The Metropolitan Museum will brightly celebrate its 150 anniversary: ​​what is planned

The main museum of America - the Metropolitan - is preparing to celebrate its 150 anniversary with many exhibitions, installations and lectures by leading art historians of the world. This publication writes "Voice of America".

One of the largest and fourth most visited art museum in the world - the Metropolitan, located in New York, will celebrate its anniversary in 2020 year. As part of the celebration, large thematic and personal exhibitions, installations dedicated to world cultures of different eras, and generous gifts from sponsors are planned, the source notes.

In addition, special programs are expected on music, architecture, electronic communications. Lectures by leading art historians of the world, as well as a series of programs for children and youth.

The Metropolitan Museum was opened 13 on April 1870 year by the efforts of city authorities, several entrepreneurs and artists.

“This anniversary will be an exciting moment for the millions of New Yorkers who enjoy the museum regularly, and for the millions of tourists who come to New York as a happy chance to see our exhibits. It is also an opportunity to reflect on our history, our future and say thank you to everyone! - said the president of the museum, Daniel Weiss, at a six-month meeting of the leaders and curators of the museum with journalists.

The main event of the anniversary year

The main event of the anniversary year will be the retrospective exhibition “Making The Met”. It will be held from March 30 to August 2 2020 of the year. This exhibition will feature more than 250 works of art from different eras, styles and genres, including those that are rarely seen for reasons of safety.

On the subject: Get into the Metropolitan from anywhere in the world: the museum opened online access to collections

“All exhibits are“ motivated ”by their belonging to important pages in the history of the museum. Among them are the circumstances of the emergence of the "American Wing" (US art gallery), the role of the museum during the Second World War, the evolution of the principles of collecting works of art. The exhibition will be accompanied by rare archival photographs and digital information boards, ”the source notes.

Museum Gifts

A new section of the Metropolitan Museum will be prepared for the anniversary date. These are 10 galleries, three of which are with authentic 18th century interiors, with a total area of ​​3352 thousand square meters. meters dedicated to the decorative arts and design of the UK between 1500 and 2000. About 700 exhibits, including very rare ones, will take their place in them, the source notes.

Also, numerous sponsors and philanthropists timed the anniversary of the transfer of their gifts to the Met.

“We are talking about about a hundred collectors who donated or guaranteed the transfer in the future to the museum of both individual works of art and entire collections,” the message says.

It is noted that the gifts will be placed in the main building of the museum on Fifth Avenue, in the collection of medieval art at the Met Cloisters branch and at the Met Broyer branch on Madison Avenue. Such exhibits will be marked with red plates.

Exhibitions within the framework of the anniversary

From the 27 of November, the 2019 of the year to the 17 of the May of the 2020 of the year, the exhibition “In pursuit of fashion” will be open. It will feature part of the Met collection presented by Sandy Schreyer, a famous historian and fashion collector.

On December 2 of 2019, the Aesthetic Splendor exhibition will open. This is a gift from Barry and Didi Wigmore, comprising dozens of works of American art, including paintings by landscape painters from the Hudson River School.

Michael and Juliet Rubensteen will show the work they donated at the Met-Breuer exhibition, From Gericault to Rockburn.

“These are mainly drawings and watercolors created in the period from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day,” the newspaper writes.

On the subject: The Metropolitan Museum has laid out more than 500 art books in open access.

Other gifts to the museum include an ancient military mask from Tibet, old Japanese scrolls, a painting by one of the representatives of the Bologna school, Lodovico Carracci, wooden African sculptures from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and a painting by Pablo Picasso.

The curators highlighted among the numerous exhibitions planned for the anniversary year, such as: “Sahel: art and empires on the Sahara” (will be held in January - May), “Gerhard Richter: painting above all else” (March - July), “Art at the court Tudor ”(October - January 2021),“ Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India ”(November - February 2021).

The crisis of relations with Russian museums

Speaking about the prospects for overcoming the protracted crisis in relations between Met and Russian museums, museum director Max Hollein expressed the opinion that politicians are responsible for the deadlock in the exchange of exhibitions.

Recall that the reason for the blocking of museum exchanges between the United States and Russia was the conflict between the Russian side and the Jewish organization Chabad over the "Schneerson library."

“The American court ruled in favor of Chabad, but the Russian courts expressed their disagreement. Russia, according to its representatives, does not hold exhibitions in the United States for fear that paintings and other objects of art, having entered the territory of the United States, may be confiscated in pursuance of a court decision in favor of Chabad, ”the publication recalls.

At the same time, the US State Department is ready to provide Russia with guarantees of judicial immunity, but this option does not suit the Russian side.

Hollein said that despite frozen exchanges, Met and the St. Petersburg Hermitage are exchanging employees who go to visit colleagues as part of short-term scientific internships.

Hollein also emphasized that museums in the modern world, as public cultural institutions, have an important function.

“We must think deeply about the extent of our responsibility as navigators of this exceptionally rich collection. The Met strives to maintain its reputation as an encyclopedic museum - a museum about peace, for peace, and in the world. And we are grateful to everyone who helps us in this difficult and noble cause, ”he summed up.