The Met is undoubtedly the greatest museum in New York, not for it’s architecture (which reservedly is the Louvre), but because of its sheer volume of art, the diversity and the unbelievable magnitude of its collection. While I first read and imagined the museum through Donna Tart’s novel The Goldfinch, my first and later subsequent visits to the museum are memorable all the same. Its a place that cannot be seen in a few hours and as we kept going back to the Met we were greeted by different forms of Art, a showcase of what mankind is capable of. As an avid art-lover, especially one into paintings of the Impressionist and post-impressionist eras I loved seeing my favourite works of Van Gogh and Monet at a foot’s distance! While others drew on their love for crafts, furniture, history and even armoury(!).

The pantheon style domed roof at the entrance lobby is entirely a reflection of the Renaissance style of architecture that the Met employs, as is the dominating exteriors. After several modifications best suited to curate and showcase the collection over the years, the interiors of the Met has been modified to include several mezzanine floors, glass overhangs and a whole lot of design interventions. The American Art side showcases the most popular, Washington Crossing the Delaware, a noteworthy painting that celebrates the moment of American revolution sparking off a new country, and several well-crafted furniture that the 1950s were filled with.

In fall, the Met had on display a rare Egyptian collection, enabling us to get a view of the life of the Pharoahs! Though the museum shop is filled with exquisite and smart replicas of the art, curated to perfection on everyday items we could certainly do with. The European art section of the Met was personally a delight mainly with Monet’s Waterlilies and Van Gogh’s self-portrait and the Oleanders. The Met is one of those rare museums that holds something for everyone, with vast array of collections and a diversity in delight. Art is a whole lot of things, but it mainly is something that lends beauty to life, meaning, colour, purpose, a fine refinement that marks the finesse of a civilisation. Einstein’s genius is what developed the Atom bomb said a Picasso once, Art however is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions, therefore largely a matter of appeal!