If you’ve been thinking of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, do it this weekend, before this major 17th century Velazquez portrait on loan from the earthquake damaged Galleria Estense, Modena returns home. Exuding ‘arrogance and sensuality’ (according to the Met), the painting demonstrates Velazquez’s deft realism and stunning economy of means. (On view through July 14th).
Diego Velazquez, Portrait of Duke Francesco I d’Este, oil on canvas, 1638.
Andy Warhol’s Cow Wallpaper and Silver Clouds, originally created for a solo show at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1966, reunite in the final room of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s ‘Regarding Warhol’ exhibition for a jolt of interactive fun. Join Merrily on Sunday, Nov 18th (10am – 11:30am) for a small group tour of this blockbuster show. (Space is limited to six participants. $40pp. To make a reservation, please email merrily@newyorkarttours.com.)
There aren’t many artworks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could be described primarily as ‘fun.’ Anish Kapoor’s ‘Untitled’ from 2007 falls into that category by creating a surprising visual experience as tiny, polished stainless steel tiles on a concave form reflect viewers’ images as a blurry multitude of shapes. London-based Kapoor’s best known works in the US (Chicago’s Cloud Gate, for example) make viewers aware of their surroundings. At the Met, Kapoor’s piece is surprisingly intimate and thoroughly amusing. (On view in the 2nd floor Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries).
Ellsworth Kelly’s approximately eighty plant drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art could be some of the most insubstantial artwork on view in the city at the moment and some of the most enjoyable. In graphite on paper renderings from 1948 to the present of poppy flowers, beanstalks, ginkgo leaves and more, Kelly distills each plant into an easily identifiable outline that offers insights into the renowned abstract artist’s iconography.
In a private moment of Olympics-mania today, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s installation of Panathenaic prize amphora to reconnect with ancient Olympians. One of the earliest of such vessels (560-550 B.C.) in the Met’s collection, it was filled with olive oil and awarded to winners of events like the 200 yard race depicted here. If you were an Olympic winner, would you rather have a gold metal or 42 liters of olive oil?