Metropolitan Museum of Art – förlag

The definitive survey of one of the masters of Italian Renaissance art, featuring groundbreaking new research by a leading expert on Raphael’s life and work Raphael (Raffaello di Giovanni Santi; 1483–1520) is unquestionably one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. Despite living only thirty-seven years, he quickly emerged as a peer to both Leonardo and his avowed rival, Michelangelo. Raphael: Sublime Poetry spans his short but spectacular life and career, from his early training amid the culture of his native Urbino, through his prolific years in Florence, to his final, magnificent decade at the papal court in Rome. Though Raphael is best known for his meteoric success as a painter, draftsman, designer, and architect, this catalogue highlights his equal accomplishments as a humanist, antiquarian, and poet.Carmen C. Bambach offers fresh perspectives on the beloved artist, reconsidering his well-known masterpieces and uncovering the importance of rarely seen treasures. The publication also sheds new light on Raphael’s relationship with women by identifying previously unrecognized models for his portraits and discussing the agency of his female patrons. Bringing together more than two hundred of Raphael’s drawings, paintings, tapestries, and decorative arts from public and private collections around the world, this catalogue is rich in archival discoveries and firsthand technical analyses. Lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched, it is the definitive text on the artist’s life, art, and enduring legacy.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(March 29–June 28, 2026)

The definitive book on the work of a virtuosic and revered American photographer  “Irving Penn: Centennial . . . presents page after page of startlingly fresh images.”—Luc Sante, New York Times  Irving Penn (1917–2009) was among the most esteemed and influential photographers of the twentieth century. Over the course of a nearly seventy-year career, he mastered a pared-down aesthetic of studio photography that is distinguished for its meticulous attention to composition, nuance, and detail. This indispensable book features one of the largest selections of Penn’s photographs ever compiled, including famous and beloved images as well as works that have never been published, spanning the entirety of his groundbreaking career.  An enlightening introduction situates his work in the context of the various artistic, social, and political environments and events that affected the content of his photographs. Lively essays acquaint readers with Penn’s primary subjects and campaigns, including early documentary scenes and imagery; portraits; fashion; female nudes; peoples of Peru, Dahomey (Benin), New Guinea, and Morocco; still lifes; and much more. Irving Penn: Centennial is essential for any fan of this artist’s work or the history of twentieth-century photography.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  Exhibition Schedule:  de Young, Fine Art Museums, San Francisco (March 16–July 21, 2024)

A fresh look at the ways nineteenth-century European and Ottoman artists portrayed and promoted the Middle East through interpretations and emulations of Islamic art and design  Colonial and imperial expansion, technical advancement, and artistic transformation in the nineteenth century catalyzed the global marketplace and sparked a wave of European picture-making focused on North Africa and the Middle East. Known as Orientalism, the genre inspired by Islamic cultures relied equally on fact and fantasy to create iconic images both celebrated and interrogated today. This book tells a new, multifaceted story, taking into account how major figures ranging from the French painters Ingres, Delacroix, and Gérôme to the Ottoman statesman and artist Osman Hamdi Bey shaped an understanding of their world by incorporating Islamic motifs into their pictures. Addressing manifold questions about ethnic and racial difference, gender, power relations, and colonialist attitudes, the publication reinterprets beloved works of art such as Gérôme’s Bashi-Bazouk and Ingres’s La Grande Odalisque. The book reaches beyond easel painting to detail the impact of Orientalism on decorative arts, architecture, and collecting practices, which inspired a deep admiration for Islamic art and prompted a design revolution with an enduring legacy in Europe and the United States.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(June 12, 2026–February 28, 2027)

Positioning Alice Neel as a champion of civil rights, this book explores how her paintings convey her humanist politics and capture the humanity, strength, and vulnerability of her subjects  “One of the most ambitious and thorough collections of Neel’s work to date.”—Allison Schaller, Vanity Fair  “For me, people come first,” Alice Neel (1900–1984) declared in 1950. “I have tried to assert the dignity and eternal importance of the human being.” This ambitious publication surveys Neel’s nearly 70-year career through the lens of her radical humanism. Remarkable portraits of victims of the Great Depression, fellow residents of Spanish Harlem, leaders of political organizations, queer artists, visibly pregnant women, and members of New York’s global diaspora reveal that Neel viewed humanism as both a political and philosophical ideal. In addition to these paintings of famous and unknown sitters, the more than 100 works highlighted include Neel’s emotionally charged cityscapes and still lifes as well as the artist’s erotic pastels and watercolors. Essays tackle Neel’s portrayal of LGBTQ subjects; her unique aesthetic language, which merged abstraction and figuration; and her commitment to progressive politics, civil rights, feminism, and racial diversity. The authors also explore Neel’s highly personal preoccupations with death, illness, and motherhood while reasserting her place in the broader cultural history of the 20th century.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(March 22–August 1, 2021)  Guggenheim, Bilbao(September 17, 2021–January 30, 2022)  de Young Museum, San Francisco(March 12–July 10, 2022)

