Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art Virtual Opening | Met Exhibitions

In Maya art, the gods are depicted at all stages of life: as infants, as adults at the peak of their maturity and influence, and as they age. The gods could die, and some were born anew, serving as models of regeneration and resilience. Join Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator of Ancient American Art in The Met's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, alongside Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Yale University, curators of the exhibition along with Laura Filloy Nadal, Associate Curator of Ancient American Art at The Met, to virtually explore Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art. In this exhibition rarely seen masterpieces and recent discoveries trace the life cycle of the gods, from the moment of their creation in a sacred mountain to their dazzling transformations as blossoming flowers or fearsome creatures of the night.
Maya artists depicted the gods in imaginative ways from the monumental to the miniature-from exquisitely carved, towering sculptures to jade, shell, and obsidian ornaments that adorned kings and queens, connecting them symbolically to supernatural forces. Finely painted ceramics reveal the eventful lives of the gods in rich detail. Created by master artists of the Classic period (A.D. 250-900) in the royal cities of what is now Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, the landmark works in this exhibition evoke a world in which the divine, human, and natural realms are interconnected and alive.
Learn more about the exhibition here: www.metmuseum....
The exhibition is made possible by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Placido Arango Fund, the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund, the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund, the Mellon Foundation, and The International Council of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
It is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Kimbell Art Museum.
The catalogue is made possible by the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc.
Additional support is provided by the Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Fund for Publications.
The catalogue is available for purchase at store.metmuseum.org.
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© 2022 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[@nevarezfabiola6]

This is such a wonderful collection of Maya Art. I wish for it to be exhibited as is in Mexico, that would be so lovely.

[@robertafierro5592]

Mayan treasures! I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Thursday nite! My little Dachshund and I!

[@bristleconepinus2378]

The Anthropological Museum in Mexico City is an absolute must see for students/admirers of the Mayan-Mesoamerican cultures...take several days and go total immersion...fantastic.

[@fernb247]

Such a beautiful snapshot of a culture that was so in touch with the stars ,earth and life and afterlife

[@consuelochufani1429]

Maravillosa exposición con esplendidas piezas de diferentes periodos de la Cultura Maya.

[@Lyndanet]

This is so wonderful updated information from discoveries of Mayan culture shared with us all. Beautiful

[@madhurabhalerao6304]

Exceptional presentation on the Maya culture. Thank you very much!

[@alejandropflucker4857]

EXTRAORDINARY , MARVELOUS , ASTONISHING PIECES OF ART.....THANKS A LOT TO BRING THIS TO THE PUBLIC ....

[@ronaldvargas248]

Great exhibition! A tour through a still to be fully discovered and understood civilización of Mesoamerica.

[@freakrx2349]

Looking at the Mayan artifacts on display reminds me of when I took a trip to the Mayan cities of Chaccoben and Tulum back in 2019. It was so cool walking around the old city plazas and seeing the old residences where the nobility would have lived.

[@erby1kabogey9]

Life, death, resurrection. Fascinating how we continue on in these mythologies.

[@moriahfeatherrae8265]

Thank you for this!

[@crruan1142]

Beautiful tour‼️👏♥️

[@noeraldinkabam]

0:02 pff, this piece is so beautiful it made my eyes water.

[@alasart.artandtime]

Thank you... is an amazing exhibition hope many people can have access to the art.

[@Mayan.Embodiment]

Thank you so VERY, very much for putting this online. Een Lak'esh, Ala K' een, Crispy

[@pprehn5268]

Thank you for sharing these to help me further expand my knowledge of Mayan culture.

[@miakorling6454]

How gorgeous and divine! Thank you for sharing.

[@jasminenwhitaker9717]

Good evening Max happy holidays brother's and everyone God bless 🙌 🙏 🌟

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌹

[@gapjin-art]

Thank you so much gapjin art Beautiful Beautiful

[@Ck-zk3we]

my favorite art

[@dani.slobin6469]

Thank you for taking us on a thoughtful wandering through this most important exhibit. I learned a lot. But I would have enjoyed it even more without the superfluous background music, which had nothing to do with the people and culture being presented. We don't hear background music in museums, which are not stores or elevators, but places for quiet observation and thought.

[@marylbullock]

Contemporary Mayan music would have been wonderful.

[@henrylivingstone2800]

@@marylbullock It’s distracting and not historically accurate

[@alexosorio5176]

In El salvador we have a lot mayan culture in the city chalchuapa.

[@Gulfstreams]

There is quite a few Mayan sites in Belize.

[@antoncelestinoestrada-gn5yt]

❤❤❤ more of this content please ❤❤❤

[@mravka9]

Fantastic video!

[@user-ox3sy8nj9v]

Can't the spots on the sun warrior interpreted as they shifting from a nocturnal representation, such as one of the jaguar, to one full of light? The spots fading may represent this transition from a night to a light god.

[@StorieGrubb]

I was thinking the same thing. Seems like they were emulating big cats.

[@weebnibba1540]

I can't believe you didn't mention Belize but did mention Honduras? Belize is one of the three countries at the core of the Mayan world, having a very strong Mayan influence, but you choose to mention Honduras instead. Honduras has a small Mayan population, they barely got Mayans.

[@marylbullock]

Towering works of the imagination. Conflation of Gods with Kings barely erodes their power.

[@user-di9dm8on9q]

Amazing.

[@r-cdmx]

👏🏽🙌🏽✨

[@Tortilla148]

Guatemaya 🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹

[@HVLLOWS1999]

1:43 What is that monolith depicting. They did not cover it in their walkthrough. It was to me the most intreaguing. All this art here is amazing but that one stood out to me.

[@bethparmor]

Cool

[@wmfares]

its a marvelous exhibition but would be even more so if all the pieces were returned to their origins.

[@roaringspark7192]

Since the artwork revolves around the night sky I believe the spots on the two drawings of the 2 men on the plate correspond to constellations or stars. It's just my theory.

[@JustinRyan-rz9nv]

We're finding these things on our property here in usa.

[@henrylivingstone2800]

Unlikely

[@dhandal]

❤

[@melissatf5268]

Where is that Museum?

[@henrylivingstone2800]

It’s the Metropolitan museum of art in New York

[@golgumbazguide...4113]

Explore Golgumbaz, Bijapur, South India 🇮🇳

[@francoarocha7287]

Where will this exhibition travel to?

[@kailukumbaj]

Are all those originals ?

[@mitzilinn]

Why is Ixchel not mentioned

[@prolificF8]

Only four codices survive because the rest were destroyed by the invasion of Europeans, specifically Spanish priests and conquistadors. They destroyed and pillaged.

[@myrineae]

Were these items looted or bought?

[@tamcon72]

Maybe borrowed from museums in the native countries? [eye roll]

[@henrylivingstone2971]

If you had listened to the video they say that pieces were borrowed from museums in Mexico, Honduras, and Belize.

[@marclouisb]

Music is distracting, interferes with speech

[@caretserge2259]

bonjour quand vous mettez des vidéos d'archéologie ayez le courage de les mettre en français ou ne mettez rien respectez les pays vous n'êtes pas les seul dans le monde merci

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

Wait till they discover that Hebrew Cosmology is true.

[@Gulfstreams]

How is this relevant?

[@MH-es9rn]

Stolen Art, nice isn’t it.

[@Eudaimonia88]

"Austrian English" is painful to listen to. The exhibition looks wonderful but I don't have the patience to endure Max Hollein's enunciation.

[@Gulfstreams]

You clearly didnt watch past a minute. 95% of the video was an interview between a curator and Yale professor.

[@357CLOUDY]

Get rid of that thinking! You'll miss out on much. I know about this.