The Easel

As The Met Reopens, a Former Employee Longs For Its Art

An ode to a favourite artwork. “The ancient Egyptian head of a queen emerges from an extraordinary piece of yellow jasper. The sculpture was broken below the nose, leaving behind a presciently modern fragment of exquisite lips. [She is] a monument to a pure and constant beauty. So, I suppose I’m tired of the miracle of nature. I want something that … is thrown at me by the breathless force of its creation.”