The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

03/25/2025

Miniature masterpieces right at your fingertips. 💅

Inspired by "Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature," Met visitor Julia reimagined Friedrich’s iconic landscapes on her nails.

Friedrich revolutionized European landscape painting, capturing nature as a setting for deep emotional and spiritual connections. As part of the German Romantic movement, his vision invites us to experience the natural world as personal, mysterious, and full of wonder—a perspective that continues to inspire today.

📸 canipaintyournails on Instagram
🎨 Caspar David Friedrich (German, 1774-1840). Monk by the Sea, 1808-10. Oil on Canvas. Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
🎨 Caspar David Friedrich (German, 1774-1840). The Ruins of Oybin, ca. 1812. Oil on Canvas. Hamburger Kunsthalle.
🎨 Caspar David Friedrich (German, 1774-1840). Brushes in the Snow (From the Dresden Heath II). Oil on Canvas. Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

03/23/2025

Happy National Puppy Day from this adorable four-legged art connoisseur.

Visiting The Met is a paw-some way to spend the day! Hope you’ll stop on by—we’re open every Sunday until 5 pm. 👋

📷 worldofpudge on Instagram

03/23/2025

Broken-hearted? 💔 Head over heels? ❤️‍🔥

We all know love has its highs and lows—as did artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones, who exhibited this painting alongside the lyrics: "Alas, I know a love song / Sad or happy, each in turn."

Take a closer look. What do you notice? Cupid, arrows slung over his shoulder, pumps the organ at right, while flowers symbolizing both bitterness and affection frame the scene. Through the embrace of music as a model, the painting expresses how art appeals directly to our emotions.

Burne-Jones himself linked this image to his affair with artist and model Maria Zambaco.

Whatever draws you in, it's impossible not to feel something. Or as one critic described it: "There is no story: nothing to guess at, but everything to feel."

🎨 Sir Edward Burne-Jones (British, 1833–1898). The Love Song, 1868–77. Oil on canvas.

03/22/2025

What stories can period rooms tell us about the people who inhabited them?

The historic and domestic interiors in the American Wing transport you into the daily lives of Americans from centuries ago. They provide glimpses into how people lived in the past, revealing the fashions and values of different eras.

Join Met curator Amelia Peck as she examines the origins and reinterpretations of these extraordinary spaces.

03/20/2025

Join us March 28th as curator Adrienne L. Childs examines the work of American painter Beauford Delaney.

Explore Delaney’s humanist vision, bold use of color, and evolving visual language, shaped by cubism, fauvism, expressionism, and the dynamic energy of abstract expressionism.

Discover more at the Leonard A. Lauder Distinguished Scholar Lecture.

Details Adrienne L. Childs, Senior Consulting Curator, The Phillips Collection, and curator of the upcoming Phillips traveling exhibition Beauford Delaney: So Much Love and Beauty, 2027 Join Adrienne Childs as she charts American painter Beauford Delaney’s humanist vision, love of color, and evo...

03/20/2025

Happy Nowruz to all who celebrate! 🏵️

Celebrate the vernal equinox with "Wine Drinking in a Spring Garden"—a 15th-century painting that poetically captures the spirit of renewal. Reflecting a courtly ideal of love, beneath the blossoms of a prunus tree, a young suitor offers a cup of wine to a maiden who holds a safina, an anthology of poetry bound in an oblong book.

✨ Wishing you joy, health, and prosperity this Nowruz!

🎨 Artist unknown (Attributed to Iran, possibly Tabriz). Wine Drinking in a Spring Garden, ca. 1430. Opaque watercolor and gold on undyed silk.

03/18/2025

Cleverly designed, this incense burner releases fragrant smoke through the bird’s open beak, artfully combining naturalism, intricate ornamentation, and historical reverence. 🪿✨

Crafted during the Ming dynasty, this bronze piece draws on a long tradition of bird-shaped incense burners, first created during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and revived in the 13th and 14th centuries. Its finely sculpted anatomical details reflect the refined tastes and high standards of the early Ming imperial court.

See this work in "Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900," an exhibition that reexamines the revival of bronze casting from the 12th to 19th century—not as mere imitation, but as an art form with its own aesthetic and functional significance.

Explore the exhibition now through September 28.

🎨 Artist unknown (China, early 15th century). Incense burner in the shape of a goose, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Copper alloy.

03/16/2025

Minimalism might feel modern, but it stretches back millennia. 💫

Discover 161 works of Cycladic art with highlights that range from delicate marble figurines and striking violin-shaped sculptures to one of the few surviving monumental Early Cycladic statues—a reclining female figure over four feet long.

