Museum Essay #2

 

     Jacques Sarrazin’s “Leda and the Swan” is a marble sculpture. It was completed about 10 years before the artist’s death in 1660. It is a representational work that pays tribute to a story from Greek mythology. A woman sits almost nude, holding a swan in the crook of her arm. She smiles down at the swan as it cranes its neck to see her face. A cherub stands at her side holding some sort of staff, with just a ribbon covering its pudenda. Although it is smooth, cool marble this sculpture has an apparent softness. The curves and lines of the mass create value which is especially noticeable in the folds of the fabric draped over Leda’s lap, in the feathers of the swan’s wing and her upper body.

     Moritz von Schwind’s “Three boys saving the despairing Pamina from suicide” (1864) is pen, black ink and watercolor measuring 10 13/16 by 20 7/8 inches. This small drawing is an idealized, figurative work. The negative space is the border around the figures. The main colors are variations of the primary colors, yellow in the shawl draped over Pamina’s arm, blue in the background and in the clothing of one of the boys wears and red in the background of the side sections. The background is not very noticeable and is mostly made up of value. The ocean and sky are very light and the rocks the figures sit and stand on are darker. There is also a lot of shading and value in the drapery of the clothing the figures wear. The curved, triangular side sections create a sort of pattern. They are bordered by flowers with seated cherubs.

     Henri Matisse’s “Seated Odalisque” (1926) is an oil on canvas painting measuring 28 ¾ by 23 5/8 inches.  This 2D artwork is an abstract figure. This painting features many different colors and patterns. The background is made up of a blue, red and white pattern. The pattern of the floor is made up of brown diamonds outlined with red. The woman sits in a green chair with a pattern of yellow stripes. The overall tone of the painting is cool. The seated woman is the main focal point of the painting. Her facial features are overly simplified, as are her feet and hand. Her head is almost a perfect oval. I find the balance of organic and geometric shapes in the painting very interesting.

    Manierre Dawson’s “Meeting (The Three Graces)” (1912) is an oil on canvas painting measuring 58 1/8 by 48 inches. This painting is an abstract work of art. The most notable aspects of the painting are the value, lines and shapes. The artist has distorted the 3 figures to almost unrecognizable organic shapes. The background features a continuation of the same organic shapes. The painting is almost monochromatic featuring a warm, terracotta color. The darkest value is the brown at the top of the canvas and the lightest value is in the figure standing on the left and a bright spot where the 3 figures stand. Most of the painting’s space is positive and taken up by the figures and the background.

    What is wonderful about the Metropolitan Museum of Art is that it features art work from all over the world in every different time period imaginable. Upon arriving at the museum Geoffrey and I wandered throughout the Egyptian wing, European paintings, the hall of sculptures, and the decorative arts amongst other parts of The Met. Every piece of art more breathtaking than the last. I believe that these specific artworks are in the museum because they show a wide range of skills and mediums and that can be used by artists. They represent the zeitgeist and style of various time periods. They are beautiful and inspiring and incite curiosity in the viewer.