The Most Unique of Visits

Today I was invited to lunch with a friend who works at the Met on MONDAY, while the museum was closed! I cannot tell you how excited I was to get the opportunity to visit my favorite place in New York while it was virtually empty.

After lunch, I was able to preview the special exhibition, Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors, which opens tomorrow in the Robert Lehman Wing. A major contrast to the previous Morandi exhibition, Bonnard's lively color pallette and more-than-still lifes are invigorating to the eye. Breaking from tradition, the artist tilts the perspective beyond the typical still life to include the background of a room, and, in my favorites, the outside world through a window.

From there, we walked through the Medieval Arts Wing, across Petrie Court, through African and Oceanic Art to Greek and Roman Art, where I descended to the 81st Street door where I entered. To get a glimpse of the museum unoccupied by visitors was like watching someone sleep, the familiarity is there, but with an innocence or vulnerability not seen in the light of day.