The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) is a large-scale museum located on the famous "Museum Mile," near Central Park West. Renowned for its fine collections of ancient and modern art from around the world, circulating through various exhibitions open at different times of the year, the Met is an institution entirely dedicated to the preservation of ancient art. With over two million pieces in its possession, from Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas, the Met has earned a place among the most visited art museums in the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The exterior of the museum is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, modeled on ancient Greco-Roman architecture founded on the principles of the Doric order, with imposing pillars, metopes, with reliefs of various deities engraved in the marble. This style was most likely chosen due to the Western obsession with returning to its roots in ancient Greco-Roman ideals, and the architectural designs are merely a reflection of this. As an institution, the Met is entirely funded by donations, large and small, to keep it running and catering to the public's artistic tastes. The interior of the museum is equally surprising, especially due to the enormity of the space available and the monumental dimensions of some works of art, such as the sculptures. With such space comes the extraordinary grandeur of these works of art and their overbearing presence within the museum's halls. The decoration is also impressive, with round Roman arches leading from corridor to corridor; the geometric carvings along the walls of the steps that go from one exhibition to another. Organized by cultural background, upon entering the Met there is a notable divide between East and West, with ancient Greek and ancient Roman artifacts located on the left side of the museum, and Asian and ancient Egyptian art located on the right side. This contextualizes the divide between cultures based on differences in artistic style, methodology, and inspirations. Visitors are often led first to the ancient Greek and Roman art gallery, and then escorted to other areas in a clockwise direction. Walking through the ancient Greek and Roman art gallery, you see the dedication. Much of the artwork found here includes painted vases, sturdy sculptures of various sizes, and tombstones which showed careful attention to detail in the carvings, as well as including epithets associated with the individual if they were of a high status. Statues of Greco-Roman gods were numerous in the exhibition, common as these deities were thought to have had a huge influence on the lives of the Greeks, but they were all too human with their petty jealousy and desire for worship, and so the solid bronze statues of the Greeks and the marble replicas made by the Romans who came later. There were also statues of many demigods/heroes of Greek myth, due to their function as intermediaries between humans and gods, as well as having the accessibility to help the Greeks in times of need, such as during wars, presence of Greek monsters etc. Above the Roman art gallery there are entirely glass ceilings, so that light can enter the building and shine on the statues, giving them an aura of timeless beauty and physical perfection of the human body. The structure of the building was taken from the Roman architectural style, according to which light (symbolizing the divine presence) could enter a room and give the feeling that this was a "sacred space". To the north of the Greco-Roman section are the arts of art. Africa, Oceania and the Americas, incorporating all different types of artwork ranging from objects used todaily activities, to ritual and ceremonial objects that had enormous value for those cultures and their peoples, and had an intrinsic aesthetic value for them too. An eye-catching and popular piece in the exhibition was a giant statue of what is believed to be an African deity, standing hunched over and glowering into the hall. He was about ten feet tall, his hands positioned in such a way that he appeared to be reaching into the distance. Most likely it served as a substitute for a popular deity, a venerated ancestor, etc. And it was probably central to the religious system of the culture. One of the distinctive features of African art shared between the figures is their oval face and stoic expression, which help to lend an air of seriousness to the exhibition, a tribute to the merits of an entire civilization and the various cultures that have influenced African art. . In addition to this, there were also African masks that had a spiritual/religious meaning for the people, in the exhibition mini statuettes were also admired, used as fertility idols to encourage fertilization, or as good luck charms to ward off bad energies (evil ). eye) between them. Further up the museum, beyond the Greco-Roman and African, Oceanian and American arts was the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, displaying art by leading members of various schools of contemporary art, for example Henri Matisse, William de Kooning, Jackson Pollock etc. Abstract, yet somehow concrete in their representations, the images on display are excellent pieces, illustrating symbiotic and contrasting ideas in the same space and using a range of colours, textures, patterns, shades and highlights /darks to give shape to the image and the symbolism contained within it. One of my favorite photos in this exhibition was Untitled by Sigmar Polke, a gelatin silver print made in 1975, which blends together the dark