This past week I took a field trip with my Art History class to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was such a cool experience, and I couldn’t have been happier to take off an entire day of Friday classes in order to go. In my class we’re currently learning about Baroque art from the 17th century, so we spent a lot of our time looking at all the paintings and altarpieces they had. I became so fascinated as soon as we walked into the museum. The entire building’s architecture just gave me such an ancient Rome feel and I loved every second of it. The archways are what really interested me though. I didn’t even feel like I was walking through a museum, but rather an old castle or church in Europe. Every room was different, and the extravagant stained glass windows were also something that caught my attention. I’m not surprised; anything with lots of vibrant colors always draws my eye, and they were absolutely breathtaking to look at.
After my class went on a tour of the Baroque section, we were able to spend the rest of the day doing whatever we wanted in Philadelphia. I’ve only been to Philly a handful of times in my life, so I couldn’t wait to walk around the city. Before we left though, my friends and I made sure to check out the famous Rocky steps. About thirty pictures later, I was all set to stroll the city with my friends and I got some more neat pictures in the process.
During our travels, we decided to stop by another museum, the Barnes Collection. This was like no other museum I’ve ever been in. All the paintings on the wall appeared to be randomly scattered, and nothing had labels on them in the traditional museum way. There were only pamphlets in each room that described the different paintings. It felt as if I was in an art lovers lavish house, and the rooms and artwork seemed never ending. Unfortunately photos weren’t allowed to be taken in most parts of the museum, so that was an experience I had to soak in and enjoy in the moment. I’m a big fan of Picasso’s work, and seeing all his and the other post-impressionist artists work side by side was a really captivating experience. Overall my trip to Philadelphia was a day well spent. I got to look at museums in a whole new way and explore a new city and all it has to offer!
