Sacred Art at the Met: From the Pharaohs to the Old Masters

Sacred Art at the Met: From the Pharaohs to the Old Masters

Take a virtual tour over continents and across millennia, visiting sacred masterpieces with Patrick Bringley, author of All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me.

We’ll explore:

  • How the ancient Egyptians conceptualized time and why it operated differently within tombs and temples
  • Why the Greeks thought wine drinking was a sacred rite, with roots in the cult practice of “frenzied women
  • Why wooden statues in Congo were believed to be too powerful to be held in human hands, even in their makers’
  • How a 14th century Iranian prayer niche demonstrates the divine unity of the world’s infinite forms
  • Why Old Master painters obsessed over suffering, relating the strong emotions of adoration and lamentation

About the event:

Patrick Bringley worked for a decade as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early next year, Simon & Schuster will publish his memoir, All the Beauty in the World, a portrait of the Met and its treasures from the intimate perspective of one of its closest observers. Join Patrick in leaving the “profane” world of Fifth Avenue and mounting the Met’s temple-like stairs to visit its sacred masterpieces. Discover awe-inspiring works from five curatorial departments — Egyptian Art, Greek and Roman Art, Islamic Art, African Art, and European Paintings — discussing both their histories and their spiritual significance. Why were these objects thought to transcend our ordinary, everyday world? And why might they have an aura of holiness even today? The unique, wide-ranging talk with a museum veteran will conclude with a Q&A. 

Attendees will receive a link to join the webinar after completing the registration.

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