This Black Friday (for the unfamiliar, it’s the Friday after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day in the States), we decided to skip the mall and head out to NYC to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or The MET! We reached there a little after 11 am, bought our passes and immersed ourselves in art across time.
Whenever I visit a museum, I can’t help taking photos of the art. The photos don’t necessarily turn out great, given the lights, glass cases, reflections, equipment, skill, etc. they sure bring me joy. I look for common threads in art created in different times in history by different artists in different cultures using different mediums. I look deeper and notice details and find inspiration in them.
Below are a few pieces that caught my eyes during this visit that share a common thread: the color blue.
Meet William! This little hippopotamus was molded in faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz by the Egyptian artist from the Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, ca. 1961–1878 B.C. The leaf designs represent the river marsh habitats of the hippos. William is very popular at The MET! You’ll find postcards, eraser, small reproduction statuettes, even soft toys!
This beautiful lady is Pauline de Broglie as captured by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the neo-classical French portraitist, his final commission and masterpiece! As the plaque at The MET reads, “Ingres captures the shy reserve of his subject while illuminating through seamless brushwork the material quality of her many fine attributes: her rich blue satin and lace ball gown, the gold embroidered shawl, and silk damask chair, together with finely tooled jewels of pearl, enamel, and gold.”
Wood, ivory, brass, paint, gilding came together in this North Spanish sculpture of Seated Virgin and Child from the late 15th century. Only a little over a foot tall, she still caught my eyes across a dimly lit room!
And this is Quappi in Blue in a Boat! She is part of the exhibition, Max Beckmann in New York running till February 20th, 2017. Beckmann captured his wife in Gouache and oil on paper mounted on cardboard. Isn’t she gorgeous?
I took this shot in the rain, while running to the car just to catch the time when we left. We didn’t even realize when the day ended and it was dark outside!
It was a day WELL-SPENT.
Oh, btw, did our shopping online between November 22nd and 29th 🙂