Rare architectural drawings from the Gothic period uncover a flourishing tradition of design and draftsmanship, making this book essential for understanding the roots of modern architecture The Gothic era produced some of the Western world’s most imposing structures, today icons of the European cityscape. Unlike buildings from the Renaissance onward, these medieval works are rarely discussed as the products of the ingenious, innovative contributions of individual architects. This book challenges that common perception by asserting the significant impact of draftsmanship on the development of the Gothic style from the twelfth to early sixteenth century. The rediscovery of a little-known corpus ofarchitectural drawings and prints reveals the crucial role of drawings in the development of complex and visually appealing structures—from monumental stone cathedrals to small liturgical objects. Gothic by Design includes surprising ties to contemporary concerns, showing how these works on paper functioned on and off the building site, established the basis for modern concepts of artistic identity and intellectual property, and provided evidence of the long afterlife of Gothic design strategies and their potential use today in sustainable architecture. Published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(April 16–July 19, 2026)

A lavishly illustrated monograph that spans the entire career of Gerhard Richter, one of the most celebrated contemporary artists"Spans the contemporary German artist's six-decade career. . . . [A] stirring exhibition in [its] own right."—New York Times"[A] weighty catalogue... illuminat[es] some less-visited corners of Richter's oeuvre."—New York Review of Books Over the course of his acclaimed 60-year career, Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) has employed both representation and abstraction as a means of reckoning with the legacy, collective memory, and national sensibility of post–Second World War Germany, in both broad and very personal terms. This handsomely designed book features approximately 100 of his key canvases, from photo paintings created in the early 1960s to portraits and later large-scale abstract series, as well as select works in glass. New essays by eminent scholars address a variety of themes: Sheena Wagstaff evaluates the conceptual import of the artist’s technique; Benjamin H. D. Buchloh discusses the poignant Birkenau paintings (2014); Peter Geimer explores the artist’s enduring interest in photographic imagery; Briony Fer looks at Richter’s family pictures against traditional painting genres and conventions; Brinda Kumar investigates the artist’s engagement with landscape as a site of memory; André Rottmann considers the impact of randomization and chance on Richter’s abstract works; and Hal Foster examines the glass and mirror works. As this book demonstrates, Richter’s rich and varied oeuvre is a testament to the continued relevance of painting in contemporary art.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Met Breuer, New York(March 4–July 5, 2020)Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles(August 14, 2020–January 19, 2021)

Musical instruments and their connection to the body as reflected in art, popular culture, and the human condition, from ancient ceremony to rock and roll Musical Bodies explores the overlapping worlds and blurred boundaries between bodies and instruments across 5,000 years of art and music history. Whether we are tapping, clapping, vocalizing, or whistling, our bodies are musical instruments, and, in return, many instruments derive their form and decoration from the human body. Acting as powerful vehicles of identity, these objects complicate the notion of where bodies end and instrumental music-making begins. This interdisciplinary publication features some 130 musical instruments and related works of art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, manuscripts, and costumes. Instruments considered range fromAncient Egyptian sistra and Renaissance figural fiddles to Tipu Sultan’s mechanical organ in the shape of a tiger mauling a European soldier and the “Symbol” guitar played by Prince. The book establishes the ways bodies and instruments interact and entwine, then explores how instruments reflect identity, sex, death, and the afterlife. Drawing on musicology, organology, anthropology, art, literature, religion, pop culture, and mythology, this volume is a fascinating exploration of music, art, and the human condition. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(June 7–September 27, 2026)

