Spring at the Metropolitan Museum

I did one of my quick trips to the Metropolitan Museum yesterday on a gorgeous spring day with apparently every school in session on a field trip there, plus all the families of schools not in session there too. Amazing happy crowds, but not necessarily so crowded at the exhibits I saw, which included Durer and others wood cuts, Degas and Rembrandt self-portraits, and more Rembrandt, a small but wonderful exhibit of Native American objects during the years of interaction between Native American artistic styles and European ones.

But best of all in the lower level of the Lehman wing, a terrific exhibition of Egyptian art from before the Pharaohs-- maybe from before there was an Egypt: around 3000 and earlier BCE, so 5000 years ago. A lot of animals, and a lot of women's figures including the beaky so-called Bird Woman (usually at the Brooklyn Museum) who isn't actually beaked, but very-big-nosed. Apparently those people liked to emphasize noses.

Then walked across Central Park, enjoying the middle layer of fine new leaves and blossoms, like idea balloons of happiness over our heads.