The Three Kings proceed to the Magi in annual Met Christmas tree display (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Medieval Art Sculpture Hall, first floor
Through January 6, recommended admission $25
212-535-7710
www.metmuseum.org
christmas tree and neapolitan baroque crèche slideshow 2013
Once again the Met’s annual Christmas tree has risen in front of a 1763 Choir Screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid, and it will remain on view through the Epiphany on January 6. The twenty-foot-tall spruce is surrounded by twenty-two eighteenth-century cherubs, fifty-five angels, sixty-nine miniature Neapolitan handmade men, women, and children, and fifty animals, from the collection of Loretta Hines Howard. The terracotta polychromed figures, some created by such well-respected sculptors as Giuseppe Sammartino, Salvatore di Franco, Giuseppe Gori, and Angelo Viva, act out the Nativity (or crèche) and the Procession of the Magi as daily business goes on. The tree was originally designed by Howard and is now overseen by her daughter, Linn, along with Linn’s artist daughter, Andrea Selby Rossi, who add new touches to the settings every year; the display also has music to further the holiday spirit. The Met first displayed the figures in 1957, adding the tree, which was also donated by Howard, in 1964. Be sure to walk all around the area to see all the little scenes that are going on throughout the bustling town. And the Met now allows non-flash photography of the tree, so you can take pictures as well. A lighting ceremony is held every day, at 4:30 Sunday through Thursday and at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 on Friday and Saturday, and an Audio Guide is available too ($7). The Met’s celebration of Christmas also continues with such holiday-themed events as “The Crossing: A Christmas Concert” on December 22 and the Salomé Chamber Orchestra playing seasonal music on December 20, both in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. Meanwhile, the Cloisters will host “The Waverly Consort: The Christmas Story” on December 15, “ETHEL and Friends” December 20-21 and 27-28, and “Lionheart Laude: Joy and Mystery in Medieval Italy” December 22.