Essay, Research Paper: Metropolitan Museum Of Art

On a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I took a tour of the museum with a lecturer. During the tour, the leader lectured on particular paintings. She told the know history behind each shown painting. She also gave the history of the period in which the painting was painted. The lecturer also helped everyone to understand what the colors in the paintings brought to each painting.
While viewing the many paintings, the first one that caught my eye was Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and His Wife by Jacques-Louis David. This portrait was painted when David was at the peak of his powers and had become the standard-bearer of French Neoclassicism. Lavoisier, who is pictured sitting down to the right of his wife in the portrait, is best known for his pioneering studies of oxygen, gunpowder, and the chemical composition of water. Lavoisier's wife was thought to have studied with David. Lavoisier was involved in a political scandal. This even led him to withdraw the painting from the Salon in 1789.
Jacques-Louis David used dark colors in this piece of art. David used the color red and different hues of grays. These colors may suggest a feeling of unhappiness. The focal point of this painting, in my opinion, is Lavoisier's wife. She is standing up in the picture wearing a white dress. The whiteness of her dress brings much attention to her body. That is the brightest color used in the entire painting.
During the Neoclassical time period, artists at first sought to replace the sensuality of the Rocco Style with a style that was logical, solemn in tone, and moralizing in character. When revolutionary movements established republics in France and America, the new governments adopted neoclassicism as their official art style. Neoclassical art is a form of art based on fixed, ideal values.
The next painting I observed was one from the Baroque time period. Venus and Adonis by Rubens interested me. Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish painter, was considered the most important of the 17th century. His style came to define the animated, robustly sensuous aspects of Baroque painting. The works of Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as ancient Greco-Roman sculpture influenced him greatly. His style of painting became known as "Rubenesque."�
Venus and Adonis displays great emotion and drama as Venus and Cupid attempt to stop Venus' lover, Adonis, from setting off into the woods on a hunt. They know that if he goes off into the wilderness to hunt a wild animal could kill him. Venus and Adonis are divine figures in this portrait. During this time period, numerous paintings were of people in the nude, as Venus and Cupid are displayed.
In my opinion the focal point of this picture, is Adonis. I felt this way because the dominant color scheme in this painting ranges from dark browns to greens. Adonis is wearing a reddish-orange robe. This color stood out from the rest. This painting uses many images of nature such as trees and animals. Another part of the painting that interested me was the color of Venus' skin. It seemed to be much brighter that the skin of Cupid and Adonis. This could also be a focal point.
The Baroque era began in the late 1500's in Italy and ended around the early 1800's. This era may also refer to the seventeenth century as a whole. The Baroque Time period is sometimes used as a general term that indicated eccentric modes of paintings, architecture, and sculpture. Baroque art spread throughout western civilization. During this time, the Catholic Church was losing its followers in rapid members due to the rise of Protestantism. Art became more spiritual.
The last painting I enjoyed was one from the Rococo time period. Mezzetin, whose name means "half-measure,"� was one of the characters of the Italian comedy, Dell'arte. He is portrayed to be a swindled or a cunning husband. The statue of a female figure in the background of the painting may imply the reaction of Mezzetin's unseen listener.
The Mezzetin is made with mostly green colors. This painting's mood is very calm and relaxing. There is some movement but
not much. The focal point, in my opinion, is the image of a woman in the background. Although the image is not brighter than the rest of the picture, it is mysterious. The mystery of this woman or image of a woman, in the background made my eyes goes straight to it.
The Rococo style received its name in the nineteenth century from French �©migr�©s. It might be termed the climax of the Baroque time period. Woven materials, woodcarvings, and works in plaster of Paris were a major part of the Rococo style.
By studying three painting from different time periods, I was able to note the differences and similarities each time period had. There were many similarities in al three. Two of the paintings, Mezzetin and Adonis and Venus, moods are the same. Both painting give off a feeling of either happiness or tranquility. Even though these three paintings were from different time periods, they posses many of the same elements and details.