Melanie Holcomb – författare

The Metropolitan Museum Journal is issued annually and publishes original research on works of art in the Museum's collection. Highlights of volume 54 include conservators' discoveries of Renaissance sculptor Andrea della Robbia's workshop techniques, a new reading of lavishly dressed women on tile panels from 17th-century Iran as courtesans, and John Singer Sargent's decisive role in choosing his socialite sitters' fashionable dress.

Founded in 1968, the Metropolitan Museum Journal is a blind, peer-reviewed scholarly journal published annually that features original research on the history, interpretation, conservation, and scientific examination of works of art in the Museum’s collection. Its scope encompasses the diversity of artistic practice from antiquity to the present day. The Journal encourages contributions offering critical and innovative approaches that will further our understanding of works of art.

A comprehensive and timely exploration of the key role Jerusalem played in shaping the art and culture of the Middle AgesMedieval Jerusalem was a vibrant international center and home to multiple cultures, faiths, and languages.  Harmonious and dissonant influences from Persian, Turkish, Greek, Syrian, Armenian, Georgian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian, and European traditions invested Jerusalem with a key role in shaping the art of the Middle Ages.  Through compelling essays by international and interdisciplinary experts and detailed discussions of more than 200 works of art, this beautiful, authoritative volume breaks new ground in exploring the relationship between the historical and the archetypal city of Jerusalem, uncovering the ways in which the aesthetic achievements it inspired enhanced and enlivened the medieval world.  Patrons and artists from Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions alike focused their attention on the Holy City, endowing and enriching its sacred buildings and creating luxury goods for its residents.  This artistic fertility was particularly in evidence between the 11th and the 14th centuries, notwithstanding often devastating circumstances—from the earthquake of 1033 to the fierce battles of the Crusades.  Dazzling illustrations featuring new photography complement this unprecedented, panoptic story of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art(09/26/16–01/08/17)

A cross-cultural examination of jewelry spanning 5,000 years that investigates not only the objects themselves but also the bodies they decoratedAs an art form, jewelry is defined primarily through its connection to and interaction with the body—extending it, amplifying it, accentuating it, distorting it, concealing it, or transforming it. But how is the meaning of jewelry bound to the body that wears it?  Establishing six different modes of ornamenting the body—Deconstructed, Divine, Regal, Idealized, Alluring, and Resplendent—this artfully designed book illustrates how these various definitions of the body give meaning to the jewelry that adorns it. More than 200 examples of exceptional jewelry and ornaments, created across the globe from antiquity to the present, are shown alongside paintings and sculptures of bejeweled bodies to demonstrate the social, political, and aesthetic role of jewelry. From earflares of warrior heroes in Pre-Columbian Peru to designs by Yves Saint-Laurent, these precious and most intimate works of art provide insight not only about the wearer but also into the designers, artisans, and cultures that produced them.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(11/12/18–02/24/19)