An indispensable introduction to the evolution of Buddhist imagery from its origins in India through its spread to China, Japan, and South AsiaFor more than 2,000 years, sublime works of art have been created to embody essential aspects of Buddhist thought, which developed and evolved as its practice spread from India to East Asia and beyond. How to Read Buddhist Art introduces this complex visual tradition to a general audience by examining sixty seminal works. Beginning with the origins of representations of the Buddha in India, and moving on to address the development of Buddhist art as the religion spread across Asia, this book conveys how Buddhist philosophy affected artistic works and practice across cultural boundaries.   Reliquaries, sculptures, and paintings produced in China, the Himalayas, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia provide insight into the rich iconography of Buddhism, the technical virtuosity of their makers, and the social and political climate in which they were created. Beautiful photographs of the artworks, maps, and a glossary of the major Buddhist deities offer an engaging and informative setting in which readers—regardless of their familiarity with Buddhism—can better understand the art related to the religion’s practices and representations.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Asserting the central role of the dressed body in art throughout history, this catalogue presents fashion as an essential expression of creativity and identityFashion transforms our bodies. Exploring this concept through the lens of age, size, gender, and disability, Costume Art demonstrates how the clothed body is central to artistic expression and representation. The luxuriously designed book features a die-cut cover, three specialty papers, debossed details, and metallic silver foils. New assemblages created specifically for this volume by artist Julie Wolfe, composed of photographs by stylist and designer Nathalie Agussol, highlight the connection between art and fashion through collage, overlay, and juxtaposition. The contemporary and historic fashions draw on a range of artistic inspirations—from Greek molded cuirass armor and carved Roman sculptures to manuscripts, enameled decorative figures, and grand painted canvases. New photography by Paul Westlake of designs by makers such as Madame Grès, Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, and Madeleine Vionnet—some dressed on bespoke mannequins made by scanning real people—reevaluates idealized representations of the human form. Bookended by essays from art and design scholar Llewellyn Negrin and award-winning author Andrew Solomon, the texts reveal the ways the body shapes how we dress and how we understand ourselves and others. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(May 10, 2026–January 10, 2027)

An enlightening, accessible guide to understanding and appreciating European art from the Middle AgesHow to Read Medieval Art introduces the art of the European Middle Ages through 50 notable examples from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, which is one of the most comprehensive in the world.  This handsomely illustrated volume includes multi-panel altarpieces, stained glass windows, wooden sculpture, as well as manuscript illuminations, and features iconic masterworks such as the Merode Altarpiece, Unicorn Tapestries, and The Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry.  Formal explorations of individual works, chosen to exemplify key ideas crucial to understanding medieval art, are accompanied by relevant information about the context in which they were created, conveying the works’ visual nuances but also their broader symbolic meaning.  Superb color illustrations further reveal the visual and conceptual richness of medieval art, providing the reader with a deeper understanding of the history and iconography of this pivotal era.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Distributed by Yale University Press

A rare and captivating look at ancient Egyptian deities that demystifies their complex iconography to illuminate three millennia of life and religious practice  Ancient Egyptian religious practice flourished across millennia and encompassed a staggering array of gods, goddesses, and other divine beings. This publication outlines the rich iconography used to represent Egyptian deities—from the stately falcon-headed Horus, associated with power and kingship, to the fearsome lion-headed Sakhmet—and explores how these representations evolved alongside the roles of the gods themselves. Illustrated with more than 300 exceptional works of art, including statuary, figurines, jewelry, animal mummies, and coffins, Divine Egypt examines the expansive set of features used to symbolize more than 20 deities and their variations while also familiarizing readers with the meaning and cultural significance of each figure. World-renowned scholars explain how the ancient Egyptians recognized and understood divine images and the otherworldly nature of their gods. Essential reading for lovers of Egyptian art, this book enriches our understanding of not only the deities of ancient Egypt but also the lives of all strata of ancient Egyptian society.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  Exhibition Schedule:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(October 12, 2025–January 19, 2026)

A groundbreaking introduction to Scandinavian artist Helene Schjerfbeck through the paintings and drawings that mark her as an exceptional modernist Reevaluating the role of Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) in the history of modernism, this publication highlights pivotal passages in her sixty-year career—from her training at the Finnish Art Society and remarkable early success to her studies in Paris and St. Ives and eventual return to Finland. There, in relative isolation, she pared down figure paintings and still lifes to near abstraction while introducing greater complexity in her canvases. Long celebrated in Finland and Sweden, Schjerfbeck is relatively unknown to the rest of the world. This book provides fresh insight into her idiosyncratic processes and discusses the series of haunting self-portraits that she painted in her final years, which stand among the twentieth century’s most extraordinary self-examinations. Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck introduces an extraordinary Nordic artist who realized her own unique vision with passionate determination, despite personal adversity and her homeland’s turbulent political history.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(December 5, 2025–April 5, 2026)

