Our vist to the Met

On a recent trip to New York, my husband and I decided to visit the Met.  It was the final day of the Michelangelo exhibit, and I'd heard it was not-to-be-missed.

We've been to the Met many times, and I've learned you need to pick and choose what you want to see; it's unrealistic to expect to see everything in one day.  I discovered there was also a David Hockney exhibit, and since his 'Nichols Canyon' is maybe my all-time favorite painting, I knew that was on our itinerary.  Plus there was also a Thomas Cole exhibit, which interested my husband.  By the time we finished with those three exhibits, stopped for lunch, and explored several other galleries, our feet and bodies were done!  In the process, we totally missed the Joseph Cornell exhibit. Below is a Hockney painting that really grabbed me.

 Check out the amazing drawing this man is doing in the museum!  Wow!

Here's my overall impression of our day:  First of all, I never cease to be amazed at the scope of the Met.  Whew!! The museum is exhausting!!  If you've never been there, GO!  There's something for everybody. But don't expect to see everything in the museum in one day.  As for our day, I was blown away by the incredible Michelangelo work, but the Hockney paintings made me happy, and I'd love to see them every day. Cole's work is impressive, but not my personal taste.  My husband, as expected, loved it best.  He sat down and took a break for the first half of the Hockney exhibit.  Here's an intriguing early Hockney, and a lush Cole painting of Niagara Falls.

About the Michelangelo show specifically - my biggest takeaway was the realization of how incredibly impatient we are today.  The show was, as always with a popular exhibition, incredibly hard for a rather short person to view properly.  We went first thing in the morning, but it was still crowded, so some pieces were hard to see.  But still, the scope of the work, and what went into creating it, is mind-blowing.  I kept thinking about how much more time he spent on his studies for paintings, than I would ever imagine spending on a whole painting.  And I thought about students, who seem to love copying photos, and how much more info Michelangelo took in by studying the human body structure and doing multiple studies.  Awe-inspiring. I couldn't help but think of my favorite drawing and painting teachers from college, Alex Minewski and Alex Martin, who both gave sketchbook assignments such as to do endless articulated cube drawings of your hands. Practice, practice, practice!!

But still, I was most smitten with the Hockney paintings.  I have a large framed print of Nichols Canyon hanging in my living room, so I was tickled to see the real thing.  I love the print, but the painting... oh my!  Gorgeous!.  And so many of the others!  I'd love to show you them all!  The sense of humor in some older paintings, and the vibrancy in the newer ones - all I can say is WOW to the rich and dynamic color, and the feeling of being drenched in warm sunshine. Indulge me while I share a selection with you, starting with Nichols Canyon.

 

As for the rest of the museum, whenever I'm there I always stop and visit the Tiffany windows, but this time I saw some Tiffany vases and jewelry and such that I'd never spotted before; this place is just too darn big!!  Here's a selection of random pics from the day -