Objects in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s period rooms powerfully express Enlightenment principles. The dimly lit and cordoned Wrightsman Galleries, however, restrict access to the intricate details that reveal the relationship with Enlightenment ideas and stylistic trends. Digital technologies offer one solution, reinvigorating objects and spaces to make a modern viewer acutely aware of their intricate details and historical context.

This site aims to reinstate original use and space to the Met’s Wrightsman Galleries. In restoring the Varengeville Room to its original size, demonstrating the gendered use of two tables, and revealing eighteenth-century activities and accessories (lighting, letter writing, la toilette, and lace), the viewer realizes the Enlightenment experience.

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