Greetings, I'm Thomas Campbell,
the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
and I'd like to tell you a little bit
about the rich offerings we have on
in the Met's galleries at the moment, March 2009.
I'm standing in the Lehman Wing,
which is where we have an exhibition
"Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors,"
the first exhibition to focus entirely
on Bonnard's radiant late interiors
and still-life paintings.
The artist created these dazzling works
over extended periods of time
by applying layer after layer of paint
in rich colors.
In the end, they are as much a reflection of memory and emotion
as direct observation,
and they anticipate the works
of the Abstract Expressionist artists of subsequent years.
"Pierre Bonnard" runs through April 19.
"Raphael to Renoir" is the first comprehensive showing
of European Old Master and 19th-century drawings
from the distinguished Swiss collection of Jean Bonna,
on view at the Met through April the 26th.
Mr. Bonna has amassed
one of the finest drawing collections in our time,
and this is a rare opportunity to see 120 of his works
by both renowned and lesser-known artists.
The collection ranges from works by Renaissance masters,
such as Carpaccio and Raphael,
to Baroque masters,
including Canaletto, Rembrandt, and Lorrain,
to exquisite works by masters of the Rococo era,
such as Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard,
all the way to the Early Modern period,
with works by Gauguin, van Gogh, and Seurat.
Some are topographical,
some are preparatory sketches for paintings and tapestries--
such as this exquisite line drawing by Raphael--
and others were created as an end in themselves.
This really is a show with something for everyone.
The Chinese word "ming" translates as "brilliant."
So it's no surprise that arts of the Ming Dynasty,
China's age of brilliance,
on view through September the 13th,
displays a rich diversity of artworks
from the celebrated and prosperous Ming Dynasty,
which ran from the mid-14th through the mid-17th century.
One of the true knockouts in the show
is Xie Huan's "Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden,"
from about 1437,
showing nine dignitaries in the garden of a high-ranking scholar
looking at paintings and calligraphy,
composing poetry, and playing chess.
It's an extraordinary document of who these people were
and who they aspired to be.
Across the way is a watercolor
of plum blossoms covered with snow,
a haunting work that is almost abstract
in its treatment of line and color.
350 extraordinary works created in the second millennium BC
for royal palaces, temples, and tombs
from Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia
to Cyprus, Egypt, and the Aegean,
comprise the exhibition "Beyond Babylon."
These objects of high artistry,
sometimes displaying an extraordinary fusion
of cultural styles,
reflect the sophisticated trade network
and the precious materials
that were exchanged at the time through this part of the world.
The exhibition will be on view through March the 15th.
The Metropolitan welcomes
more than four and a half million visitors a year
from around the world,
who come to visit exhibitions like these,
or to visit our collections,
some two million pieces spanning five millennia.
Thousands of people take photographs
of these works of art, or of themselves,
in the galleries,
and post them on the free website Flickr.
We recently asked some of these photographers
if we could use their images as the basis of a new campaign
to promote the richness of our collections
and the variety of the programs we offer here.
We're calling the campaign "It's Time We Met."
And here are some of the inspired
and often humorous views
created by our public
of their friends and family in the galleries.
We encourage you to visit the Metropolitan Museum
whenever you can
to experience our exhibitions, our collections,
and our programs firsthand.
Thank you.