Essay A Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This oil on canvass depicts the moment when Christ, a divine spirit embodied in flesh, was born in Bethlehem. The painting is filled with all living things rejoicing as radiant beams of clean white light bounce from the birth and back to the heavens above. The painting is full of opalescent colors that bring a sense of calm. As you are drawn in your eyes reach the elegant curvature of the angel’s

Almost all artwork of the Northwest Coast Tribes has a story behind it. This mask is about a young boy named Alikwamae who was successful and well known among the people in his village. He was orphaned as a child and was therefore sent to live with his jealous uncle who one day abused him in hopes that he would die. He was very weak when he woke up but he found a mouse who took him to an Undersea Kingdom where he met the Chief of the Undersea Kingdom, Kumugwe. Alikwamae wanted to help his people so Kumugwe gave him a power that would allow him to transform into a sea bear. Alikwamae went back to his village and was able to transform, heal the sick and injured, predict the future, and interpret dreams. (www.montclairartmuseum.org)

This Etruscan- Roman piece of art is detailed all around, but also ideal as depictions look influential throughout the generations from the living patrician man holding the lifeless portrait busts of the two very distinct ancestors. The surface of the marble used to carve the male figure, and the portrait heads is very smooth and pale in colour, as the natural agent simulates’ realistic complexion through the veins present within the marble creating a three- dimensional illusion of meticulous naturalistic rendition of the human anatomy engraved with relief detail all around. The function of the portrait sculpture was to have a permanent documentation motivated by the realistic commemoration of one’s ancestors in a religious and ritualistic funeral use of death masks, that would have been cast from the face of the deceased. This became an obvious style of presenting recognizable prestige that conveyed the significance of

In this paper, I will describe, compare, and contrast two paintings of the same name, The Annunciation by Gerard David and Joos van Cleve. Beginning with Joos van Cleve’s work, we see the virgin Mary kneeling down before an opened book. An illuminated dove with its wings spread is suspended above Mary. An angel is standing beside her, making a gesture. Both figures are inside an ornately decorated, well lit bedroom.

For My Museum Essay, I have chosen Rogier van der Weyden’s “St. Luke drawing the Virgin” (c. 1435-40). First of all, this painting is an extraordinarily beautiful piece of art, with both meticulous details and true to life emotional state of the figures portrayed. And it intrigued me even more when I found out that there is a very compositionally similar painting by Jan Van Eyck (“Madonna with Chancellor Rolin”).

Peter Paul Reubens, “The Raising of The Cross” found on page 265 in our art book, was created 1610-1611 by the use of oil on panel, dimensions 462 x 339 cm. Many facets of this painting caught my attention, but the prime facet was the geometric support it influences and the sentimental effect it distributes to the spectators, also Reuben’s motive and content behind the painting.

The painting by Frans Hals symbolizes the wealth of which the baby comes from and the prosperous pride of fertility. It portrays the lifestyle and the type of emotion people had when families arose. With the use of tenebrism the artist uses heavy darkness and shadow to illuminate the focus

The bronze head to the upper left is the commemorative head of a neighboring leader, the artist of this artwork is an unidentified African it is made of copper alloy, iron. The creation of this sculpture is said to be around the late 15th century to the early 16th century. In 1897 it was removed from the Benin Royal Palace by Captain Guy Burrows, and then sold to Lt. General Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers it was then passed on to generations of the Pitt-Rivers, then sold to Robert Owen Lehman, in which he then gave to the MFA as a promised gift. The head to the upper right is a commemorative head of a king (Oba), the artist is also an unidentified African, and it is made of copper alloy, iron. The creation of the sculpture is said to be in the late 16th century. The artwork belonged to Armand Rateau in 1932, sold to L. Hope in 1968; it was then kept in the family until it was sold to Alexander Martin, who gave it to Robert Owen Lehman, who promised it as a gift to the MFA. All the Benin artworks at the Museum

