A True Art Museum

As I was walking across the 17th century art section at Walters Art Museum, hanging behind the big rectangular pillar in the middle of the hallway, an oil painting on panel by Trophime Bigot draws my attention. The high contrasting tones of colors and values and the artist capability to make the grotesque painting appealing interest me.

The painting that I chose to write my formal analysis on is called “The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, At Night”. This piece was created by Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, France and was completed sometime in September of 1888. This painting is oil on canvas, and it is currently housed in the Kroller-Muller Museum located in Otterlo, The Netherlands in Europe.

One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.

It must have been 13 years or so since I have been to the art museum, back in elementary school, on a one of a kind field trip. 13 years is way too long to have been away from the art museum, as my experience this year reminded me that. It was a beautiful, sunny October day, although it felt like July, and it was an even better day to talk a walk through the vast, mesmerizing pieces of art that the museum has to offer. The North Carolina Museum of Art provides an abundance of artwork from various time periods, cultures, and one can find art anywhere from Egyptian, to classical, to modern and contemporary art. The artwork that the museum provides not only displays an abundance of artwork, but

As Edgar Degas once said, “ Art is not what you see, but what others make you see”. The St. Louis Art Museum is a place for artist to display their art and give spectators the option to see art from a new perspective. This was the case for me. As we walked up to the beautifully structured building that stood so tall and wide, my expectations were extremely high. At first glance I notice the bronze statue of King Louis IX of France riding high on his horse. From this statue alone, my expectations of the art museum grew stronger. I have never been to an art museum before, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect. My first expectation was to see huge detailed sculptures right as I walked through the door. That expectation didn’t come true.

Among the many artworks I have seen, I decided to discuss about the “Sarcophagus Depicting a Battle between Soldiers and Amazons (Warrior Women)” from the Roman civilization. It was built sometime in between 140 A.D. to 170 A.D and is approximately forty and a half inches in length, ninety-one and a half inches in width, and fifty and a half inches tall in height (“Roman Sarcophagus”). This masterpiece appealed to me because of the unique approach that has been designed to honor the deceased. Many people are familiar with the formatting and inscriptions of a gravestone because it is usually engraved with an individual’s full name, birth date, and death date. During the Roman Empire, a sarcophagus, which is a coffin, was widely used to show decorative themes that includes: battle scenes, hunting scenes, weddings, or other memorable episodes from the life of the deceased individual. The most luxurious ones were made from marble surrounded by symbolic sculptures, figures and inscriptions on all four sides (“Sarcophagus”). Another feature that captured my attention was the large quantity of details used to bring out a lifelike aspect of the deceased individual’s favorable moments in their life. In this artwork, this sarcophagus was dedicated to a Roman commander. The exterior of the sarcophagus has been well-decorated and carved with exquisite details depicting a battle scene

Perhaps illness so influenced the artistic style of Van Gogh, but the picture turned out completely different to all that the artist wrote so far. This is not a Van Gogh, who was known. In the canvas, there is tension, anxiety, dense colors and warm shades of olive-mustard. On the contrary, here there is some kind of lightness, airiness, and transparent weightlessness. On the manner of execution, the pattern resembles Japanese prints: iris field full of peace, a lightness, and transparency. "Irises" are simple and unique, they are striking in their serenity and the ability to remove the internal stress of everyone who saw at least reproduction. Painting simply breathes watercolor, translucency and make to look at it more than one hour.

Construct a Joan Miro-inspired fantasy skyscape in the fourth-floor family gallery. Channel the Firebird, one of Charlotte's most iconic images, in the second-floor classroom with a glitter glue mosaic art activity. Take inspiration from the exhibition All That Sparkles... 20th Century Artists' Jewelry and create your own jewelry and keychains in the museum lobby. Guided gallery tours are also available at 1 and 3 p.m. These tours are complimentary, and meet in the museum lobby.

One of the most visually intriguing pieces in the exhibit is the Portrait of Père Bouju by Maurice de Vlaminck. It was painted around the year 1900 by the French artist. It is not particularly beautiful by normal standards. At first glance, the texture of the paint stands out more than any other feature. It has very strongly defined brush strokes and thick paint in portions, especially the face of the man and the background. The lines in the paint are mostly straight, short, and wide with some that are thinner and wavy, like the smoke. The man is in the center of the canvas, he is the only discernable image, and he is almost devoid of detail aside from the face and the hat. The colors are almost entirely neutral aside from the red scarf. In this oil on canvas portrait the man is wearing a

I stumbled across the artwork “Last Judgement” by Circle of Hieronymus Bosch at Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. I was shocked when I initially saw this. I first noticed Jesus Christ centered at the top. I immediately knew it was a religious painting, particularly Christian. To the left of him, I recognized two lines of angels that I inferred were leading a sort of pathway to Heaven. I thought that it was interesting how that Bosch depicted that scene to being smaller compared to the rest of the artwork. The rest of the artwork depicted a dystopian environment. This dystopian environment was what I inferred to be Hell. Bosch depicted many horrifying events in the foreground. In the far right corner, you see that

Intrinsically intriguing as the artworks and themes are for many viewers, what lies with greater uniqueness is the visual context of art, as emphasized by Helena. Artworks, despite the era or time period, are always initially distinguished based on the surface; for example, what’s present and what’s going on. As I tour the Grohmann Museum with Helena, I was taught to look at the furthest distance in the portrait rather than the surface.

The art piece that I have chosen to describe about is the painting by Claude-Joseph Vernet. The painting was created during year 1774-1775, and was adapted by Mrs. John B. O,” The foundation for the Arts,” in Dallas Museum of arts in 1983. The image caught my attention quickly as I passed in front of it.

Though this painting is centuries old people are still able to identify with it and enjoy it fully. This painting is truly timeless.

This painting depicts a regular café at night, with the dimensions of 72.4 x 92.1 cm (28 1/2 x 36 1/4 and an accession number of 1961.18.34 this panting stands out amongst other paintings because of how the myriad of colors and hues mix that causes a clash in contrast. In the Yale Art Gallery, this oil painting was in the American room among other American crafts. The thing that quickly caught my eye on this painting was the way Van Gogh applied detail, creativity and the unorthodox use of colors. The painting seemed to be dark and gloomy which was quite a unique quality about the painting. Van Gogh is one of the most famous expressionist artists that people know and love today. This oil painting on a canvas has been called one of Van Gogh's

The Mint Museum at Randolph is located in Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood. It was once part of the United States Treasury Department: a mint. In 1936 it became the state’s first art museum. It houses a collection of cozy galleries to display everything from textiles, pottery, ceramics, glass and decorative arts. The exhibit I viewed showcased works from three generations of artists: Newell Convers Wyeth (patriarch), Andrew Wyeth (son) and Jamie Wyeth (grandson).