Enfilade

Details of European paintings in The Met Collection.

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After a five-year infrastructure project to replace the skylights, The Met’s newly installed galleries of European paintings will open to the public on Monday. For the 18th century, some significant changes have been made to the French, Italian, and British galleries, addressing issues of race, gender, class, and colonialism. A good time to revisit old friends, formulate fresh questions, and discover new favorites! –CH

From The Met:

Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, opening 20 November 2023

The reopened galleries dedicated to European Paintings from 1300 to 1800 highlight fresh narratives and dialogues among more than 700 works of art from the Museum’s world-famous holdings. The newly reconfigured galleries—which include recently acquired paintings and prestigious loans, as well as select sculptures and decorative art—will showcase the interconnectedness of cultures, materials, and moments across The Met collection.

The chronologically arranged galleries will feature longstanding strengths of the collection—such as masterpieces by Jan van Eyck, Caravaggio, and Poussin; the most extensive collection of 17th-century Dutch art in the western hemisphere; and the finest holdings of El Greco and Goya outside Spain—while also giving renewed attention to women artists, exploring Europe’s complex relationships with New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru, and looking more deeply into histories of class, gender, race, and religion.

The reopening of the suite of 45 galleries at the top of the Great Hall staircase (galleries 600–644) follows a five-year project to replace the skylights. This monumental infrastructure project improves the quality of light and enhances the viewing experience for a new look at this renowned collection.

Major support for Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800 is provided by Candace K. and Frederick W. Beinecke.