I wish I could take credit for that line. But I must give credit where credit is due and tell you that it came from Monsieur Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Nelson-Atkins was honored to host M. de Montebello last night as the opening speaker of this year's Mary Atkins Lecture Series. The title of de Montebello's talk was "Museums: Why Should We Care?" I have to admit I didn't know what to expect. I have only ever heard him speak on the audio guides on the Met's website but he turned out to be refreshingly normal, even tres charmant.
De Montebello spoke about how we are in the age of the "museum of enlightenment" which exists to lift people up and preserve the "memory of mankind." He gave some tips on ways to approach art museums as the key to our identity. Anyone can study history and read books about people, places and events, but a work of art IS the event. He showed an image of a devotional painting that hung in the bedroom of the Gonzaga family (they ruled the city of Mantua from 1328 to 1708). This is the very picture they laid their eyes on every day; it is not a reproduction or a secondhand telling of what it may have looked like.
Another tip he gave was to compare works of art from different collections and time periods. He showed several sets of images of sculptures and paintings that had striking similiarities even though the artists may have never seen what the other one did. He showed works that influenced others as well as some that were completely different. His point was that it was reassuring that throughout mankind's history of wars and destruction, there is faith to be found in people who have always strived to create and present the best of themselves.
I think my favorite tip was when he admitted that he tends to avoid displays of Greek vases because they are normally displayed poorly and organized by some convention such as shape or size. Of course, the Met has over 2,000 Greek vases on view so I don't blame him for feeling overwhelmed! He found a way to get around that apprehension when a curator suggested they begin acquiring fragments of vases. The curator showed him a fragment that contained two figures. He was struck by the figures and focused solely on the drawing. In this way, he was able to appreciate the harmonly of the whole and even noticed that on many vases the drawings and decorations are perfectly married to the shape of the vase.
De Montebello was dressed impeccably and spoke eloquently using many words and phrases that I am still trying to spell phonetically and track down their meanings. On the whole, his passion for art and for sharing art with others, struck me as most profound. He will retire from the Met at the end of the year after 31 years of service. I have a feeling his passion will not be forgotten anytime soon.