Ancient Greek, Roman, and Renaissance art and architecture gloriously unite in the McKim Building that houses the late financier John Pierpont Morgan’s library. In 1902, Morgan hired Charles F. McKim, of the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, to build a library next to Morgan’s brownstone on 36th Street and Madison Avenue, in New York. McKim’s design was influenced by two 16th-century Roman villas: Villa Giulia and Villa Medici. The building façade is made of Tennessee marble. A Palladian arch, supported by four ionic columns, elegantly frames the building entrance. Visitors are welcomed into the building by a grand pair of bronze doors, imported from Florence, Italy, and made in the style of early Renaissance artist Lorenzo Ghiberti’s famous Florence Baptistery doors. Once inside the building, it’s easy to see why, by 1904, some people called the library “Mr. Morgan’s jewel case.” Lapis lazuli columns, mosaic panels, and marble surfaces beautifully …
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