Metropolitan Museum
“One of the five largest museums in the world, spanning four blocks, and the largest in New York and the United States.”
Overview :
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is one of the world’s greatest art museums, ranked among the top three museums in the world, along with the Louvre in France and the British Museum in the United Kingdom, despite its short history.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located on the east side of Central Park in New York City. In its short history, the museum has rapidly amassed a valuable collection of artistic and scholarly works, both donated and purchased. Through a major renovation in 1954, the museum was equipped with modern exhibition halls, and today it is one of the world’s leading comprehensive art museums in terms of its size and collection.
The museum’s extensive collection, which spans from ancient to contemporary art, from the East to the West, and from all regions of the world, is of the highest quality.
History:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is often referred to as “The Met” for short. The Met was proposed in Paris in 1866.
It was proposed by a group of Americans staying in Paris to celebrate American Independence Day, and it opened on a small scale in 1870. The museum moved to its current location (1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, 10028) in 1880, and its collection grew rapidly through endowment purchases and donations.
The Met’s collection began in 1872 with the first donation of works by railroad entrepreneur John Taylor Johnston and has since grown to include more than 3.3 million works, including 6,000 works of art donated by General Di Cesenola. It was the fourth most visited museum in the world in 2019 and is the largest museum in New York and the United States, spanning four blocks. With collections ranging from ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages, paintings, and contemporary art, you’ll need more than a day to explore the museum. The most popular sections are the Egyptian Pavilion on the first floor and the European Paintings on the second floor. Today, the museum houses more than 3.3 million pieces, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and artifacts.
Featured collections :
The Metropolitan’s collection spans more than 5,000 years of history, from prehistory to the present day, and includes art and artifacts from a wide range of geographic regions and genres. Artifacts from around the world are represented, including Egyptian, Greek, and Medieval art; European paintings and sculpture; American contemporary art; African, Oceanic, Oriental, Byzantine, and Islamic art; and other crafts, prints, weapons, clothing, and armor from prehistory and beyond.
Collections by region
Ancient Middle Eastern Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been collecting art and artifacts from the Near and Middle East since the late 19th century and currently holds more than 7,000 objects, including a small number of hieroglyphic clay tablets and seals.
Islamic Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Islamic art is the largest in the world, totaling nearly 12,000 works. This section focuses on art from the Middle East since the rise of Islamic power, which is distinct from ancient Middle Eastern art.
African, Oceania, and American Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of traditional art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas began with the acquisition of Peruvian artifacts in 1882, but the museum did not pursue collecting for some time. Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of traditional art from sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas totals more than 11,000 objects, and it was not until 1969 that the museum’s holdings really took off, when American businessman and philanthropist Nelson Rockefeller donated more than 3,000 objects from his collection.
Iconic European paintings
‘Madonna and Children’ by Duccio di Buoninsegna
“A Maid Asleep” by Johannes Jan Vermeer
“María Teresa (1638–1683), Infanta of Spain” by Velázquez
“Cypresses”,” Wheat Field with Cypresses” by Vincent Van Gogh
“Apples” by Paul Cézanne
“The Death of Socrates” by Jacques Louis David
“Hail Mary” by Paul Gauguin
“The Third Class Wagon” by HONORÉ DAUMIER
“Merode Altarpiece” by Robert Campin
‘Combing Girl’ by Pierre-August Renoir
and María Teresa, Infanta of Spain
Visiting Detail:
Location : 1000 5th Ave, New York City, NY 10028-0198
Open : Sunday-Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-17:00
Friday, Saturday 10:00-21:00 (subject to change)
Closed every Wednesday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year (January 1)
Average stay time 2-3 hours
Founded : 1870
Annual attendance : Approximately 5,000,000
Official Website : https://www.metmuseum.org/
