We are continuing with the architecture theme at The Met, but this is obviously very different from the parlor rooms I’ve shown you in the last few posts. I must admit that The Met kept surprising me with the variety of its exhibits. As I entered the large, well-lit Charles Engelhard Court in the American Wing, I didn’t expect to see a building like this. Despite my earlier misgivings about art museums, this one is different enough that I’m going to visit it again on my next trip to New York. I’m beginning to realize that what I like about The Met is that so much of it doesn’t feel like a traditional art museum.

You can see that I switched to the Leica M Monochrom with a 50mm lens, which is quite tight for this space. But I like the resulting composition, with a close-up of the center section of the building. I love the placement of the two people near the center, though I wish I didn’t have the guy on the right in the picture. Still, the interplay of light and shadow across the facade adds dimension to the architecture.

This second picture, made with the D-Lux 8, is interesting for two reasons. First, with its 24mm equivalent lens, I can frame the entire facade instead of just the center section. More interestingly, notice how the building appears to be embedded within a wall. This is the actual marble facade of the Second Branch Bank of the United States, originally located on Wall Street. The building was demolished in 1915, but the facade was saved and reconstructed at The Met in 1924.

This scene vaguely reminds me of Petra in Jordan, particularly the famous Al-Khazneh facade carved into the rock face. You may recognize it from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the third movie in the series.

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