Exploring the significance of Tibetan mandalas from their ancient origins to the present day, this gorgeously illustrated volume provides a contemporary perspective on a centuries-old Buddhist model of the universe  A New York Times “Best Art Book of 2024”  A mandala is a diagram of the universe—a map of true reality intended to provide a focus for Buddhist religious practice and inspire the devout. This book highlights the distinctive Tibetan approach to creating mandalas, exploring how the form crossed over from India into Tibet, and how continuous exchanges of art and ideas between the two cultures, led by monks and spiritual teachers, gave rise to a uniquely Tibetan style of Buddhist imagery. Featuring more than one hundred paintings, sculptures, and ritual objects, this superbly illustrated volume reflects the dazzling complexities of the Tibetan imagery that has provided a foundation for mandalas through the centuries. Most notably, a mesmerizing installation by the Tibetan-American artist Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982), specially created for the accompanying exhibition and published here for the first time, offers contemporary audiences a way of interrogating and understanding their world and underscores how this ancient tradition remains a vibrant living practice.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  Exhibition Schedule:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(September 19, 2024–January 12, 2025)

A richly illustrated volume surveying the career of Caspar David Friedrich, the German landscape painter whose emotionally profound visions of nature are among the most iconic works of Romantic art The paintings and drawings of the nineteenth-century German landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) brilliantly illuminate our experience of the natural world. This generously illustrated volume explores how Friedrich, who created some of the most indelible images of Romantic art, deployed signature motifs—moonlit skies, Gothic ruins, isolated figures, and misty panoramas—together with innovative compositional strategies to create paintings and drawings that are metaphorically rich and emotionally profound. Friedrich worked at the dawn of a new understanding in Europe of the human relationship with the environment, as German artists and intellectuals elevated the exploration of nature into a journey of self-discovery, yielding insights into spirituality, mortality, identity, and history. Essays by leading scholars examine Friedrich’s career, considering how he created a new and open-ended pictorial language to express the Romantic vision of nature. Placing his works in cultural and historic context, the authors evaluate his status as an icon of German Romanticism and as a touchstone for visual culture in the United States, while also exploring his working methods and the complex themes that underpinned his art. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(February 8–May 11, 2025)

An accessible introduction to the quintessential art form of the Islamic worldHow to Read Islamic Calligraphy explores the preeminence of the written word as a means of creative expression throughout the Islamic world. Aimed at a general audience, the book introduces all five major Islamic calligraphic script types, demonstrates their distinctive visual characteristics, and explains the various contexts in which each one came to be used, whether for transcribing the Qur’an, composing poetry, or issuing written edicts from the sultan’s court. Numerous examples illustrate how the transmission of these styles and techniques from master to pupil was fundamental to the flourishing of Islamic calligraphy, and handwriting models from as early as the 10th century continue to inspire students of calligraphy today.   Superbly illustrated, the works discussed include manuscripts, glass, metalware, and ceramic tiles. This accessible and engaging book traces the progression of calligraphic styles over  centuries and across geographical regions, affirming the spectacular range of creative possibilities afforded by this unique art form.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

This timely study of Winslow Homer highlights his imagery of the Atlantic world and reveals themes of racial, political, and natural conflict across his careerLong celebrated as the quintessential New England regionalist, Winslow Homer (1836–1910) in fact brushed a much wider canvas, traveling throughout the Atlantic world and frequently engaging in his art with issues of race, imperialism, and the environment. This publication focuses, for the first time, on the watercolors and oil paintings Homer made during visits to Bermuda, Cuba, coastal Florida, and the Bahamas. Among these, The Gulf Stream (1899), often considered the most consequential painting of his career, reveals Homer’s lifelong fascination with struggle and conflict. Recognizing the artist’s keen ability to distill complex issues, Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents upends popular conceptions and convincingly argues that Homer’s work resonates with the challenges of the present day.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(April 11–July 31, 2022)National Gallery, London(September 10, 2022–January 8, 2023)

