The Metropolitan Museum – New York
Born from the desire to create an American national cultural institution, the Metropolitan Museum (colloquially called The Met) opened to the public on April 13, 1870; the first work, a Roman sarcophagus, was purchased in 1871: from that moment on, thanks to donations and acquisitions, the collection grew to become the huge collection it is today.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves the most important collection of the United States, with a repertoire of masterpieces coming from all over the world that covers about 5000 years: in fact, there are works dating back to the Greek-Roman classic period and ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures of the greatest European masters of all time, a vast collection of American art, and outstanding examples of African, Asian, Byzantine and Islamic art.
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The museum is a real place of encyclopedic knowledge, also preserving collections of musical instruments, clothing, vintage accessories, weapons and armors from all over the world; there are also reconstructions of environments, ranging from the interior of the Roman house of the first century to contemporary American design.
The Museum, located between Fifth Avenue and Eighty-second Street, was designed by the architects Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mold; over the centuries, the building has been greatly expanded and the various additions have now completely incorporated the original structure.
Info
The MET
Link: www.metmuseum.org
