This collection of essays provides dynamic new perspectives on 100 works of art that span centuries of human creativity around the globe
 
Across ages and cultures, artists have found inspiration in the human urge for connection. This compendium of short, thought-provoking essays and surprising insights by the staff of The Metropolitan Museum of Art focuses on 100 works—both famous highlights and little-known gems—to explore artistic representations of relationships, the self, politics, spirituality, and the environment. The wide-ranging texts probe the enduring resonance of an Egyptian temple built two thousand years ago, reflect on an ancient Roman sculpture of a wounded warrior, examine spirituality through a fourteenth-century Chinese incense box, muse on Giorgio de Chirico’s family history drawn from his painting Ariadne (1913), and touch on many other topics. For the first time, a book brings together voices from across The Met—curators, conservators, designers, editors, educators, and librarians—to consider how art inspires us to connect to the world and to each other.
 
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press