For nearly two decades some patrons of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art's old first-floor restaurant liked to perch at the bar so they
could take in the lustrous splendors of its big Art Deco mural.
The cognoscenti knew they were gazing upon "The History of
Navigation," the gilded-glass mural that once lined the walls of the
first-class grand salon of the ocean liner the Normandie. Donated to
the Met in 1976 by the New York collectors Irwin R. and Linda Berman,
the work was so large that it was never shown in its entirety. The
most anyone saw were 28 panels that hung over the bar before the
restaurant closed in 2002 to make way for the expanded Greek and Roman
galleries.
Beginning on May 16 all 56 panels will go on view at the Met as the
centerpiece of "Masterpieces of Modern Design: Selections From the
Collection," which runs until mid-October. It will be the first time
all the panels will be seen since they graced the Normandie. (The
liner sank in the Hudson River in 1942.)
Installing the mural was a challenge. Curators had to carve out part
of the ceiling in a first-floor gallery so the 20-foot-high panels
could be fully displayed.
Designed by Jean Dupas, a fashion illustrator and painter, and
manufactured by Charles Champigneulle in 1934, the mural represents
the height of Art Deco extravagance. Each 40-pound panel is fashioned
from reverse-painted gilded glass through a technique called verre
églomisé. The scenes were painted in black and varying pastel colors
and applied to the back of plate-glass panels. Gold, silver and
palladium leaf were then laid atop the paint and sealed into place
with a canvas backing.
The stories depicted are detailed with serpents, mythical creatures,
majestic ships and wavelike patterns.
The ocean liner sailed regularly between Le Havre, France, and New
York from 1935 to 1939. The United States seized control of the ship
after war broke out in Europe and in 1941 decided to transform it into
a troop carrier. The decorations were being stripped when sparks from
an acetylene torch ignited life preservers in the grand salon and fire
spread through the ship on Feb. 9, 1942.
Tons of water pumped into the ship by fireboats caused it to list and
then capsize. The Normandie lay at Pier 88 for 18 months until it was
finally raised, towed away and sold for scrap.
Luckily, the panels had been removed before the fire. Though they
survived the wear and tear of being at sea, time has taken its toll.
"Some of the backing as well as metal leaf had lifted from the glass,"
said Lisa Pilosi, a conservator at the Met. A restoration team has
been working on the mural panel by panel.
The museum expects the mural to attract naval buffs as well as art and
antiques lovers. "There are a lot of ocean-liner fanatics," said Jared
Goss, a curator in the museum's 19th-century, modern and contemporary
art department. "Since it was taken down from the restaurant in 2002,
people keep calling and asking, `What happened to the Normandie panels?'"
Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/arts/design/09voge.html
http://www.curatedobject.us/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/28/09_modern_design_dup\
as_history_of_n.jpg
[ 07-13-2008: Message edited by: desirod7 ]