This extraordinary exhibition, organized in historic partnership with between The Met, the Ministry of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, and the in Athens, approved by the Greek parliament in 2022, explores the subtle elegance and timeless beauty that Cycladic sculptors achieved over a thousand-year period.

Learn more about the Leonard N. Stern Collection of Cycladic Art at The Met: met.org/49oya7B

03/15/2025

Audrey Flack’s “Macarena of Miracles” fuses Spanish Baroque opulence with the precision of photorealism 💎✨

Inspired by Seville’s Macarena Esperanza, Flack honors both the revered Madonna and sculptor Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana. In the 1960s, she reimagined found imagery from newspapers and magazines, like Pop artists of the era—but with emotion and personal depth rather than irony. This became a turning point in her career, shaping her lifelong focus on powerful female figures in painting and sculpture.

Celebrate with The Met. Learn more: met.org/4bkJsw3

🩵 Audrey Flack (American, New York 1931–2024 Southampton, New York). “Macarena of Miracles,” 1971. Oil on canvas. © Audrey Flack

03/14/2025

“My aim was not only to depict visions of profound camaraderie, beauty, and joy—though that alone would have been a worthy pursuit—but to explore how Black individuals have appropriated and transformed classical European fashion into something uniquely our own.” –Tyler Mitchell

Explore the “humanity, pride, playfulness, and intentional wit that define dandyism” through a new visual essay photographed by Tyler Mitchell. From the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” catalogue, Mitchell’s essay features models wearing select contemporary garments from the exhibition, alongside fabulously self-styled men in vintage or the wearer’s own attire—all embodying the camaraderie among well-styled Black men across generations.

opens to the public on May 10. Preorder the catalogue: met.org/4bTZr4c

📷 Michael Henry Adams, Abdou Ndoye, Craig Shimirimana, Von Penn Jr, Dandy Wellington, Grailing King, Lamine Seck, Serigne Sene, and Iké Udé photographed by Tyler Mitchell, “The Dinner Party,” 2025.

03/13/2025

Step into the Roaring Twenties through these vibrant silks. ✨

FINAL WEEKS—"Jazz-Age Silks: The Stehli Silks Americana Collection, 1925–1928" highlights a pivotal moment in American fashion, when talent from the United States emerged onto the world stage. Discover 16 textile designs by the Stehli Silks Corporation, featuring vivid scenes inspired by everyday American life and popular culture of the era.

Visit the exhibition through view April 8 to experience the textiles alongside original photographs of models in “flapper” dresses, fashion magazines of the day, and illustrated books and newspapers about the textile line.

03/11/2025

How can imaging reveal new insights about art? 🔍

Near infrared radiation, absorbed by the graphite beneath Caspar David Friedrich’s "Eastern Coast of Rügen with Shepherd," helps uncover details the artist left out of the final work—like these two botanical studies! The Paper Conservation Department used this technique, as well as visible light imaging and photomicrography, to gain a deeper understanding of Friedrich’s working process.

See this work and more in Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature, an exhibition exploring how Friedrich reimagined European landscape painting as a space for spiritual and emotional reflection.

is on view through May 11.

🎨 Caspar David Friedrich (German, 1774-1840), “Eastern Coast of Rügen Island with Shepherd”, c. 1805-06. Brown ink and wash over pencil, with white opaque watercolor, on wove paper; partial framing line in brown-black

03/11/2025

Opening May 19, "Lorna Simpson: Source Notes" offers a rare look at the full scope of the artist’s painting practice. Discover more about her inspiration and pioneering career.

“Lorna Simpson Simpson: Source Notes” opens May 19 and features large-scale work on historic themes.

03/09/2025

Spring forward in style with this intricate clock shaped like a late Gothic tower and adorned with elaborate architectural motifs.

Made for English collector Alfred Morrison the work was later displayed by the designer, Lucien Falize, at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. Its exquisite enameling and craftsmanship secured Falize's reputation as a master jeweler. Inside, a precise movement keeps perfect time.

What are your plans for the longer days ahead?

🕰️ Case and enamel design by the Firm of Lucien Falize (French, 1839–1897). Table clock with calendar, 1881. Silver, partly enameled gold, hardstones, rock crystal, amethysts, and diamonds.

03/09/2025

This , explore this Tiffany Studios window, designed by Agnes Northrop and brought to life primarily by women.

Met curator Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Met director Max Hollein discuss how women played an essential role at every stage—from concept and design to construction—of this three-part masterpiece.

Now part of The Met’s collection, the window is currently on view in the American Wing.

🪟 Tiffany Studios. Agnes F. Northrop (American, Flushing, New York 1857–1953). 3-part Garden landscape window for Linden Hall, 1912. Leaded Favrile glass.

