Metropolitan Museum Assignment

Name

Institution

Introduction

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, popularly known as the MET, is a large museum that swarms with people and is filled with exquisite-looking works of art that look like nothing anyone has seen before. There are enormous paintings, ornaments and jewelry, and life-size sculptures placed in strategic places for the sight and pleasure of all museum visitors. It was my first time in the museum, and I was keen on finding art about modern history. Such art in the Met dates from early 1900 to the present. I found four such works of art.

Chance Encounter at 3 A.M. by Red Grooms

The oil on canvas painting by Red Grooms caught my eye instantly because it appeared like a comical cartoon cut-out from a newspaper or magazine. Upon close inspection, I realized there was much more detail to it. Two men were sitting on a bench by a railed park, and another was walking by in front of them with his dog. Close to them stands the statue of an Italian war hero, only known as ‘Garibaldi.’ Rounded cars are winding around a corner further in the background, meaning that perhaps the painting was set in the 1960s. The art also features the words of George Washington on an arch overlooking a block of buildings. The painting is set in early in the evening.

Red Grooms made the painting in 1984. I imagine that it relates to the theme of historical leadership and artistic pursuits of the modern art movement. Looking hard at the faces of the seated men, I noticed the faces belonged to Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning, who were both famous artists of the modern era. The painting draws an observer to reflect on the opportunities and prospects for contemporary political leadership based on the political climate in the Ronald Reagan era.

The Banks of the Bièvre near Bicêtre by Henri Rousseau (circa. 1908-09)

The first thing I thought looking at the painting was what calming effect it had on my mind. The painting was available in Gallery 911 at The Met Fifth Avenue. It depicted a neighborhood covered with tall trees and lush vegetation, and people walking on a pathway. The oil on canvas painting was created by Henri Rousseau (Hoving, T. 1994) in 1909. The landscape also shows a river that flows between two trees past the gated neighborhood.

The unique painting tells a story about social classes (high and low society) and the pollution of the environment in Rousseau’s time (1844- 1910). I noticed that a woman walking on the path was dressed like a maid, and she was holding a basket. The river also appeared to have dark water. These two observations were in sharp contrast to everything else in the painting, which seemed to be magnificent. In my opinion, Henri Rousseau was trying to show the beautiful side of a middle-class community in Paris without ignoring their interaction with their immediate surroundings.

The Street Pavers by Umberto Boccioni (1914)

Umberto Boccioni was among the first Italian pioneers of the Modern Art movement. His oil on canvas painting, which sits in Gallery 830 of the Met Fifth Avenue, appears to be brushes and strokes of many colors and particular shapes. The painting shows men chipping off with their tools on the street. It is clear from the use of sharp rectangles and linear forms in the art that the men were performing a hard task. They appeared to be fully bent over, and all their tools were on the ground, perhaps in forceful contact.

The 1914 painting, to me, depicts the life and plight of Italian laborers in the early twentieth century. I imagine the use of bright colors like blue and orange is meant to celebrate the modern laborer. The theme of urban development is evident in the painting, considering the street pavers’ faces are blurred to blend in with the street setting they are working on. I thought it was interesting that such a painting made in 1914 looked like it had been imagined when the Labor Movement of the United States was declining in 1920.

Dancer Putting on Her Stocking (Third State)

The last piece I observed was the first 1920 bronze cast of Edgar Degas’ sculpture. The wax sculpture is of a young girl pulling up the right stocking with the leg raised. The sculpture is a symbol of sports and the contemporary urban lifestyle. Dances and theatre performance is a significant feature in French history and culture and a valid form of recreation.

Conclusion

My visit to the MET was an exciting and insightful experience. I learned that so much had happened in past civilizations to put us where we are. The modern paintings and sculptures told stories urban and rural life, politics and leadership, and other activities that were relevant in the 20-21st century.

References

Hoving, T. (1994). Making the mummies dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. simon and schuster.

Howe, W. E. (1913). A History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: With a Chapter on the Early Institutions of Art in New York (Vol. 1). Printed at the Gilliss Press.

Villaespesa, E. (2019). Museum collections and online users: development of a segmentation model for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Visitor Studies, 22(2), 233-252.