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Founded in 1917, the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College is one of the finest college or university collections in the United States, serving as an invaluable educational resource for aspiring art scholars. While the museum is closed in 2010 for renovations, 20 of their masterpieces—19 paintings and one sculpture—are on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for five months in the special exhibition Side by Side: Oberlin's Masterworks at the Met. These include the great Ter Brugghen painting Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene (one of the most important North Baroque paintings in the U.S.), Cézanne's Viaduct at l'Estaque, Kirchner's Self-Portrait as a Soldier, and a striking Kirchner sculpture. Each of these works is integrated into the Metropolitan Museum's excellent collection, creating new, provocative juxtapositions.
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In 1908, while excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, American archaeologist Theodore Davis discovered about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulphate, and sodium chloride that occurs naturally in Egypt), bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was given six of the vessels and a good part of their contents in 1909.
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A new installation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art explores themes of birthday celebrations and long life in Chinese art. Drawn entirely from the Museum's collection and promised gifts, and on view in The Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for Chinese Decorative Arts, Celebration: The Birthday in Chinese Art showcases more than 50 works—paintings, garments, and decorative art objects—depicting the birthday and longevity themes that were pervasive in China especially during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. While the earliest work in the installation is a 13th-century painting, most date from the 16th to 18th centuries. Celebration includes several works never before exhibited, including a monumental 18th-century tapestry (kesi) woven in silk and gold with the character for longevity shou as well as a recently acquired lacquer box with mother-of-pearl inlays capturing a party setting and lively boys at play. The installation will remain on view through August 15, 2010.
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The renowned 15th-century sculptors Jean de la Huerta and Antoine Le Moiturier labored together for more than 25 years on a grand and complex commission: the tomb of John the Fearless (Jean sans Peur, 1371–1419), the second Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret of Bavaria, which featured 41 alabaster mourning figures, among other elements. Following the precedent of the mourners carved for the tomb of Philip the Bold, the first Duke of Burgundy, de la Huerta and Le Moiturier created astonishingly realistic and highly individualized pleurants (mourners) that serve as a permanent record of the lavish funeral of one of the richest men in medieval France. The figures express a broad range of powerful emotions—from melancholy to desolation—through facial expression, gesture, and the eloquent draping of garments. The renovation of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, France—where 37 of the statuettes from the tomb of John the Fearless are housed—provides an opportunity for the unprecedented loan of these figures for the exhibition The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy, opening March 2 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first venue in an eight-city tour. Three additional figures from the tomb of John the Fearless (now in the collections of the Louvre, the Musée National du Moyen Âge, and the Cleveland Museum of Art) and three from the tomb of Philip the Bold will also be shown, along with an architectural element (Cleveland Museum of Art and Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, respectively). The installation at the Metropolitan will be supplemented by related works from the Museum's collection, including the monumental Enthroned Virgin from the convent at Poligny (established by John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria) that was carved by Claus de Werve.
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One of the most beautiful manuscripts in the world is the lavishly illustrated medieval prayer book known as the Belles Heures (Beautiful Hours). It was created by the Limbourg Brothers—three of the greatest illuminators in Europe—for one of the most famous art patrons of all time, Jean de France, duc de Berry (1340–1416). The son, brother, and uncle to three successive kings of France, Jean de France commissioned luxury works in many media—from chalices to castles—without regard for cost, but is best remembered for his patronage of manuscripts. Herman, Paul, and Jean de Limbourg were in their teens when he selected them to create a sumptuous Book of Hours for his private prayers, and he allowed the young artists rare latitude in designing the work.
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After an eight-month hiatus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art reopens its André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments on March 2, featuring a refreshed and reinstalled presentation of its renowned collection of Western musical instruments.
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The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy
(opening Tuesday, March 2) – an unprecedented loan from the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon of 38 dramatic alabaster statuettes, considered among the most sumptuous and innovative of the late Middle Ages.
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Fourteen rare and important manuscript illuminations from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Robert Lehman Collection—ranging in date from the 13th through the 16th century and representing high points of the German, French, and Netherlandish schools of illumination—will be on view beginning March 16.
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In a special presentation at The Cloisters museum and gardens—The Metropolitan Museum of Art's branch devoted to the art and architecture of the Middle Ages—some 30 citizens of Nijmegen (The Netherlands) wearing historically accurate attire based on medieval designs will participate in a lecture demonstration with costume historian Desirée Koslin. The program will take place twice on Sunday, February 28, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. and again at 3:00 p.m., and will focus on 15 different costumes. Although they are of contemporary construction, each unique costume relates to a specific depiction in one of several well-known illuminated manuscripts of the 15th century. Costumes featured in the demonstration will include those that would have been worn by dukes, duchesses, ladies of the court, and merchants, as well as citizens, servants, and peasants. The costumed citizens of Nijmegen will be available for photographs by the public—taken without flash—during the intermission. The event is free with Museum admission.