It is much more than a museum, it is an extraordinary collection of works of art from all over the world (a place where works of art also include a whole Egyptian temple or a complete Renaissance room), and also a center of excellence for art studies, a place of important exhibitions and even a place for researchers.
With its collection of over 2 million works of art covering more than 5 thousand years of history, the Metropolitan Museum in New York offers a trip around the world which even allows you to physically enter the Egyptian temple of Dendur, dismantled by the Egyptian government during the construction of the Assuan’s dam and put back together at the MET on the other side of the world, or enter the garden of a Chinese house from the Ming era, or to visit the living room of a rich New Yorker from the late 800s.
As in most museums worthy of this name, at the Metropolitan Museum most of the works of art, in particular the figurative arts, are exhibited in open-space environments lit by natural light.
The unofficial mascot of the museum is a small Egyptian blue statuette, which depicts a hippopotamus named William. The Met’s is the largest collection of Egyptian art outside of Egypt.
The only flaw of the Metropolitan Museum is that it is so popular that it is always rather crowded but, luckily, it is possible to book a private guided tour online and visit the museum before or after opening hours.
Since the museum is usually free of charge (but accepting and recommending donations), it is worth spending some money to see its wonders without the crowds.
It’s very popular among tourists of course, but it’s also frequented by local schools and local families, artists who come here to sketch, University students who come here for research purposes and writers who come here for inspiration. I know many people and I have heard so many reasons to visit this wonder!
The Met also possesses a significant amount of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine and Islamic works of art.
The museum also houses large collections of musical instruments, vintage clothes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from all around the world.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the Met organizes and hosts large traveling exhibitions throughout the year because its collection is so rich that the museum has a huge storage space where many works of art are kept and not visible to the public.
Not many visitors to New York know that the roof garden of the Metropolitan museum in New York has the most beautiful view on Central Park. The roof garden of the building also offers an exhibition space and allows a relaxing spot en plein air and there are often temporary installations and exhibitions held here, besides a permanent café.
During the summer months, the garden is also home to exhibitions of local young artists and anyone can try to apply to display art in this corner.
The MET also has a second location called the Brauer, where the Whitney Museum used to be (the latter was moved to the new building built by Renzo Piano in the Chelsea area). It’s a functional space which hosts an immense collection of modern and contemporary art able to compete with the MoMA, New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Seen from the Hudson River, the cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum look like a corner of medieval Europe catapulted into Manhattan. The cloisters are not in the central building, but in Fort Tryon Park, in the northern part of the city, and it’s a section of the museum dedicated to art, architecture and medieval gardens where events and concerts are often organized.
