The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide Review

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

2006

Catalogue

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

With the Christmas season approaching, I’m reviewing a book that makes for a perfect gift or an easy stocking stuffer! 

I picked this book up over the summer at a mini library of free books and was immediately drawn to the clean cover. I love art but I’m far from being the most knowledgeable, so the guide seemed like a perfect introduction.

I have never been to New York, and have only really heard of the Met because of the fundraising gala. Other than a vague idea that it’s an art museum, I didn’t actually know what the Met’s collections looked like or what they specialized in. While this introduction is from 2006, it was an awesome look into the museum’s collections.

The guide presents the collections of sculptures, paintings, historical artifacts, and photography. Each piece is accompanied by a short paragraph, giving enough of a description to understand the piece and possibly learn more later. The set-up of the book can serve on different levels. It’s perfect if you just want to look at some pictures and rest your brain, or if you’re feeling like looking at German art from the sixteenth century, they’ve also got you covered.

The only thing I wish that this guide included was an acknowledgement of how the museum received most of its collection. If an item from a non-European country said it was acquired in the late-nineteenth century or the early-nineteenth century, that item was likely stolen during this imperial period. Then again, this book was published in 2006, so newer additions possibly cover the issue.

Rating 4/5: This was a really great introduction that I would recommend  to anyone who likes art. There’s something in the guide for everyone, and it definitely makes me want to visit the museum.