New York City – Page 17 – Downtown Magazine

The newest exhibit coming to the Metropolitan Museum of Art within the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall is The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

It explores the life and work of an artist who helped define the period of France’s luminour Second Empire from 1852 to 1870. The exhibition begins on March 1 and will be on display until May 26.

This will be the first full scale exhibition in 38 years of the celebrated artist’s work and will feature 160 pieces that include paintings, sculptures and drawings. The works are being loaned to the museum from other respected museums such as the Musee d’ Orsay, Musee des Beaux-Arts, the Louvre, Valenciennes (birthplace of Carpeaux) and other prestigious institutions. For some of these loans it will be their first time returning to the United States in decades and for some their very first.

MET — Great Hall of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carpeaux is best known today for his masterpiece, “Ugolino and His Sons” which is part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum. But he was a multifaceted and prolific artist. A sculptor of emotion, both grand and intimate, he was drawn to extremes from Michelangelo to Watteau while retaining respectful admiration for his peers in French sculpture.

The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux will certainly evoke a spectrum of emotions from the public. Dramatic, highly independent paintings, barely known during his lifetime, will also be on display. The exhibition will probe overlooked works that reveal the darkness and despair of Carpeaux’s life. (The artist was plagued by serious physical maladies and violent mood swings and was only 48 when he died.)

Despite all this, he was extraordinarily productive, producing a vast body of work of the highest quality.

For information you can visit the MET website http://www.metmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/listings/2014/carpeaux

—Alejandro Ramos

American icon Neil Young takes the stage at Carnegie Hall for a memorable four night stand.

With a career spanning nearly 50 years, Neil Young’s status as a musician is unquestioned and possibly unparalleled.

Last night this icon kicked off a four-night stand at an institution which is equally iconic and suitably worthy to host his performances—Carnegie Hall.

Young delivered a typically amazing performance to a sold-out crowd, playing more than 20 songs, from his nearly massive songbook ranging from his days with Buffalo Sprinfield, including the classics with Crosby, Still and Nash and studded with gems from his long solo career.

Neil Young ponders an incredible career. Photo from Live Nation

Song arrangements ranged from rollicking piano accompanied by blues harmonica, to orchestral 12-string acoustic guitar, to a combination of synthesizer and grand piano. However, the wonderful blending of an acoustic guitar with Young’s captivating vocals created the most memorable moments of the evening, including a rare acoustic performance of “Southern Man” that left the audience memorized.

Young recounted that his solo acoustic performances at Carnegie Hall in December 1970 were among the most important of his career. It is then no small coincidence that nearly a third of the songs from opening night were also on the set list nearly 45 years ago.

If Monday night is any indication what is to come, his remaining three concerts at Carnegie Hall are sure to be equally historic.

The performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

For more information about Neil Young at Carnegie Hall or to purchase tickets, please visit: www.carnegiehall.org/‎

—Alejandro Ramos