The reinstallation also celebrates works that have been committed as promised gifts to the Museum, Ludovico Carracci’s The Denial of Saint Peter and Pierre Jacques Volaire’s The Eruption of Vesuvius, A View of Naples Beyond, among others. These join a number of special loans from private collectors. Highlights include two important works by Sofonisba Anguissola and Judith Leyster — loans from the Klesch Collection that contribute to the greatly expanded presence of women artists in the display — and Jacques-Louis David’s spirited oil sketch for a major contemporary history painting now at Versailles.
The Met undertook several conservation projects to prepare works for the reinstallation and strengthen our understanding of the collection. Select examples include the carefully focused cleaning and retouching of Giotto di Bordone’s The Adoration of the Magi (possibly ca. 1320); the transformative removal of degraded varnish from The Met’s landmark Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women (ca. 1633); the treatment of Rembrandt’s Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653), whose appearance had deteriorated significantly since it was last conserved more than 40 years ago due to the increasing opacity of the modern, synthetic varnish; and the restoration of a spectacularly carved giltwood frame for Marie Guillemine Benoist’s 1802 portrait of Madame Philippe Panon Desbassayns de Richemont and her son Eugène. Technical examinations revealed new information about works, such as the absence of the Black page in the underdrawing for Paris Bordon’s Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages (ca. 1550) and the compositional evolution of Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo’s Saint Matthew and the Angel (ca. 1534).
The European Paintings Skylights
The complete replacement of 30,000 square feet of skylights above Galleries 600 to 644 marked the largest infrastructure project in the Museum’s history, requiring a $150 million budget. The momentous undertaking significantly improves the quality of light in the space and considerably enhances the viewing experience, in addition to resolving basic maintenance issues and increasing energy efficiency. The previous skylights, constructed in 1939 and last remodeled in 1952, had deteriorated over time. The process of replacing and upgrading the roof, skylights, and all the HVAC systems began in April 2018 and was carried out in phases. With construction finished, The Met temporarily closed the full suite of galleries in late March 2023 for reinstallation, in preparation for the November 2023 reopening.
While renovation focused on the skylights and roof above the galleries, the interiors of the galleries received enhancements as well, including new wall colors that reinforce the chronological sequence. The repositioning of doorways has created dramatic vistas throughout the space.
History of the European Paintings Collection and Galleries
The origins of The Met’s European paintings collection date to the Museum’s founding purchase in 1871, when 174 paintings were acquired from three private sources in Europe. The collection has since been enriched by numerous donations, bequests, and purchases so that today it possesses one of the most comprehensive surveys of European painting anywhere in the world. For 140 years, the Museum’s collection of European paintings has been displayed prominently in galleries at the top of the staircase leading from the Great Hall. Part of the original 1880 building, these galleries were modernized and refitted between 1951 and 1954 to accommodate the expanding collection. Further growth required a major reinstallation of the galleries in 1972 in 42 contiguous galleries, which still could only provide enough space for the display of 60 percent of the 2,500 works in the collection. To remedy this, the 19th-century European paintings were moved to a newly constructed wing at the south end of the Museum in 1980, and the 20th-century paintings were moved to the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing when it opened in 1987. An extensive renovation and reinstallation completed in 2013 increased the space for old master paintings by almost one-third and resulted in the current configuration of 45 galleries.
Credits
The reinstallation of the galleries was overseen by Stephan Wolohojian, the John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge of the Department of European Paintings, working with the Department of European Paintings' team of curators and staff members—including Adam Eaker, David Pullins, Tiffany Racco, and Anna-Claire Stinebring—as well as the curatorial staff of the departments of The American Wing, Arms and Armor, Asian Art, Drawings and Prints, Egyptian Art, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, Greek and Roman Art, Medieval Art and The Cloisters, Modern and Contemporary Art, Musical Instruments, and Robert Lehman Collection.
Examination and conservation of paintings was carried out by the Museum’s Department of Paintings Conservation under Michael Gallagher (Sherman Fairchild Chairman of Paintings Conservation) and including Kristin Holder, José Luis Lazarte Luna, Derek Lintala, Dorothy Mahon, Michael Alan Miller, Cynthia Moyer, Jeanette O’Keefe, Evan Read, and Sophie Scully; and the Department of Scientific Research under Marco Leona (David H. Koch Scientist in Charge) and including Federico Carò and Silvia A. Centeno.
For the skylights construction, the Museum collaborated with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners and Skanska USA Building. The Met’s Capital Projects and Buildings teams—overseen by Jhaelen Hernandez-Eli (Vice President, Capital Projects) and Tom Scally (Buildings General Manager), respectively—included Maik Atlas, Deepesh Dhingra, Michael Dominick, Paul McHale, Taylor Miller, and Charlie Tantillo. The gallery design was overseen by Alicia Cheng (Head of Design), with Clint Coller, Dan Kershaw, Mort Lebrigre, and Aichi Lee, as well as Chelsea Garunay, Amy Nelson, and Maanik Chauhan, with support from Tyler McGuckin, Tomo Mitake, Sarah Parke, Kamomi Solidum, and Kate Truisi.
The Museum benefitted from the support of the Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York City Council, the Manhattan Borough President, the New York State Senate and Assembly, and Governor Kathy Hochul.
Related Content
An Audio Guide accompanies select paintings on display to explore how European paintings relate to contemporary concerns like family, relationships, class, and identity. Listeners will hear observations from Met experts and their responses to questions from the public—including a psychoanalyst, food historian, photographer, and poet—as they consider the collection in a fresh light. The content will be accessible online and through a QR code in the gallery.
The Audio Guide is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Special related programming will include an afternoon of drop-in gallery talks on Sunday, December 3, from 1 to 4 pm (no registration required). Additional programming will include interactive art-making and story-writing stations, a musical performance, and Storytime with specially chosen picture books that connect to themes in the collection. Further information will be made available on The Met’s website.
Look Again: European Paintings 1300 – 1800 is featured on The Met’s website and on social media using the hashtags #MetEuropeanPaintings and #MetSkylights.
About The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens — businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day — who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. Today, The Met displays tens of thousands of objects covering 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City — The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online. Since its founding, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
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