A fascinating look at John Singer Sargent’s formative years as a young painter in Paris, a city that helped forge his artistic identity and sparked his rise to the pinnacle of the nineteenth-century art world  In 1874, eighteen-year-old American artist John Singer Sargent went to Paris to become a painter. Ten years later, he would become an art-world sensation when he sparked controversy with his scandalous portrait Madame X at the 1884 Salon. Sargent and Paris focuses on this decisive early decade in the artist’s career, when he first achieved recognition for ambitious portraits and bold canvases that pushed the boundaries of convention. Eight incisive essays by the world’s foremost Sargent scholars explore his life in Paris—then the epicenter of the cultural world—and the cosmopolitan circle of artists, writers, and cultivated patrons that nurtured his career and helped forge his artistic identity. Authors highlight the painter’s connections to giants of the Parisian art scene as well as the influential patrons who were key to Sargent’s progression as an artist. Presented alongside lavish images of more than a hundred paintings and works on paper—brought together from public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe—this publication offers an intimate look at the roots of Sargent’s signature, breathtaking style and his indelible experiences as a young artist in the French capital.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  Exhibition Schedule:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(April 27–August 3, 2025)  Musée d’Orsay, Paris(September 22, 2025–January 11, 2026)

A compelling look at the aesthetic and historical significance of Lagerfeld’s work—from his elegantly tailored pieces for Chanel to the witty, playful ensembles that came to define the Lagerfeld brand  “The Met’s latest tome expertly narrates the journey that earned Lagerfeld his seat at the hallowed throne of modern high fashion.”—V Magazine  Unparalleled in its luxurious presentation, this publication celebrates the virtuoso artistry of Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019). Designed to evoke an elegant parchment-and-cloth artist’s portfolio, it boasts a pageant of stunning fashion photography alongside Lagerfeld’s original sketches, offering a behind-the-scenes window into his process as well as his sartorial brilliance. Silver inks and select gold pages punctuate the book’s stylish packaging and recall the designer’s signature accessories. An illustrated timeline, unfurling from the back of the volume, chronicles the designer’s long and illustrious career.  Lagerfeld produced over 10,000 pieces of clothing across his extraordinary 65 years as a powerhouse fashion designer, from his time at Chloé and Fendi in the 1960s and 1970s to his celebrated leadership in the 1980s and beyond at Chanel and with his own label. His voracious curiosity and boundless imagination yielded beautiful, evocative garments, more than 200 of which are showcased here. These are accompanied by personal reflections from Lagerfeld’s premières d’ateliers—the seamstresses behind his extraordinary creations—as well as by Anna Wintour, Patrick Hourcade, Amanda Harlech, and Tadao Ando. A lavish work of art in its own right, this book is also an essential resource on Lagerfeld and how his designs transformed the entire fashion industry.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

A survey of two icons of Abstract Expressionism that examines their distinct but connected careers and artistic legaciesThe groundbreaking artists Lee Krasner (1908–1984) and Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) profoundly influenced each other as they found their own places at the forefront of the Abstract Expressionism movement. Spanning the full arc of their careers—including the years before they met, their time as a couple, and Krasner’s life after Pollock’s death—this book features more than one hundred vivid paintings and works on paper. Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous highlights the range and art-historical importance of Krasner’s work, evaluates Pollock’s significance anew, and considers the pair as artistic peers against the backdrop of the postwar United States. Essays revisit key periods in their creative trajectories, from their parallel emergence in the 1940s New York art scene to their later move to Long Island. The authors situate the artists within their historical context and trace important breakthroughs in their practices, such as Pollock’s exploration of the “drip” technique and Krasner’s turn to collage. Personal reflections from twenty-first-century artists attest to Krasner’s and Pollock’s ongoing legacies. For devotees of Krasner and Pollock and for readers encountering them for the first time, this book offers an illuminating portrait of the two artists.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(October 4, 2026–January 31, 2027)

