History tells us that Europeans discovered America. Centuries later, at the Metropolitan Museum, however, they propose a new way for America to discover Europe.
The art of the Old Continent, with about 800 works in 45 galleries dating from 1300 to 1800, looks very different and presents a different narrative in the New York institution, after five years of renovation most importantly, with a budget of 150 million dollars.
“In each gallery we try to answer the two most pressing questions of the visitors,” says Stephan Wolohojian, curator at the head of the European painting department, jokingly during a walk. The first question that visitors ask the workers is “where is the nearest toilet?”. The second is more difficult to answer: “I only have 20 minutes; what can I see?”.
Restructuring facilitates an answer. “In each room we have put what we call a destination object that acts as an anchor for all those who want to say ‘I’ve been to the Met’ and allows you to quickly observe important pieces”, he underlines.
This is one of the conceptual innovations of the physical transformation that affects a space of 13,000 m2 (a building of an island), just above the grand central staircase, where three monumental works by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo welcome and introduce the geographic limits of the collection (composed of 679 paintings of incalculable value and 112 other works of art), while inviting consideration of the dynamic nature of European borders and the global diversity of Mediterranean antiquity.
Let there be light. The conversion originated from the need to provide energy efficiency and sustainability to the building. This is also a message. The three wings that house the rooms were the ones with the most energy consumption. In this process, which began in 2018, they have changed 1,400 skylights, many for the first time in 84 years, and replaced 7,000 glass panels in the ceiling of the 45 galleries. In addition, the new heating and cooling system will save 1,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of removing 360 cars from the streets.
“Now we enjoy the great luxury that our rooms have natural light, you can even see the clouds pass by and how the passage of the day is reflected in the works”, remarks Wolohojian. It is spectacular, and even more so when the zigzags have been removed and you can now see a long corridor in which the spaces follow each other.
But the reform of the infrastructure gives way to “a reconceptualization because it presents the collection with a new lens”. Previously, canvases were organized by national schools (Spanish paintings regrouped, separated from Italian, Dutch or German). “We didn’t throw the pieces into the air to see how they landed. There is a real order,” he says.
The order is chronological. But associations are made, ancient creations in dialogue with the Venetians or walls shared by Greco and Picasso where you can see how the Renaissance inspired the Surrealist, especially in the blue period.
