"It was a great mystery: who he is, who made it."
Curator Wolfram Koeppe on a sculpture of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov by an unknown artist.
Explore this object:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208538
Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world.
Photography by Mark Morosse
Rights & Permissions
No 2: The Old Castle (II vechio castello) and No 4: Bydlo (A Polish Ox-cart)
from Pictures from an Exhibition by Musorgsky played by Nikolai Demidenko
courtesy of Hyperion Records Ltd, London (www.hyperion-records.co.uk)
Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1
#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art
How the details of this bust revealed its subject—a forgotten world leader
"It’s a great mystery: who he is, who made it."
Wolfram Koeppe
2 min. watch
Contributors
Wolfram Koeppe
Marina Kellen French Senior Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Marina Kellen French Senior Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
More from The Met
The author of After Sappho offers a queer feminist reading of Eve and the serpent, reimagining sin as likeness, desire, and bodies transcending gender and species.
Selby Wynn Schwartz
January 9
Author Leena Krohn reflects on Helene Schjerfbeck’s portrait of Sigrid Nyberg.
Leena Krohn
December 18, 2025
Video
Superfine Artist Tanda Francis, shares her inspiration behind the design of the custom mannequins used in the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition.
October 23, 2025
Art Mentioned
A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.