A brash and dazzling celebration of the instruments that created the sounds of rock and roll from the 1940s to the present dayPlay It Loud celebrates the musical instruments that gave rock and roll its signature sound—from Louis Jordan’s alto saxophone and John Lennon’s Rickenbacker to the drum set owned by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Lady Gaga’s keytar, and beyond. Seven engrossing essays by veteran music journalists and scholars discuss the technical developments that fostered rock’s seductive riffs and driving rhythms, the thrilling innovations musicians have devised to achieve unique effects, and the visual impact their instruments have had. Abundant photographs depict rock’s most iconic instruments—including Jerry Lee Lewis’s baby grand piano, Chuck Berry’s Gibson ES-350T guitar, Bootsy Collins’s star-shaped bass, Keith Moon’s drum set, and the white Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock—as works of art in their own right. Produced in collaboration with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this astounding book goes behind the music to offer a rare and in-depth look at the instruments that inspired the musicians and made possible the songs we know and love.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(04/08/19–09/15/19)The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland(11/20/19–09/13/20)

With new photography of extraordinarily rare works of art, this pioneering study features discoveries and research essential to understanding the origins and meaning of Buddhist artistic traditions  “Both the show and the book are extraordinary achievements. . . . They will astonish even those who think they are familiar with the art of Buddhism.”—William Dalrymple, New York Review of Books  Named for two primary motifs in Buddhist art, the sacred bodhi tree and the protective snake, Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India is the first publication to foreground devotional works produced in the Deccan from 200 BCE to 400 CE. Unlike traditional narratives, which focus on northern India (where the Buddha was born, taught, and died), this groundbreaking book presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south. Long neglected, this is among the earliest corpus of Buddhist art surviving, and among the most sublimely beautiful. An international team of researchers contributes new scholarship on the sculptural and devotional art associated with Buddhism, and masterpieces from recently excavated Buddhist sites are published here for the first time—including Kanaganahalli and Phanigiri, the most important new discoveries in a generation. With its exploration of Buddhism’s emergence in southern India, as well as of India’s deep commercial and cultural engagement with the Hellenized and Roman worlds, the definitive study expands our understanding of the origins of Buddhist art itself.  Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  Exhibition Schedule:  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(July 21–November 13, 2023)  National Museum of Korea, Seoul(December 22, 2023–April 14, 2024)

An accessibly written and superbly illustrated introduction to armor used for battle, tournament, and ceremonyThis engaging book offers an introduction to and overview of armor in Europe from the Middle Ages through the 17th century, focusing in particular on the 16th century when plate armor reached its peak of stylistic beauty and functional perfection. Created by highly skilled armorers, often in cooperation with noted artists and commissioned by wealthy patrons, armor was worn for centuries on the battlefield, in festive tournaments, and for ceremonial events. Through informative discussions of representative works from the Metropolitan Museum’s world-renowned collection, this new addition to the popular How to Read series shows what to look for when examining armor, the pieces that make up a typical suit of armor, how the parts work, the various methods used to decorate armor, and how armor became an important part of so many museum collections today. The book features a wealth of new photography of historically important armor and other works of art from the Metropolitan Museum and select pieces from other institutions.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

This exploration of Petrit Halilaj's site-specific installation reflects the artist's personal experience as a refugee of war and the universal hopes and fears captured in children's drawings Petrit Halilaj (b. 1986, Kosovo) is known for installations that draw on his personal experiences of uprooting, trauma, and disorientation. In his first major outdoor installation, Halilaj explores the intersection of reality and fantasy through the rich world of children's drawings. This volume examines Halilaj's inspirations from inscriptions, carvings, and scribbles that he discovered on desks at his former primary school. Halilaj catalogued these doodles-a record of children's fantasies, fears, and private messages conveyed in many languages. An interview with Halilaj connects his practice with European artists of the 60s and 70s and details how memory, desire, identity, and the history of his native country present in his work. This publication reveals Halilaj's installation to be at once a story of children in a time and place marked by social and political conflict and a universal reflection on youthful imagination, hopes, yearnings, anxieties, and dreams.

Chinese ceramics are among the most significant and widely collected decorative arts produced anywhere in the world, with a history that spans millennia. Despite the saturation of Chinese ceramics in global culture—in English, the word “china” has become synonymous with “porcelain”—the function of these works and the meaning of their often richly decorated surfaces are not always readily apparent.  This new installment in the successful How to Read series enlightens readers on Chinese ceramics of all kinds, using highlights from the outstanding collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a teaching tool. Accessible to a general audience and written by an expert on the subject, this book explains and interprets 40 masterworks of Chinese ceramics. The works represent a broad range of subject matter and type, from ancient earthenware to 20th-century porcelain, and from plates and bowls to vases and sculptural figures. Lavish illustrations showcase these stunning works and the decorations that adorn them, including symbolic scenes, flowers, and Buddhist and Chinese historical figures. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

