The Story of Writing

Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

For those interested in seeing some of the material related to the course first hand, much is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art .You might want to first visit their web site to see the floor plan, hours of operation and location of the various exhibits. Admission is "recommended" ($8.00). You could easily spend an entire day.

Notice:

A new section of Greek and Roman artifacts from 2000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. has opened. It is a wonderful display of works never before seen at the Metropolitan.

A new show, and I highly recommend seeing it for thos course, is available at the Met this fall: "The Embodied Image: Chinese Calligraphy From The John B. Elliot Collection." It opens September 15, 2000. A New York Times article in Friday's ( Weekend section ) 09/15/2000 begins this way:

1) ART REVIEW; Writing on the Wall, and on the Soul
By HOLLAND COTTER

BY image-obsessed Western standards, one picture is worth, absolute minimum, a thousand paltry words. But in China, where words are images, writing has traditionally been the highest art form of all, and a source of profound political and emotional power.

September 15, 2000, Friday
Leisure/Weekend Desk , 1798 words

Part of the museum's regular collection, pertinent to our course, is housed in the Medieval Art section on the first floor. Here you can find exhibits of the following:

 
  • Latin Bible with Leather binding, July 30, 1477
  • a leather case for a book
  • an ink pot
  • lectern
  • a document case
  • Account book cover
  • Church Lectern for Reading scripture
  • psalter - illuminated prayer book
  • girdle book
 

Triptych @ The Met - by the Master of the Magdalen

Italian, 1265-1295

Tempera on wood, gold

St Augustine - Limestone - French; 3rd quarter of the 15th century

St James the Greater - 3rd quarter of the 15 century

St Margaret - Limestone; Late 13th century

St John the Baptist - Limestone; 3rd quarter of the 15th Century

St Ambrose in His Study - Spanish; about 1500

St Savina of Troyes or St Syra - Limestone; Spanish - 1510-1520

St Bridget of Sweden - Netherlndish; 1470

Additionally, while you are there you might also want to visit a number of other areas within the museum:

  • Ancient Near Eastern Art: cunieform, cylinder seals, stamps, clay tablets
  • Chinese Calligraphy