Hello everyone! This past Friday, the art department went on a trip to the MET, or Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in New York City. While at the MET, we were able to roam and explore freely, which allowed me to look for all sorts of paintings and artworks without having to stick with a guide.
I was most excited to see some Vincent Van Gogh paintings, as well as works by Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. All these artists have styles that have really struck a chord with me, so I wanted to make sure I would see them. Bright colors are some of my favorite things along with strong lines and playing with lights, to place in my own work, so I needed to see them up close and experience those pieces in person.
Two photographs of Vincent van Goph paintings from the Met museum
In my wanderings of the winding halls decorated with the thoughts and feelings of artists of the past, I did find a piece I had never heard of before. “Springtime” by Pierre Auguste Cot, and the piece beside it, ” The Storm” by the same artist. The moment I found these two pieces I had to sit down and stare at them. Luckily there was a bench right across from them, so that I could enjoy and stare without a care.
Both paintings tell such a story, and the emotions in both could just be felt beyond the art. The couple, who is repeated in both artworks, is young but the way the artist painted them I could feel an age long love story behind them. I decided there that those two paintings were definitely added as two of my most favorite of all time.
Once I got home I did more research on them, and discovered that even in their time people speculated that they were based on a book and a passage in them to be precise. The storm was painted after Springtime, commissioned by the cousin of the person who commissioned the first one. The way the young lovers stared at one another with such tenderness must have moved her as it moved me. I could almost feel as if I was there, part of their special moments. I can’t wait to go back and find them again!
Springtime by Pierre Auguste Cot photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Spring Time is a beautiful piece, where two youths sit on a swing, both lit by the sun. They gaze into one another’s eyes with a fresh eye, and the title itself is an allusion to not only the time of the year, but also their love.
The Storm by Pierre Auguste Cot photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Storm has the same two youths, both running from a storm, using the girl’s clothing as protection from the rain. The distribution of lights and darks draws the viewer’s eye around the canvas. The subject places the viewer in a special place, almost peering into the intimate moment. Both are such beautiful pieces that they create stories in my mind, and they inspire me to create, something I think art should always do for those who are looking at it.
Do you guys have any favorite paintings that you want to go back and see at your closest museums? If so let me know, until then keep on creating!
All paintings are property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
