A Day at the Met

New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870 and commonly known as “the Met” is the largest art museum in the United States and one of the largest art museums in the world with a collection of over 2 million works of art. It’s one of the most visited museums in the world reaching a record setting attendance in the Met’s recorded history of 7.35 million visitors in 2018.

The Met contains a great variety works of art and sculptures from ancient Greece and Roman societies, and ancient Egypt. Western paintings from the European masters that date from the Middle Ages or medieval times through the great Renaissance. From the artists of the Baroque era to 19th century Romanticism, Impressionism and Post Impressionism. From the 20th century Modernism, Surrealism, Abstract, Pop Art and Photorealism to 21st century Contemporary art.

The artworks from some of most famous artists in history are on display at the Met. Works from Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali to name a few. The Cloisters in Upper Manhattan is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it houses art and architecture from medieval Europe.

I recently have developed a fascination with Vincent Van Gogh. I’ve been watching several documentaries about Van Gogh. It’s not just his paintings with his rich use of colors and their meaning, but it’s also a fascination with the artist himself and what he went through in life. He suffered a great deal in life, but despite this he created some of the greatest artworks the world has ever known which has left an indelible impact in the hearts of many people.

It was heartwarming for me to walk into Gallery 825 at the Met which contains some of Van Gogh’s famous paintings such as Two Cut Sunflowers, Vase with Oleanders and Books, and a Van Gogh Self-Portrait with Straw Hat. This is as close as I’ve ever gotten to meeting Vincent Van Gogh himself who passed away over a hundred years ago in 1890.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is so huge that it will certainly take more than one day at the Met to view and appreciate all the works of art contained in that magnificent masterpiece of a structure. The Met is a work of art.

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