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The Met's Great Hall was built to inspire awe and a sense of arrival

"It serves the kind of function that railroads used to serve: masses of people efficiently being moved from place to place."

"It serves the kind of function that railroads used to serve: masses of people efficiently being moved from place to place."

Curator Morrison Heckscher on The Met's Great Hall.

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.

Photography by Paul Lachenauer

Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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