Met Superfine

 

If you watched the Met Gala this year you know that the theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.

The companion exhibition is now open at The Met.

It runs through October 26^th so there’s still plenty of time to visit.

They chose to display the art –

 yes, it is art –

in a cool black multi-terraced room.

The show includes some historical pieces like Frederick Douglas’s attire,

Black Panther mementoes,

and a Josephine Baker ensemble.

I was also amused to see that one of the sponsors of the show was Instagram.  😊

Here’s a link to the website for more info…

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/superfine-tailoring-black-style/inside-the-exhibition

 

And, here are some other Met costume exhibit blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/05/china-through-looking-glass.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2016/05/manus-x-machina-met.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/09/heavenly-bodies-met.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/02/kimonos-at-met.html

Cheers!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

Madame X

 

I visited the “Sargent & Paris” exhibit at the Met again before it closes next week.

There’s no doubt that the star of the show was the notorious “Madame X.”

Several preparatory sketches were included in the show. 

 Showing that famous profile.

No wonder I recognized her immediately when I saw her again at the Isabella Gardener Museum in Boston.  (They have loaned this painting for the exhibit.)

This full length almost finished sketch does not include the infamous sleeve.

This photo from the salon is the only record of it in its original scandalous position.

It’s hard to believe that it caused so much upset.

But the final version – part of the Met’s permanent collection – shows it high on her shoulder.  Yes, he had to “fix” it to get people to move on. Sigh.

One other painting really caught my attention. 

“Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron – 1881”

According to the caption “its creation involved a staggering – and possibly apocryphal – eighty-three sittings during which the artist and the headstrong girl battled over her attire and pose.”  She certainly does look like a handful.

Here are some previous blogs from The Met…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/05/china-through-looking-glass.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/02/michelangelo-at-met.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/09/tiffany-at-met.html

Enjoy!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

The Met: European Paintings 1300-1800

In 2018, The Met began renovations to their European painting galleries. The skylights had deteriorated and needed to be replaced.

The galleries reopened in late 2023.  Clearly, while they replaced the skylights, they decided to make a few more changes.

 

They rearranged the art to consolidate works by individual artists, and added a few pieces that they hadn’t shown previously.

I’m not sure that they were all “view” worthy.  Most particularly this Botticelli.  While it’s nice that the Met owns one, the fact that they hung it in a corner suggests that they too knew it wasn’t up to their usual standards.

There was also an entirely new room devoted to Meso-American art – all new to me.  Stylistically very different from the other works in the section – undoubtedly due to the influence of indigenous peoples.

I noticed right away that some of the Caravaggios were missing – off to Palazzo Barberini in Rome for the Jubilee celebration. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/arts/design/caravaggio-palazzo-barberini.html

But, not surprisingly, they didn’t loan out their best one – The Denial of Saint Peter.

It attracted viewers as well as copyists.

But my favorite thing about the reimaging was that they brought in some modern pieces that were inspired by the European masters.  So, we got to see how Picasso was influenced by El Greco.

And my favorite Salvador Dali painting – ended up side by side with the other Spanish religious art.  Awesome!!!

Here’s a link to the 2018 Michaelangelo exhibit…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/02/michelangelo-at-met.html

And some photos from their 250^th celebration…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-met.html

Enjoy!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

American Wing Mezzanine @ The Met

 

Still cold, but no snow.  What to do?  Head to The Met of course. 😉

I just finished reading “All The Beauty in The World.” 

https://www.amazon.com/All-Beauty-World-Metropolitan-Museum-ebook/dp/B09JPKNG9X

It’s a book about the Met written by a former guard.  I really enjoyed it, as will any Met lover.

The author took particular note of the Michelangelo exhibit in 2018.  I am not surprised.  It was extraordinary.  Here’s my take, but it’s worth reading his as well since he noted different things than I did…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/02/michelangelo-at-met.html

After finishing the book, I wanted to check out a few things, so I headed over to the American Wing.

I find the pottery in the Mezzanine very inspiring since I am always on the lookout for new motifs for my embroidery.  As with the kimonos, nature abounds. 

 But I liked this ship too.  Its simplicity delights me.

The Tiffany windows are on display at street level.  But the pieces in the Mezzanine show that Tiffany wasn’t the only one doing impressive glass work.

Of course, I was most taken with the view of Central Park in the background.

And from this angle it looks like the sculpture with the arrow is shooting the angel.

While I was in the hood I visited the Frank Lloyd Wright room too.  I’m already looking forward to my next visit!

Some of my favorite Met blogs – use the label at the bottom of the page for more…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/05/china-through-looking-glass.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/05/play-it-loud-part-1.html

Cheers!

PJ

 

© 2023 PJ Lehrer

Collaboration with Tim #30 - The Met

 

The Met is my favorite indoor place in NYC.  (Central Park wins best outdoor.)  I visit frequently especially when it’s really cold or warm out.

My favorite time to go is in the evening on Friday and Saturday nights when it is open until 9:00.  Usually the tourists empty out by dinner time.

I took this photo a while back before they changed the fountains…

I took this photo on the roof during a day time visit.  I still can’t get used to the new midtown skyline.  And I imagine that by the time I do, it will have changed again. 😉

I worked very hard to minimize the human element, which wasn’t easy because the roof exhibits are very popular.

So, it made me smile when I saw that Tim had chosen to add more people to his take…

Here’s the final piece…

You can use the label at the bottom of this blog to see all of our collaborations.  And you can follow us on Instagram at @pjlehrer and @timbaynes.

Cheers!

PJ

© 2023 PJ Lehrer

Kimonos at The Met

I got a chance to go over to The Met last week before the kimono exhibit closed. 

 

I am glad that I did.  It was quite extraordinary.

Typically, the Japanese kimonos on display at The Met are heavily embroidered. 

As someone whose artwork is focused on embroidery, I visit them often for inspiration. 

Most designs focus on nature - flowers and animals. 

This one features swirls of water because it was a fireman’s outfit!  Very cool.

The characters on this piece are the words from a famous poem.

The exhibit also included more modern pieces where the design is imprinted in the material rather than embroidered on top of it.  Nature was still big. 

But some of the pieces were more abstract.

 So many ideas.  So little time.

Here’s a link to the “China Through the Looking Glass” from 2015…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/05/china-through-looking-glass.html

 

Enjoy!

PJ

 

© 2023 PJ Lehrer