Experience thousands of years of art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art
Experiencing art of past millennia in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; from the documentary A World of Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Great Museums Television (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.What if celebrating Christmas could get you thrown in jail?
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.In August 1947 British rule ended on the Indian subcontinent.Media Editor: Lauren Sims
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day—and it actually impacted the American Civil War.
-
Great Museums Television (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A discussion concerning Chinese art, from the documentary China: West Meets East at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn more about the Ming dynasty of China.
-
Great Museums Television (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Architect Renzo Piano discussing his design for the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, from the documentary Riches, Rivals, and Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America.
-
Great Museums Television (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A discussion of the DuSable Museum of African American History (now the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center) in Chicago, from the documentary Riches, Rivals, & Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America.
News •
Met Police confirms it received 2019 letter with "number of claims" about Meghan's father
• Oct. 24, 2026, 8:59 AM ET (BBC)
'Lincoln in the Bardo' takes a distinctly American grief to the Met stage
• Oct. 19, 2026, 1:41 PM ET (NPR)
Transcript
[Music in]
NARRATOR: Today the Metropolitan Museum of Art has over 5,000 years' worth of masterworks from every civilization, every culture all under one roof.
PHILIPPE DE MONTEBELLO: When you study history, you are reading about events, but you are not experiencing them. When you look at a great Chinese painting of the Ming dynasty, you are in a sense in the Ming dynasty. You've—you've—you've taken a time machine. The picture is of that time—of its time and of our time. It—it's a magical experience.
[Music out]
NARRATOR: Today the Metropolitan Museum of Art has over 5,000 years' worth of masterworks from every civilization, every culture all under one roof.
PHILIPPE DE MONTEBELLO: When you study history, you are reading about events, but you are not experiencing them. When you look at a great Chinese painting of the Ming dynasty, you are in a sense in the Ming dynasty. You've—you've—you've taken a time machine. The picture is of that time—of its time and of our time. It—it's a magical experience.
[Music out]
Last Modification: