…Then I visited the MET’s Roman Art Exhibit

Yesterday was my wife’s day off, and we had a rare opportunity to spend the whole day hanging out (our schedules are difficult to match due to circumstances beyond our control). She had the wonderful idea of visiting the MET’s new Roman Art exhibit. I was touched by her suggestion: I’d been longing to visit it since it opened, especially since I learned I would be at Columbia’s Classics department, and she and I have…different preferences on how we enjoy museums (let’s just say I take an inordinate amount of time in them; typical of me). Thank you, Honey 🙂

It was absolutely amazing and anyone who lives on the east coast who has the opportunity should visit it. It’s truly world class. From the sculptures to funerary inscriptions to glasswares to paintings it’s amazing. It’s really hard to appreciate the kind of value Romans placed on these things until you’ve seen these exhibits. This kind of art at this kind of quality with this kind of skill simply doesn’t exist today. But despite that difference, I think it helps moderns to appreciate how much somethings remain the same; how much we’ve inherited.

I was trying to decide whether I had a favorite exhibit. I don’t think I do. I guess I tended to preserve anything that had a Greek or Latin inscription on it (I can read both and words provide context). But it was all great. So much to see; so much to learn.

And the truth is the whole MET is amazing. I love the byzantine and medieval Christian art section. I love the renaissance art section. The MET is easily one of my favorite places in the city.