| Exhibition Dates: |
August 7, 2017–February 28, 2021
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| Exhibition Location: |
The Met Fifth Avenue, Wrightsman Exhibition Gallery, Gallery 521, Floor 1 |
Questions of historical worth are the focus of the exhibition Relative Values: The Cost of Art in the Northern Renaissance, which remains on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art until February 28, 2021. What did a tapestry cost in the 16th century? What was the price of goldsmiths' work or stained glass? How did variables like raw materials, work hours, levels of expertise and artistry, geography, and rarity affect value? In inventoried collections, did the cost of production align with perceived market valuation? And who assigned these values? Through 62 masterpieces of 16th-century northern European art from The Met collection, along with one important loan, the exhibition explores relative value systems in the Renaissance era.
The display is organized in seven sections—raw materials, natural world, virtuosity, technological advances, utility, recreation, and fame—and within each section, examples of tapestry, stained and vessel glass, sculpture, paintings, precious metalwork, and enamels are juxtaposed with pricing data from 16th-century documents.
The original owners of these works assessed the value of their belongings in various, sometimes unexpected, ways. By exploring different 16th-century yardsticks of gauging worth, by probing extrinsic versus intrinsic value, and by presenting works of different media and function side by side, the exhibition captures a sense of the splendor and excitement of this era.
The exhibition is organized by Elizabeth Cleland, Associate Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. Exhibition design is by Michael Langley, Exhibition Design Manager; graphics are by Ria Roberts, Graphic Designer; and lighting is by The Met Design team.
The exhibition is featured on The Met website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via the hashtag #RelativeValues. In a Now at The Met blog post, Elizabeth Cleland discusses the exhibition.
On Friday, December 8 (6:30–7:30 p.m.), as part of the MetFridays: “Conversations with …” series, exhibition curator Elizabeth Cleland will discuss drinking games and other entertainments of the 16th century. The program is free with Museum admission.
This event is part of MetFridays: New York's Night Out.
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June 13, 2019
Left: Follower of Quentin Metsys (Netherlandish, 1466–1530), with the Master of the Liège Disciples at Emmaus (Netherlandish, active mid-16th century). The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (detail), ca. 1540. Oil on panel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 (32.100.52). Right: Circle of Jacques du Broeucq (Northern French or Flemish, ca. 1500–1584). Charity (detail), ca. 1550. Alabaster, traces of gilding. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation Inc. Gift and Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, 1965 (65.110)
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