When I invited a friend to see what was going on at the Met, I completely forgot that her husband was working behind the scenes doing conservatory work. Even when she mentioned that he could get us in for free and show us his studio, the extent to what I would be shown did not sink in.
We got to the Met and started our night with a tour of his studio. He works in the offices/studios where visitors cannot see. His particular office is for himself and one other guy who specialize in painting on wood panel. They were restoring a few at a time. With his chemical engineering background he tends to work on the structural part of pieces and even had one small piece in a homemade incubator because they were working on getting creases out of the portrait. It was famous, but I forgot the name.
He then brought us to a painting studio where they focus on removing old varnish and repairing painting damage. The lighting was amazing and, like the studio he works in, the rooms are newly renovated and fully equipped. This studio included a Velasquez portrait. We also walked through the photo studio. They take infrared and ultraviolet shots to see what's behind the surface of the painting, revealing older layers and sketches. They can print these shots and hung a few on the wall. They could have made an exhibit on their own. We also saw the studio where people work on the frames of paintings. It was so fascinating that these people are working with art that's hundreds of years old and made in such mysterious ways. Looking so close up makes you really appreciate the quality of these works.
I've never been a big fan of old European paintings and this section of the Met has never been a place I made sure to check out when I visit. However, this day it all came alive. For me, it's always been the skill and craftsmanship that are impressive rather than the subjects or what they communicate.
We walked from Alan's studios into one of the galleries where the visitors were roaming. We saw the paintings that were not under construction hung, knowing it's Alan and the people who work with him maintaining them. He showed us one painting where the varnish was starting to discolor, but it wasn't that bad. It would probably need to go to the studio in about 75 years! He showed us where paintings have seems because they were sewn together from the painter not having big enough canvas or from an art dealer who cut them to make more money. There's now one painting up in the Met where the first layer of the painting was taken off to reveal an underlying image and then paint was further removed to reveal a sketched portrait in the middle. The revealed layers gave it an interesting collage feel. Looking so closely at all the paintings got us into a conversation about color and it is so amazing how vivid some of the colors are after being hung for hundreds of years.... one of the ones I pointed out had not even been restored at all!
Looking closely at all these paintings occasionally evoked curiosity about the subject matter. This was unusual for me. I noticed that some of these paintings show women beheading men. I remember that years ago I felt that these old European paintings were very oriented towards male domination. I'm not sure if there were different paintings, if I just missed a few, or if I just glanced over these without knowing. There was one painting near Bosch paintings that had the cutest creatures in the bottom right corner of the right panel.
After looking at these we strolled through Picasso. It felt ground breaking to have Picasso at the Met with all of these historical works. It was the first time Picasso was at the Met and my mother thought it was because they recently hired a new curator. I thought it was a statement of how times are changing and Picasso is seen as more classic than modern. The collection that they had was very impressive with hundreds of works of sketches, printmaking and painting. Alan knew that the Met had an impressive Picasso collection and said that they just didn't display it. The Met has a lot of work that they do not display.
Finally we relaxed on the rooftop with a drink under the bamboo structure of Doug and Mike Stam. This work seemed so modern and interesting, but not as complicated as what Alan has been restoring. I originally wanted to go because of the bamboo structure on the rooftop. However, the unexpected storm that gave Manhattan a purple sky filled with lightning contrasting against the buildings which made them look white was the highlight of the rooftop. I did enjoy the bamboo structure, but the rest of the night had been just too amazing.
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