Intro To Art

I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue on 3/28/2016. It was a very rainy and cloudy day, ideal for stay at home weather. But the museum was open and very busy and crowded. I didn’t even know where to begin but I started on the Egyptian Art Hall that is next to The Great Hall on the 1^st floor. Every hall had the lighting and the color walls according to the theme of the hall. Every artifact and painting had a different approach and attracted a variety of eyes.  

The Hall of Egyptian Art felt like traveling back in time as if I were in Egypt.  The room was almost dark and only certain lights illuminated directly on certain artifacts. The museum accommodated the scenery according to the topic being covered in the hall. I also visited the American Art Hall, Medieval Art, and Modern and Contemporary Art Hall all on the 1^st floor. There was a lot to see and sometimes I had to read the signs in order to understand the artifact at sight. I very rarely used the map and if I did I checked I was heading to the hall of my interest. A lot of the artifacts were very well presented closely to its origin location. I also noticed that every room/hall was very different. Some rooms were very well lighted and others darkened. Some of the pieces of art work were on nice, clean, and newer frames while others were very worn out and their original colors fading. Some of the paintings I saw captured my interest based on their styles and others based on historical facts and others for their biographical analysis because the artist is very well known like for example Pablo Picasso.

A painting that captured my eyes were by a painter named Paul Delvaux, Belgian, 1897-1994 called The Great sirens, 1947 which is oil on Masonite. The painting measures 6x9 feet and is one of the largest painting created by Delvaux. The painting contains partial nude females under moonlight and also sirens or mermaids in the background. In the description of the painting they say the females are in seduction and are comfortable in their bare skin. The painting is considered to evoke love and erotic fantasy. When I reached the painting I was mesmerized because of its size and the vividness in the painting. It almost feels as if I am watching it then and there. The style of the painting feels very realistic. It doesn’t seem to be a painting almost like a photograph.  Although it makes me feel like traveling back in time like the roman era or greek. The way Delvaux painted was very on point which is what makes it seem like the painting is alive. But once you get closer to the painting you can see the paint strokes used and realize that is just a fantasy or a dream. What makes it seem realistic is the way the moonlight and the sky is shining among the women. Delvaux really captured the true colors of the sky and the moonlight. The detail in the painting as the buildings and the waves are just the right colors and precise shape and lines which is what give life to the painting. I just fell in love and looks like a dream that maybe Delvaux had in his life.