Art fans, get excited, because you’re definitely not going to want to miss the incredible new exhibit that’s about to go up at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Next month, the Met is unveiling 200 previously undisplayed paintings of men who look like they’re named “Fat Sal.”
This one is definitely a must-see for art connoisseurs of every stripe.
According to the Met, the exhibit will span 4,000 years and a wide variety of cultures, featuring the world’s most extensive collection of paintings depicting people who could very reasonably be called Fat Sal. The rare treat was acquired through an anonymous private collector, who generously donated this magnificent assemblage of portraits showing men who if someone said, “That guy’s named Fat Sal,” you’d think, “Sure.”
And by the looks of the paintings that are set to be on display, this anonymous collector clearly knew a Fat Sal when he saw one.
One example set to be featured in the collection is this Baroque-era piece by Valentin de Boulogne, a portraiture of a man who doesn’t require a large leap of the imagination to believe he goes by “Fat Sal”:
The exhibition will also boast more abstract notions of what could conceivably be a Fat Sal, like the rotund, Sal-looking figure in this painting by Bill Traylor:
And while a majority of the paintings were previously undisplayed, the gallery will also include well-known works like Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden Of Earthly Delights, which features a human-eating bird-person who you wouldn’t be totally off base to call “Fat Sal” if someone told you to guess what his name was:
The Met explained the exhibition’s significance in a press release: “We are incredibly excited to be the home of the world’s finest collection of paintings showing men who might as well be named Fat Sal if they aren’t already,” said the statement. “We hope those in the art community and casual visitors alike walk away recognizing the men depicted in each piece as a Fat Sal if there ever was one.”
Wow. It’s not every day that you can see this many amazing paintings of men whose appearances and/or demeanors scream, “That guy’s name is Fat Sal,” all in one place. Whether you’re an avid collector or an art novice, it won’t take much for this Fat Sal exhibition to give anyone who sees it a new appreciation for the medium. Bravo to the Met! Consider our tickets bought.