The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the early Roman Period is unique and beautiful in every way possible. This mask that is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is about 3 feet tall to about 2 feet wide. This certain piece of magnificent art is extremely detailed with intricate designs covering it all around. The Museum of Fine Arts makes it easy to pay attention to, because of its detail and how the mask is displayed. The Mummy Mask has it’s own small alter with a spot light shining down on it creating dramatic shadows in a very dim room. The decorations include inlaid glass eyes, a gold leaf and is hand-painted and gilded glass. This mask is not paper maché like the masks that were made in this era; this Mummy Mask had been created out of cartonnage . The Egyptians decorated this masterpiece with bold vertical and horizontal lines representing rows of beads to go along with the story it tells. The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the first half of the first century A.D illustrates a gaze of innocence and acceptance while looking into the bright future of whom the mask was made for. Perfectly painted images covering the mask tell a story of the traditional funerary practices and the after life Egyptians believed in. Egyptians would create these pieces to fit over the heads of the lost lives wrapped inside the mummy. The mask represents the deceased transformed into a God . Although the face of the mask is idealized and emotionless, the decorations say and express more than a

This sculpture is of a women breast feeding her child. The face of the two people is elongated, as well as the breasts of the mother. This is common to all African Art because they wanted representation of what is being expressed. In this particular sculpture, a supernatural power is being called upon. The power has been asked to protect the mother and child, and to

The “Vanitas Still Life” painted by Pieter Claesz was created in the 1630s. Before and during this time period, many changes were occurring in European culture. People began to question this selling of indulgences and the supreme importance of the Bible over church officials. This led to the rise of Protestantism and the idea of predestination. Many elements of these new ideas and change of culture can be seen through symbolism in Claesz’s, “Vanitas Still Life.”

The medium for this work is oil on canvas and measures 4’ 4”x 6’5”. This painting is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York. Socrates the philosopher was condemned for teaching the young; for his punishment he chose death instead renouncing his beliefs (The Death of Socrates, Metropolitan Museum of Art, nd). When looking at this piece you see many Neoclassic characteristics that were applied in the painting. First take notice of how lifelike the subjects are in the picture, and then see the wonderful distribution of light. While looking at the entire picture you then see the depth the artist has created by contrasting dark and light. The serious theme of this painting is one of self sacrifice by a heroic figure, notice Socrates the martyr centered in this picture is the only subject fully illuminated as he continues to teach till the end. Jacques-Louis David’s message of this painting was for fellow French men to have moral integrity and to stand up for what is right and uphold their values against all, even above life its self (Neo-Classicism Smarthistory,

The artist that I chose to present his artwork is Michelangelo. One of Michelangelo’s most famous piece is The Last Judgement. The Last Judgement was ordered by Pope Clement VII in 1534 and was started in 1536. Michelangelo took five years to create The Last Judgement and it was one of the largest fresco painting in the 16th century. The painting created by Michelangelo is currently located in the Sistine Chapel of Rome. He used a painting technique called “fresco”. Fresco is the use of watercolor on wet plaster. The painting represents the second coming of Christ and the Judgement of God for all of humanity. In the center of the painting, Christ and with him, his mother, the Virgin Mary. The center represents the waiting of the Last Judgement

This is an example of the Egyptian style, this face mask was used for Tutankhamen, a pharaoh at his funeral. This show of solid gold shows the Egyptian luxury. They had a lot of intricate jewellery designed like this and had a love of ornament and design. However it is very difficult to find examples of the Egyptian style as they have not given up their secrets easily and architects have not been able to find much out much about

This painting is divided into three equal parts by the arches in the background and the characters correspond to each of these arches (TV12). The father is in the middle portion of the painting. The lines of perspective created by the tiled floor, draws our attention to the swords that the father is holding and the vanishing point lies just behind the handles of the sword. Our angle of vision is such that we are looking directly at the main figures groups, particularly the father. A single light source from the left of the picture illuminates the characters and also focuses our attention to the father holding the sword. This creates a ‘theatrical’ effect. The background is simple and stark so our attention is focussed on the figure groups in the painting. The painting has a wide tonal range that makes the composition logical and balanced. The colours used in this