Sculpture

The Metropolitan Museum has a wide variety of sculptures on display, from large-scale works in stone and metal to smaller carvings in wood and other materials. These sculptures represent a range of subjects, from representational figures to abstract forms. Many of the Museum's sculptures were created by renowned artists, and provide a glimpse into the different styles and techniques that have been used throughout history.

The Hall of Antiquities at Charlottenborg Palace, Copenhagen

    The young watchman's casual lack of self-awareness contrasts with the stiff formality of plaster casts made from Greek and Roman sculptures.
    These galleries in Charlottenborg Palace, seat of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, provided students like Müller with models from antiquity as the basis for learning to draw.

Allegorical Figure Representing Metaphysics

    Like the other frescoes in this gallery, this allegorical figure of Metaphysics, identified by the inscription on the base of the feigned statue, is from the Palazzo Valle Marchesini Sala in Vicenza.
    The simulated architecture, foreshortened from a viewing point in the center of the room, was carried out by a specialist in this type of work, Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna, who collaborated with Tiepolo on a number of commissions.
    The frescoes were probably commissioned by Count Giorgio Marchesini, and their iconography may reflect his particular interest in Freemasonry.

Modern Rome

    Among Panini's most brilliant inventions are Modern Rome and its pendant, which cleverly contrive to show the famous monuments of the city as paintings arranged in a sumptuous gallery.
    They were commissioned by the Count de Stainville, later Duke de Choiseul, ambassador to Rome from 1753 to 1757; he is shown seated in an armchair.

Allegorical Figure Representing Arithmetic

    Like the other frescoes in this gallery, this allegorical figure of Arithmetic, identified by the inscription on the base of the feigned statue, is from the Palazzo Valle Marchesini Sala in Vicenza.
    The simulated architecture, foreshortened from a viewing point in the center of the room, was carried out by a specialist in this type of work, Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna, who collaborated with Tiepolo on a number of commissions.
    The frescoes were probably commissioned by Count Giorgio Marchesini, and their iconography may reflect his particular interest in Freemasonry.

Allegorical Figure Representing Geometry

    This allegorical figure of Geometry, identified by the inscription on the base of the feigned statue, is from the Palazzo Valle Marchesini Sala in Vicenza.
    The simulated architecture, foreshortened from a viewing point in the center of the room, was carried out by a specialist in this type of work, Girolamo Mengozzi Colonna, who collaborated with Tiepolo on a number of commissions.
    The frescoes were probably commissioned by Count Giorgio Marchesini, and their iconography may reflect his particular interest in Freemasonry.

Ancient Rome

    Ancient Rome is a pendant to Modern Rome and catalogs the most famous antique monuments in the city.
    It was commissioned by the Count de Stainville, later the Duke de Choiseul, who is seen at the center with a guidebook in hand.
    Panini includes himself behind the chair.
   The gentlemen are admiring a copy of an ancient fresco
    The Pantheon, Colosseum, Trajan's Column, the Farnese Hercules, and the Laocoön can be identified.
   For the identification of the other monuments, visit metmuseumorg.