and accidentally let out an audible “oh my god.” It was a Portsmouth Queen Anne carved armchair in black paint, attributed to John Gaines III, with dramatic ram’s horn arms, c-scroll and foliate carved crest, and stunning Spanish feet. It’s one of those knock your socks off pieces when seeing it in person. After catching my breath and taking a quick picture, it was off to Lindsay’s area of expertise, from the dawn of time through the Renaissance.

From here on in, Lindsay’s wealth of knowledge allowed for us to engage with the magnificent pieces of marble, bronze and porphyry. The top four things I learned are as follows:

1. Porphyry is beautiful. I want my sarcaphogus to be made out of it. Thanks for the idea Constantine.
2. There are many bibles without their covers thanks to jerk vikings.
3. Romans had difficulty with the structural stability of marble. They just couldn’t keep it up.
4. The ancient world used to be Technicolor. Absolutely blew my mind.

After leaving ancient Greece and Rome, hurried off to the galleries on the second floor. We had a dinner date so we became a bit crunched for time. Wandering through the numerous rooms and hallways, I noticed a good amount of sketches, similar in style and subject matter to one I had recently come upon at the auction house. Thoughts of this piece had dominated the background thought of my mind for the better part of two days now, so it was nice to see other comparable examples. As we continued, I knew exactly where we were heading. And then, there we were. French Impressionism and post-Impressionism, more importantly, Vincent Van Gogh’s Wheat Fields and Cypresses. No matter how many times I see it, chills still run down my spine.

On our way to the exit, Lindsay tugged me in a direction opposite the door. It was back to ancient Egypt with us, where we had started the day. The Temple of Dendur, this time, perfectly silhouetted by the dark winter sky. Quiet. With all the hustle and bustle of the show and the museum, this felt like a fitting, calm end to our day. It had been a tiring day, of seemingly constant time travel between centuries, styles and civilizations. It was time for a drink.