03/08/2025

These rabbits may be adorable, but they mean business! 🐇⚔️

This rare, complete set of sword fittings (daishō) includes sword guards (tsuba), knife handles (kozuka), hilt ornaments (menuki), pommels (kashira), and hilt collars (fuchi)—all elements of a samurai’s weaponry.

In Edo-period Japan, sword fittings weren’t just functional; they were a powerful symbol of status and artistry. Crafted by renowned artist of the Ishiguro School, Ishiguro Masayoshi, this set features rabbits and horsetail plants—an traditional pairing. In Asian folklore, a rabbit on the moon polishes its surface with horsetail to make it shine.

LAST CHANCE—See these works in "Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan" before the exhibition closes March 23.

🎨 Ishiguro Masayoshi (Japanese, 1774–1862). Fittings for a Pair of Swords (Daishō Soroi-Mono), 19th century. Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper.

03/07/2025

Swap your usual dinner-and-a-movie for drinks-and-a-masterpiece.

Every Friday and Saturday night is Date Night at The Met! Bring a date, a friend, or make it a solo night of 5,000 years of art history.

Learn more: met.org/3f2ZYHN

03/06/2025

Let your emotions wander with the works of Caspar David Friedrich. 🏔️ ✨

Join Met curators Alison Hokanson and Joanna Sheers Seidenstein, along with Museum director Max Hollein, for a virtual tour of Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature.

See the exhibition at The Met through May 11. Watch the full tour: met.org/41GpNDp

03/05/2025

Pisces season in full swim! 🐟 🐟

William Merritt Chase painted "Fish" with bold, expressive brushstrokes, reflecting his Munich training. The rich, dark background recalls 17th-century Spanish still lifes, in which fluidly painted objects are presented against a dark background.

Chase created many fish still lifes after the success of his 1904 painting, "An English Cod." The composition here features a striped bass and a salmon. A weakfish lies directly on the table and a bowl is visible in the background.

🎨 William Merritt Chase (American, 1849–1916). Fish, 1910. Oil on canvas.

03/05/2025

Pause, Reflect, Connect 🌿

Join us for mindfulness at The Met Cloisters to tune into your senses. Inspired by global contemplative traditions, as well as the art, atmosphere, and gardens of The Cloisters, this experience invites you to slow down, tune into your senses, and find stillness in beauty.

Learn more: met.org/3wGJcrk

03/04/2025

Explore how three public artworks commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority connect Black culture across time and space.

Reclaiming Ancient Egypt in the Neighborhood’s Transit System

03/04/2025

Follow along as the "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog“ makes its journey from Hamburg to NYC!

Like the painting itself, its subject is also on a journey. Wanderers such as this personified the Romantic search for connection and meaning in nature. Caspar David Friedrich’s iconic traveler, attired in a green velvet suit, pauses on a windblown promontory to survey his surroundings. Although the overlook offers a commanding vista, the swaths of mist must obscure his vision.

On loan from the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog“ is now on view at as part of "Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature“.

See it before it returns to Hamburg for "Rendezvous of Dreams: Surrealism and German Romanticism“, starting June 13.
——
Von Hamburg nach New York: Der „Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer“ ist nach NYC ins The Met gereist.

Wanderer wie hier auf dem Gemälde dargestellt, verkörperten die romantische Suche nach Verbindung und Sinn in der Natur. Caspar David Friedrichs ikonischer Reisender hält auf einer Landzunge inne, um seine Umgebung zu betrachten. Obwohl der Aussichtspunkt einen herrlichen Blick bietet, versperren ihm die Nebelschwaden wohl die Sicht.

Die Leihgabe der Hamburger Kunsthalle ist momentan in der Ausstellung „Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature“ zu sehen.

Für die Ausstellung „Rendezvous der Träume: Surrealismus und deutsche Romantik“, die am 13. Juni startet, kehrt das Gemälde wieder nach Hamburg zurück.

🎨 Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer/Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, ca. 1817, Hamburger Kunsthalle

03/03/2025

Learn how the eminent art historian A.K. Coomaraswamy, through his vast study of Sri Lankan ornament, art, and aesthetics, challenged the division between fine arts and crafts.

Join us March 14 for the Annual Distinguished Lecture on the Arts of South and Southeast Asia. Discover how Coomaraswamy developed a pioneering perspective that had a lasting impact on 20th-century South Asian art history and beyond.

Learn more: met.org/4klAHpo

🎨 Artist unknown. Jewel casket, Sri Lanka, Kandy, mid-17th century. Ivory with silver gilt mounts, gilded metal lining, finial with garnet in gold setting.