colors with the print's background scene, which appears to be cross-hatching and perhaps even a individual. The image is intended to portray a group of men drinking in a bar in Paolo, Brazil, but due to the intentional distortion of the image, it is difficult to tell that there is anyone in the image. Pole was experimenting with images, using creasing and folding wet negatives as a technique. Other paintings, prints, etc. they use similar and different methods to express their ideas and convey their meaning to the viewer. Opposite the ancient Greek and Roman gallery is that of the ancient Egyptians and their cultural artifacts, such as slabs and bands of hieroglyphics, chiseled into the walls of the exhibit. Although some rooms were narrow, they were still filled with various sarcophagi; ushabti, which were funerary figurines that filled the role of servants of the pharaoh in the afterlife; and among the largest were statues of royal pharaohs and their dog-headed sacred guardians (modeled on the ancient Egyptian god Anubis). The lighting in these rooms was dim, adding to the eerie images of the statues, sitting or standing in absolute silence. The narrow halls led into a vast space, where a pond stood at the entrance and a large cult space stood tall at the back, the Temple of Dendur, built during the Roman occupation of Egypt and the only view in the vast stretched out. of space. Inside the temple were depictions of the ancient Egyptian god Hapi, often personified as a hippopotamus, along with other carvings in the wall showing dead kings making offerings to the deities while brandishing scepters and ankhs, the ancient Egyptian symbol of life . and a symbol that continues to be used to this day. The temple marked the end of the exhibit, and beyond was the gift shop. At the top right of the Met are theAmerican art galleries, displaying art based on and from early America, including oil paintings, antique furniture, and as from the late 1700s, when the United States was just becoming independent from the British Empire, and ending at the beginning of the 20th century, with the Ash Can School. It includes the furniture that is an integral part of the exhibition, with luxury silverware, tableware, etc. they were a shared characteristic of the American nobility of the time and had aesthetic, as well as practical, qualities. Most objects from this period were similar, having everyday uses, but remaining quality works of art to be admired when not in use. One of my favorites is Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, painted in 1851 in oil on canvas, and shows George Washington and his men, carrying the American flag and crossing the freezing Delaware River, before his attack on the Hessians (German troops conscripted by the English). It presents him as a formidable leader and a courageous man willing to sacrifice his life and that of his comrades in arms to fight for independence, a man of true heroism and character. Traditionalism is often the root of early American art and continues in later works that seek to imitate the old-fashioned nature of their predecessors. The same principle is applied for the craftsmanship of furniture, for example bedding, tables, chairs, chandeliers, etc. and for the careful detail in the construction, carving and furnishing of each of these. Domestic architecture was an essential part of the early American experience and a defining characteristic of that period. Some of the Native American pieces, such as the Raven Rattle, dating back to the 19th century, tell the story of the people and their cultural heritage before the invasion of European settlers, and the spiritual practices of shamanism and faith healing that were used through these rattles in ceremonial singing and invoking the spirit. The rattle is decorated mostly with bright red, blue and black pigments and is nothing more than an item from a Native American tribe, but it gives us a glimpse into how these tribes operated before white settlers and a tremendously rich culture whose beliefs can often be determined through their artwork and the objects they left behind. At the center of the museum is the Medieval Art Gallery, which displays works of art from the fall of Rome in the 4th century to the early Renaissance in the 16th century, with some pieces from pre-medieval Europe, during the Bronze Age and early iron age. The exhibition evokes a feeling of religiosity, a certain sanctity that emanates in the exhibition. This collection strives to showcase religiously oriented artworks from the Middle Ages in Christianized Europe, inspired by biblical narratives and the royals who sponsored such works as patrons of the artists behind them. Sculptures, such as that of Mourner, highlight the importance of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, in the cultural context of Europe at the time, and influenced it to such an extent that the same impact would not have been had if the influence had been 't there. Perhaps one of the most notable pieces in the gallery is the relief scene from the legend of the True Cross, made around 1400 in the Southern Netherlands, and depicts the scene of St. Helena crowned, with a bearded Judas kneeling in prayer as he uncovered three crosses, one of which is the cross on which Jesus was crucified. A local history of the region, showing the cultural variations of different stories told based on biblical content. The story of St. Helena and the True Cross is no different than that of the Holy Grail or any other tradition told throughout the centuries. Please note: this is just an example. Get.