Museum Musings: The MET Summer 2022

Museum Musings: The MET Summer 2022

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

     I had the absolute privilege of making a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! I had a small list of works I wanted to see, and I will share some highlights now below. Mostly due to its being a rainy Monday morning, the MET was packed, but luckily I am a member (got it for my birthday)! I highly recommend, because we got a discount on our merch and all got in free. 

SECOND FLOOR AMERICAN PAINTING

Young Mother Sewing by Mary Cassatt

    Our journey began on the second floor in the American paintings. I love Mary Cassatt and have studied her work before. Her Zooming In is linked here. I not only love her subject matter, but the way she presents these scenes in such a tender way.

Madame X by John Singer Sargent

    I have already expressed my love for this painting and its story before. Aside from the history behind the painting, John Singer Sargent may be my favorite American artist. Zooming In linked here. From the post: 'This is the portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau painted by John Singer Sargent. It caused quite the commotion in  19th century Paris. Madame Pierre Gautreau was famed in the Parisian society for her stunning beauty and porcelain- pale skin. The original painting depicted the woman with the strap of her dress falling off of her right shoulder. This was so poorly received by the Salon, where it debuted, that Sargent repainted this part of the portrait. Unfortunately the damage was done, so he moved from the city.'

SECOND FLOOR AMERICAN PAINTING

The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

    Pieter Bruegel the Elder was a Northern Renaissance painter. Much like the rest of his work, The Harvesters depicts a quaint, domestic scenes in immense detail. Bruegel draws the eye to the foreground and through his rows of wheat, but he does not sacrifice detail in the background.

Esther before Ahasuerus by Artemisia Gentileschi

    Artemisia Gentileschi has gotten her share of fame in the last years in the art community. This was my first time seeing her work in person, and I was amazed. I loved the intricate detail and emotion of her work.

Love Letter by Jean Honoré Fragonard 

    I have recently been enjoying the Rococo. Post on the Rococo linked. The MET had a very good collection of Fragonard and Rococo as a whole! I love this painting due to the expression on the figure's face. She is mysterious, but also joyous due to her potential love. 

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TWA Airport-- Eero Saarinen

TWA Airport-- Eero Saarinen

Saturday, June 25, 2022

 While I realize that I have written about not only Eero Saarinen himself, but also the TWA building, I got the wonderful opportunity to stay there for the second time last night. There are so many reasons why I love this building, but here is the history first. 

    Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect whose designs draw much attention in the architecture community due to his innovation in function and aesthetic. Trans- World Flight Centre was, obviously, originally an airport. Saarinen's design looks to today's travelers very foreign. In a post 9-11 world with much more airport security, this configuration seems impossible (especially considering in 1962, one just walked up to their gate). In the 60's, business and luxury travelers enjoyed Saarinen's highly tailored surroundings due to his innovation of the airport as the experience of flying itself, enhancing what it truly was to travel. Coupled with the addition of furniture of his own design such as the Womb Chair and the Tulip Collection, Saarinen's implementation of his innovation in travel created the ultimate fusion of privacy, luxury, and public experience. 

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AP Art History: Monticello-- #102

AP Art History: Monticello-- #102

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Monticello: Home of Thomas Jefferson

Bio of the work:

Title: Monticello

Date: 1768-1809

Medium: brick, glass, stone, wood

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Analysis:

    

    Author of the Declaration of Independence, Founder of the University of Virginia, and 3rd President of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson was also the architect of Monticello. Meaning 'little mountain' in Italian, Monticello is located at the top of a picturesque summit in the hills of Virginia. In designing his Virginian home, Jefferson created what is now known as Jeffersonian architecture. Heavily based in the work of Andrea Palladio and his Four Books of Architecture, Jeffersonian architecture is Neo-Palladian and Neo-Classical, meaning it is influenced by the classical architecture of Rome and Greece. This style is also reminiscent of Jefferson's time spent in France, including large domes he incorporated into many buildings (Monticello, UVA's rotunda). During this period in American architecture, Greek Revival was being popularized. 

