Metropolitan Museum of Art's Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Presepio

Eighteenth-century Neapolitan Angels adorn the twenty-foot blue spruce

Today I made my annual pilgrimage to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Adoration of the Angels" installation and thought I would share a few photos.

Some examples of the MET's renowned presepio collection
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

The Angel adorned tree stands majestically before the 18th-century choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid, Spain. An ornate panorama of realistic characters reenacting the Nativity scene and depicting eighteenth-century Naples encircle the base of the tree. The polychromed figures are made of terra cotta and wood by some of Naples' finest Baroque sculptors–including Giuseppe Sanmartino, Matteo Bottigliero, Francesco Celebrano, Giuseppe Gori, and Angelo Viva.

The MET's Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque presepio is on view through January 6, 2010 in the museum's Medieval Sculpture Hall (1st floor). A lighting ceremony takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 4:30 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 p.m. Recorded Christmas music adds to the holiday spirit.

The exhibit is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

For more visit the MET’s website