03/01/2025

Before most women had access to formal training in sculpture or painting, they turned to an art form they could create at home: quiltmaking. ✨

In the 1870s, Emma Civey Stahl stitched together history in a pictorial quilt featuring 12 vivid scenes from the era. Some vignettes depict Civil War soldiers—still a fresh memory—while others follow the life of a women's rights reformer.

In one vignette, the activist prepares to leave her husband and child, a 'Woman’s Rights' banner slung over her shoulder. Another shows her in a horse-drawn cart, en route to a meeting where, in a third scene, she delivers a passionate lecture.

Stahl’s comical take on one of the most serious issues of the late 19th century offers a rare glimpse into the era’s attitudes toward women’s rights. Whether she was for or against them remains unclear, but what is clear is the artistry and effort she poured into capturing a woman’s experience at the time.

Celebrate with The Met all March long. Explore the vital contributions women make to our lives, art, and society through exhibitions, events, digital content, and more: met.org/4bkJsw3

⁣🧵 Emma Civey Stahl (American). Woman’s Rights Quilt, ca. 1875. Cotton.

03/01/2025

How has Black culture shaped art history?

Celebrate Black history all year long with The Met. Explore the rich culture and history of African Americans through art, talks, digital content, and more.

Celebrate Black History Month through art, talks, and more.

02/28/2025

Ramadan Mubarak to all who celebrate ✨ ⁣⁣

In honor of the start of Ramadan, explore this page from a luxurious 13th-century manuscript of the Qur’an.

Written in thuluth (a script style of Islamic calligraphy), all 274 folios are elaborately illuminated.

Look closely at the six-pointed star. 🔍 It is a decorative mark which is inscribed with the word sajada, or “prostration"—instructing the worshipper to perform a prostration (a laying action) during prayer.

🎨 Attributed to 13th century Egypt or Syria. Section of a Qur’an. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper.watercolor, and gold on paper.

02/28/2025

Beyond the celebrated bronzes of antiquity lies a rich tradition of later Chinese bronze artistry. ✨

NOW ON VIEW—"Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900" explores the revival of bronze casting from the 12th-19th century, challenging the idea that these works are mere imitations of ancient masterpieces. Instead, the exhibition highlights their unique aesthetic and functional significance.

Featuring exceptional bronzes alongside paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquers, and jades, the exhibition brings together nearly 100 loans from major institutions across Asia, Europe, and the U.S., alongside highlights from The Met’s own collection, to showcase the enduring significance of later bronzes in Chinese art.

See the exhibition now through September 28.

02/27/2025

This monumental storage jar—a unique masterwork by the enslaved Black American potter and poet David Drake—is inscribed with his signature, the date, and an original poem.

Join Met curators Medill Higgins Harvey and Adrienne Spinozzi as they explore this remarkable work, acquired by The Met in 2020.

Learn more about the newly reinstalled and reinterpreted galleries, celebrating the American Wing’s 100th anniversary: met.org/4hW0J0P

🎨 Dave (later recorded as David Drake) (American, ca. 1801–1870s). Storage jar, 1858. Alkaline-glazed stoneware.

02/25/2025

Go behind the scenes with Jesse Krimes to see how he transformed prison-issued soap, hair gel, playing cards, and newspapers into powerful works of art.

During his six-year incarceration, without access to traditional materials, Krimes created works of art that seek to disrupt and recontextualize the circulation of photographs in the media.

Now on view at The Met, his work is displayed alongside Bertillon’s pioneering identification system, which helped establish the modern mug shot. Together, they challenge the perceived neutrality of photographic identification and the social hierarchies it reinforces.

"Jesse Krimes: Corrections" is on view through July 13. Watch the full artist interview: met.org/4gRFJqU

🎨 Jesse Krimes (American, b. 1982). Purgatory (detail), 2009. Soap, ink, playing cards, dimensions variable. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, and Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2024 © Jesse Krimes

02/25/2025

Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work is a powerful tribute to family connections across oceans and time.

In this scene, she paints herself facing a photo of her maternal grandmother holding her youngest aunt. The terrazzo floor is made up of transferred images—blending family photos with images from pop culture—while the wallpaper features fabric honoring her mother, Dora Akunyili, a respected public servant who led the fight against counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Nigeria.

As Akunyili Crosby created this piece, she was expecting her first child while also grieving the recent loss of her mother. Through layers of memory, loss, and connection, she captures the ways family histories shape who we become.

Who are the family members that have shaped your story?

🎨 Njideka Akunyili Crosby (Nigerian, born 1983). Mother and Child, 2016. © Njideka Akunyili Crosby.