This engaging exploration of the Maya pantheon introduces readers to the complex stories of Mesoamerican divinity through the stunning carvings, ceramics, and metalwork of the Classic period  Focusing on the period between A.D. 250 and 900, Lives of the Gods reveals that ancient Maya artists evoked a pantheon as rich and complex as the more familiar Greco-Roman, Hindu-Buddhist, and Egyptian deities. The authors show how this powerful cosmology informed some of the greatest creative achievements of Maya civilization, represented here from the monumental to the miniature through more than 140 works in jade, stone, and clay. Thematic chapters supported by new scholarship on recent archaeological discoveries detail the different types of gods and their domains, the role of the divine in the lives of the ancient Maya, and the continuation of these traditions from the colonial period through the present day. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(November 21, 2022–April 2, 2023)  Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX(May 7–September 3, 2023)

This collection of essays provides dynamic new perspectives on 100 works of art that span centuries of human creativity around the globe Across ages and cultures, artists have found inspiration in the human urge for connection. This compendium of short, thought-provoking essays and surprising insights by the staff of The Metropolitan Museum of Art focuses on 100 works—both famous highlights and little-known gems—to explore artistic representations of relationships, the self, politics, spirituality, and the environment. The wide-ranging texts probe the enduring resonance of an Egyptian temple built two thousand years ago, reflect on an ancient Roman sculpture of a wounded warrior, examine spirituality through a fourteenth-century Chinese incense box, muse on Giorgio de Chirico’s family history drawn from his painting Ariadne (1913), and touch on many other topics. For the first time, a book brings together voices from across The Met—curators, conservators, designers, editors, educators, and librarians—to consider how art inspires us to connect to the world and to each other. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

A celebration of the instrument that helped define twentieth-century music and cultureFor most of the twentieth century, the history of American music—and of much American culture—was inseparable from the history of the guitar. This volume features 150 guitars that trace the evolution of the design and sound of the instrument made popular by musicians including Charlie Christian, Mother Maybelle Carter, Merle Travis, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimi Hendrix, and Keith Richards. The astounding selection of electric and acoustic guitars features pristine examples of classic instruments that shaped blues, country, jazz, and rock music. They detail the aesthetic and functional development of acoustic guitars, the invention and rise of the electric guitar, and the remarkable legacy of this uniquely influential and versatile instrument. The American Guitar also traces the underappreciated influence of Hawaiian music and reaffirms the central role of Black musicians, while emphasizing the guitar’s pivotal place in American culture and society. This fascinating exploration of a nation’s soundtrack through its most popular and iconic instrument will delight any music lover.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

This completely reconceived and rewritten guide to the Metropolitan's encyclopedic holdings—the first new edition of the guidebook in nearly thirty years—provides the ideal introduction to almost 600 essential masterpieces from one of the world's most popular and beloved museums. It features a compelling and accessible design, beautiful color reproductions, and up-to-date descriptions written by the Museum's own experts. More than a simple souvenir book, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide provides a comprehensive view of art history spanning more than five millennia and the entire globe, beginning with the Ancient World and ending in contemporary times. It includes media as varied as painting, photography, costume, sculpture, decorative arts, musical instruments, arms and armor, works on paper, and many more. Presenting works ranging from the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur to Canova's Perseus with the Head of Medusa to Sargent's Madame X, this is an indispensable volume for lovers of art and art history, and for anyone who has ever dreamed of lingering over the most iconic works in the Metropolitan Museum's unparalleled collection.

From the first millennium B.C. until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, artists from across the ancient Americas created small-scale architectural effigies to be placed in the tombs of important individuals. These works in stone, ceramic, wood, and metal range from highly abstracted, minimalist representations of temples and houses to elaborate complexes populated with figures, conveying a rich sense of ancient ritual and daily life. Although described as models, these effigies were created not so much as reflections or prototypes of existing structures, but rather as critical, conceptual components of funerary practice and beliefs about an afterlife.   Design for Eternity is the first publication in English to explore these architectural works, providing new insights into ancient American design and how it reflected the practices of daily life. The vivid illustrations and texts focus on architectural representation, as well as the role these intriguing sculptures played in mediating relationships among the living, the dead, and the divine.   Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art(10/26/15–09/18/16)