Impromptu Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two Men Contemplating the Moon, ca. 1825-30,
oil on canvas, Caspar David Friedrich

Last Friday, we made an impromptu visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art after canceling our long-awaited trip to the Ronald S. Lauder NEUE GALERIE Museum for German and Austrian Art in Manhattan. Unfortunately for us, every first Friday of the month the NEUE GALERIE is free and as you'd imagine there was a crowded queue stretching around the block. Reluctant to wait, we decided to reschedule our visit and go to the Met instead.

Final Study for the Monument to Balzac,
modeled 1897, cast 1972, bronze, Aguste Rodin

Normally, we would have some sort of itinerary worked out, however, being last minute and having nothing planned, we just wandered aimlessly through the sundry galleries. Picking up where we left off during our last visit, we sauntered through the world-class European painting galleries on the second floor. Otherwise enjoyable, I would be remiss if I did not mention that the Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and neighboring Romanticism and Barbizon school galleries were poorly lit that day. Way too dark to properly view, this should be inexcusable; especially since the museum only recently completed a five-year-long major overhead lighting renovation project.

Ville-d'Avray, 1790, oil on canvas, Camille Corot

The biggest surprise for me was seeing Two Men Contemplating the Moon (ca. 1825-30) by Casper David Friedrich. I didn’t mention it in my previous writeup, but last month I mistakingly thought the upcoming exhibit, Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature, was scheduled to open in February. Somehow, in my excitement and haste, I misread the dates on the website, which clearly says, February 7, 2025–May 11, 2025. Not one to make excuses, but in my defense, the online overview does say, “Presented in honor of the 250th anniversary of Friedrich’s birth in 2024.” As you can imagine, I was more than a little embarrassed when we showed up and there was no Friedrich on display.

(L) Reverie, ca. 1860-65, oil on wood, Camille Corot.
(R) The Muse: History, ca. 1865, oil on canvas, Camille Corot

Seeing as they’re promoting the Friedrich exhibit over a year in advance and it will be the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the artist held in the United States, I think my eagerness can be forgiven. At least I keep telling myself that.

It should be noted, as of this writing, that the museum’s website wrongly states that Friedrich's Two Men Contemplating the Moon is currently not on view.

Saltash with the Water Ferry, Cornwall, 1811,
oil on canvas, Joseph Mallord William Turner

Making our way through the various European Painting galleries; Late Roman, Early Byzantine and Late Medieval Secular Art galleries; and the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art gallery, a visible-storage facility that displays more than ten thousand works of American fine and decorative art; we spent the majority of our visit in the American Wing. 

(L) Study of a Female Nude, 1840, oil on canvas, Henri Lehmann.
(R) Brigand and His Wife in Prayer, 1824, oil on canvas, Léopold Robert

Admittedly, I don’t visit the American Wing as often as I should. The quality of the collection should command more attention. Among my favorites are Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent (currently not on view), Repose by John White Alexander, Spanish Music Hall by Everett Shinn, and Leatherstocking’s Rescue by John Quidor. Hauntingly beautiful, A Rose by Thomas Anshutz is the spitting image of my old friend Charlotte. She humbly disagrees.

Repose, 1895, oil on canvas, John White Alexander

Despite the recent spate of modern installations, tired anti-Western bias and unwanted ideological “perspectives,” the Met’s permanent collection is so grand and multifarious it’s virtually impossible to not enjoy yourself there.

Hopefully, next time we will be able to visit the NEUE GALERIE; but if not, the Met is just down the block.

(L) Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes, 1897, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent.
 (R) A Rose, 1907, oil on canvas, Thomas Anshutz

Leatherstocking's Rescue, 1832, oil on canvas, John Quidor

(L) Genius of Mirth, 1842; this carving, 1843, marble, Thomas Crawford.
(R) Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii, ca. 1853-54;
this carving, 1859, marble, Randolph Rogers

Spanish Music Hall, 1902, oil on canvas board, Everett Shinn

Aquamanile in the form of a Lion, 1100-1200,
copper alloy with glass inlay, North German

Through the 400s and 500s, the Visigoths minted gold coins mimicking Byzantine imperial coins. Early Visigothic issues closely resemble their imperial models, but by the mid-500s the images and inscriptions had strayed far from Byzantine designs. In the late 500s and 600s, Visigothic rulers minted coins in their own names and showed themselves in simple frontal portraits. Top to bottom, left to right: Two Gold Tremisses of Emperors Justinian I (r. 527-65) and Maurice Tiberius (r. 582-602), Byzantine, Minted 527-602 in Constantinople; Two Gold Solidi Imitating Those of Emperor Valentinian III (r. 425-55), minted about 450-60, probably in Toulouse, southern France; Two Gold Solidi Imitating Those of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527-65), minted mid-500s; Two Gold Tremisses Imitating Byzantine Imperial Tremisses, minted mid 500s; and Gold Tremissis of King Reccared (r. 586-601) minted 586-601 in Mérida, western Spain.