Sources: the lovely tour of the Monticello I took today!

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AP Art History: The Colosseum--#44

AP Art History: The Colosseum--#44

Friday, June 10, 2022

 

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre

Bio of Work:

Title: The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre

Date: 80 AD

Medium: Travertine limestone, tuff, brick, concrete

Museum: East Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

Analysis:

     The Colosseum was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian as a public space for the Roman people around 70 AD in hopes to somewhat revitalize Rome. Vespasian's son, Emperor Titus, opened the Colosseum to the public in 80 AD. This structure is extremely complex with numerous entrances based on class and a capacity of 50,000. To celebrate this grand opening, Titus declared 100 days of games at the Colosseum. These 'games' included dramas, infamous gladiator battles, reenacted 'sea' battles, and wild animal hunting. The three levels of the Colosseum all follow a different order. The first one is Tuscan, second Doric, and lastly Corinthian. Seating was also leveled, based on citizenship status. Upper class visitors would sit furthest down, mean the further away from the action, the lower the status. 

Sources: 

     https://www.thecolosseum.org/architecture/

     https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/colosseum

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AP Art History: Last Supper-- #73

AP Art History: Last Supper-- #73

Thursday, May 26, 2022

 

Bio of the work:

Title: Last Supper

Date:1497 

Medium: Oil and Tempura

Location: Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy

Analysis: 

    One of the most iconic and famous works of Christian art, The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo da Vinci directly on an exterior refectory, eating room, wall of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It depicts Jesus and his disciples in a climactic scene of Jesus's last meal before his crucifixion. It was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan (Garnder, Kleiner 629). On August 26, 1943, the church and monastery were hit with a bomb, damaging the building and putting The Last Supper in serious danger. This air raid was said to have been from Allied forces, and it damaged multiple other important sites including the ruins of Pompeii (United Press 4). Multiple walls were blown up as well as large portions of the roof. In the refectory, The Last Supper thankfully suffered little damage, but a wall the roof were damaged, so the painting was unprotected during the rebuilding of the structure. However, The Last Supper itself is in much poorer condition today than the church and monastery itself. In experimentation, Leonardo mixed oil and tempura paint to create a different texture to the painting, also painting on a dry surface instead of the traditional wet. Due to Leonardo's painting style, Milan's extremely humid and hot climate, and past failed restorative practice, the painting is flaking and is in constant need of repair ("Church and Dominican" UNESCO).

Bruschi, Arnaldo. "Donato Bramante." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2022, school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Donato-Bramante/16193. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

"Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with 'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci." UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2022, whc.unesco.org/en/list/93. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

"Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with (UNESCO/NHK)." YouTube, uploaded by UNESCO, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMULmxfnXQ. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

King, Ross. Leonardo and the Last Supper. Paperback edition ed., New York City, Bloomsbury, 2013.

Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner. Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. Fifteenth edition, Student edition ed., Boston, Cengage Learning, 2016.

"Leonardo Da Vinci." Arts and Humanities through the Eras, edited by Edward I. Bleiberg et al., vol. 4, Gale, 2005, pp. 424-25. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3427400775/GVRL?u=tel_k_harpeth&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=36befb31. Accessed 29 Apr. 2022.

"Santa Maria delle Grazie." Cenavolo Vinciano, Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie, cenacolovinciano.org/en/story/saint-maria-delle-grazie/. Accessed 4 May 2022.

"Santa Maria delle Grazie with The Last Supper." Italia, National Tourist Board, 2021, www.italia.it/en/santa-maria-delle-grazie-with-the-last-supper. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

United Press. "Leonardo's 'Last Supper' Intact amid Raid Debris." New York Times, 27 Aug. 1943, p. 4, timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/08/27/88563617.html?pageNumber=4.

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