I hardly know where to begin. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is breathtaking. It cannot be devoured in a single visit, but can be sampled, nibbled from the edges. It is simply a goliath of beauty, ideas, and experiences. Note: admission entitles visitors to all exhibitions.
We stepped into the vast entrance hall, offered our New York CityPASS, and proceeded left to begin with the first of three must-sees on the list: Vermeer’s Masterpiece The Milkmaid. Though crowded, and a holiday (Columbus Day), it was no trouble to get close enough to sigh at the artist’s deft mastery of paint to represent light, space and the milkmaid’s form. On loan from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, the painting is the centerpiece of an exhibition that also includes the Met’s five Vermeers, and a selection of other Dutch painters who reflect the Dutch Golden Age (17th Century). The exhibit is open through November 29.
The Roman and Greek galleries were next. Graceful marble gods on pedestals … jeweled ornaments in gleaming cases … sculptural fragments. The galleries are to be enjoyed on a slow, panoramic ramble.
En route to the third on this particular visit’s list – Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom – we gazed into the Arms and Armor galleries. Regrettably, the galleries were not open that day, but I was reminded that these are terrific rooms for little boys to savor the Met. They can see historic armor for men and horses from around the world. Japanese, Islamic, European artistry and wartime protection … all the way to North American historic battle gear, such as a Kentucky flintlock.
Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom
On to the roof. Maelstrom surrounds the visitor in the force of nature. The installation, on the roof of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden through November 29, is a magnificent stainless steel tumult, 130 feet long by 45 feet wide. Walking in it, above the Central Park treetops, with sweeping views of the surrounding skyscrapers was a delight
