experience in the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York

experience in the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York

I had a wonderful experience in the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York in the last week of November, 2019. I travelled to Manhattan on November 27, 2019, ready for a Thanksgiving Day with my extended family on November 28, 2019. Having never been to the largest museum in the United States, I planned to spend the morning hours exploring the beautiful art and galleries. I visited the New York-based museum on November 28, 2019 from 1000 hours to around noon. Located at 1000 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side on the eastern edge of Central Park, the Metropolitan Art Museum contains an extensive collection of artifacts, architecture, paintings, and sculptures from medieval Europe.

The Three Artworks

The museum is the home to thousands of artifacts and historical artworks from across the globe. The most intriguing and magnificent artworks that caught my attention are the Venus Italica, The Death of Socrates, and Gertrude Stein portrait. Venus Italica is a marble composition created by Antonio Canova in 1757-1822 (Goudie, 2018). The author further records the sculpture could have been completed probably in the 1820s (Goudie, 2018). The artwork was commissioned as a replacement for Medici Venus which had been seized in 1802 by King Napoleon as ordered by Ludovico, King of Etruria. The art is the most subtle and complex creation since Canova created a sculpture from the marble that incredibly appeared life-like and human.

Further, the oil on canvas painting, ‘The Death of Socrates’ portrays the real-life execution of a Greek philosopher, Socrates. The Death of Socrates painting was completed in 1787 by a French artist Jacques-Louis David (Stevens, 2019). The painting produced during the Neoclassical period showcased an interest in aesthetic austerity and classical themes. The painting captures the moment Socrates grabs for the poisoned draught. The artistic accomplishments of the piece, which include fabric design and amazing perspective couple the beauty of Socrates’ integrity and depict him as a symbol of strength over the passion of stoic commitment to an abstract principle.

The third artwork that intrigued me the most at the museum is the Gertrude Stein portrait. Pablo Picasso completed the painting of Gertrude Stein, an American author with huge following in her Parisian salon between 1905 to 1906 (Flitz, 2016). The portrait demonstrates formal experimentation and angular distortions that characterize Picasso’s artwork through the invention of realism. Picasso portrays Stein’s face like a mask with heavy lidded eyes. The painting is a compelling and riveting characterization, and a tribute to Stein for having a great impact in Picasso’s career (Brooks, 2016). Although the portrait did not go through a substantial process of revision, Picasso tries to describe Stein’s arresting appearance and demonstrate the force of her character and mind.

Styles and Influences

Antonio Canova used neoclassical style in his piece of artwork. His artwork drives the way he understood neoclassicism and the way it was perceived in the nineteenth century. Venus Italica sculpture is marked by a highly refined and conspicuously modern appropriation of ideal beauty (Goudie 2018). Canova’s piece of art frame him as a transitional figure, who initiated a new piece of corporeal types that endures in the fashion model figure and overturns moralizing deployments of ideal beauty. Jacques-Louis David in his ‘The Death of Socrates’ painting assimilated the aesthetic of classical antiquity in the neoclassical period. The style is in the classicism of the figural types, décor, and costumes and in the clear geometry of the architectural setting. The composition of the painting emulates ancient vase and bas-relief painting. Even when depicting extreme emotion or movement, the style of draftsmanship is linear and crisp. Jacques-Louis David’s work firmly situates itself within the traditions of European art and as the greatest work of the renaissance that heavily draw on classical sculptures and friezes. The artwork demonstrates creative epiphanies that transformed the initial ideas of the artist into the layered and moving narrative of the finished painting.

Pablo Picasso uses realism style to make a portrait of Gertrude Stein. Realism is an unconventional and shocking work for the contemplator. Picasso used realism style to draw the portrait since he wanted to emphasize on reality perception and represent art to the world in a different way (Flitz, 2016). Realism has a great influence as it includes simultaneity into the artwork and add more dimensions into it. Gertrude Stein portrait brings out the link to the new dynamic world lived by the painters in the 20th century. As a result, Picasso reverses the treatment of temporality in arts.

Conclusion

Art is both expressive and impressive. Art resonates with different people in different ways. Artists on the other hand use art to share some complicated ideas, thoughts, and feelings in a way that transcends written language. The three pieces of art at the Metropolitan Art museum intrigued me the most because they reflect on my ideals, aspirations, and interests. The three pieces of art have a great impact on the world of art; the artists reflect the deepest parts of themselves, and freely express their opinions and emotions. The three pieces of art are a form of communication which allow people from different times and cultures to communicate with each other.