Happy Independence Day from the Metropolitan Museum

Thursday was July 4th, Independence Day.  And how did I celebrate all that wonderful American freedom?  Er, by looking at people's rude bits.

I joke, of course.  I spent the day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is on the Eastern edge of Central Park.  It's hard to put together a highlights package, because there's simply SO MUCH STUFF!  Seriously, it's one of the most mind-boggling places I've ever been.  I'd been told what to expect, but until you actually go there, it's still impossible to comprehend.  Anyway, these were some of the noteworthy items that caught my attention.

This, which is a twin to the one I posted from MoMA a few days ago.

A lovely portrait of Michael Jackson from the latter stages of his career (I joke.  It's a woman, not Michael Jackson at all, but it certainly could be if you didn't know better).

These three from the American collection, which I thought were amazing.

This is a lovely one by Renoir.

This is a famous one by Manet (with an 'a').  If you want that other guy, Monet (with an 'o'), step right this way and check out the entire rooms filled with Monet:

What about Van Gogh?  Why of course, step right this way sir!

There was also a rather macabre section that seemed to be devoted to decapitations as well.  Here's Saint Barbara going in for her chop.

Here's Salome with the head of John the Baptist.

And here's the rest of him.

Too vicious, you say?  How about some American Presidents then?  Because we all know that they're kindly, peace-loving folk :p  Have some George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant (and that's just for starters).

And if wandering around inside gets a bit tedious, why not step up to the roof for a breather, and some stunning views of Manhattan?

From the divine to the ridiculous, there was a temporary exhibit celebrating punk culture, in which they had recreated the lavatories of the seminal (pardon the pun) New York punk music venue CBGB.

Also on display was this infamous safety pin dress, designed by Gianni Versace and worn by Liz Hurley.  There were no photos allowed in that part of the exhibit, so I just had to include the Wikipedia photo.

And of course, an army marches on its stomach, and since I was there all day, thankfully there was plenty of sustenance on offer to keep me going.