Another Fine Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(L-R) Ludwig Van Beethoven monument and Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

By Giovanni di Napoli

Now that the Feasts in my area are done for the year, my weekends are open to pursue some of my other interests.(1) So when my friend asked me to accompany her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I jumped at the opportunity. Normally I like to go to the Met every few months, but I’ve been so busy of late I think my last visit was back in early February.

After an enjoyable breakfast (caffè and croissant) at Le Pain Quotidien and a pleasant stroll through Central Park, we started our tour in the museum’s world renowned European Painting Galleries (1250-1800). In addition to seeing my old friends Luca Giordano, Mattia Preti and Salvator Rosa, we reveled in the presence of some of Europe’s greatest masters: Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Nicolas Poussin, among others.

We also got to see one of the Met’s new exhibits, Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age. 

Loaded with many masterpieces from the first millennium B.C., the exhibition explores the extensive interaction between the ancient Near East and the lands along the Mediterranean. The comprehensive collection—consisting of some 260 works made of stone, ivory and gold—is absolutely stunning and should be seen in person, if at all possible. Many of the objects on view are on loan from foreign institutions and would be difficult to see again in this context. 

Naturally, we spent a large part of our day admiring its many treasures. 

Before leaving, I wanted to visit the Greek and Roman Galleries (150-176) for some additional photos of Castor and Pollux to include with Lucian’s Echoes of Gemini article. Unable to do this in time for its publication back in October, I felt obliged to do it now while I had the chance and post them belatedly. My companion indulged me as we made our way to the mezzanine galleries (170-171) to see the three works I had in mind.(2) 

As luck would have it, at the foot of the stairwell leading up to the mezzanine, there are a pair of marble statuettes of Castor and Pollux in Gallery 169. Unfamiliar with the pieces, I was excited to discover something new. Unfortunately, aside from being labelled Roman from the first half of the 3rd century A.D., I cannot find any information about the figures.(3)

Castor and Pollux, Roman, Third Century A.D.

It goes without saying we would have liked to have continued our excursion, but there is simply too much to see in a day. Besides, we were getting hungry and had a long trip back to Brooklyn ahead of us. 

I look forward to returning soon and visiting the critically acclaimed El Greco in New York and Bartholmeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague exhibits, as well as the upcoming Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche opening November 25th.

Notes:

(1) As of press time, rumors that the Feast of Santa Lucia in Hoboken, New Jersey will be revived have not been confirmed

(2) Terracotta hydria attributed to the Washing Painter, Greek, ca. 430-420 B.C.; Limestone cippus base, Etruscan, ca. 500-450 B.C.; and Bronze handles from a large volute-krater, Etruscan, ca. 500-475 B.C.

(3) As far as I’ve been able to tell, the statuettes are missing from the Met’s website. Strangely, I’ve came across the same problem with Giovanni Battista Caracciolo’s Tobias and the Angel (c. 1622)

View highlights:

Tobias and the Angel by Giovanni Battista Caracciolo

The Penitent Magdalen by Corrado Giaquinto

Saint Margaret of Cortona by Gaspare Traversi

Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Massimo Stanzione

The Dream of Aeneas by Salvator Rosa