MFA Visit

Last Thursday we visited the MFA to see art from different time frames like the Medieval and Renaissance times, first hand. Below are the pictures I took in slideshow format.



I have two favorite painters - John Singer Sargent and Claude Monet.

Claude Monet was a painter during the impressionist time. He did many paintings that focused on landscape. His landscapes looked as if it were a dream. They seem to be very relaxing areas that he paints, like fields and shores, and are very peaceful. One painting we saw by Monet that I particularly enjoyed, however, was of a man and a woman dancing. The couple was clearly from the working class because they weren't dressed up but you could tell the clothes they were in were probably the nicest clothes they own. You can notice the cigarette butts on the ground and the beer in the background of the picture which makes the scene seem so realistic. The woman was kind of upset with the man because he was sort of drunk and he was pulling her into him, but he was pulling her too close in public, and back then that wasn't allowed. The realistic part of the painting is why I love the painting so much. This is one painting Monet didn't paint a dream state or make reality seem so perfect.

We also saw a couple paintings done by John Singer Sargent. He is so talents and to know that he did some of the paintings we saw at such a young age is so inspiring. The first painting we saw was of an African American man, nude. The man has everything exposed, including his genitals. In one sense, I thought, "Why is this man posing like this for the artist?", but in another sense I am trying to figure out what the pose is insinuating. Maybe that the man is so peaceful with himself and understands who he is that he doesn't mind exposing his body, heart, and soul to the world. His chest is puffed out and there is the perception that a halo is surrounding his upper body. It seriously makes you think about taking some time to self-reflect. Are you comfortable enough with yourself to allow others to understand you?

The second painting we saw by Sargent was The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. There are four young children in the painting and each one is shown at a different stage of there life. You can tell by the posture of the girl and the expression on her face around what age she is. For instance the youngest girl is sitting on the floor with her doll in her arms looking directly at the viewer. She has these big blue eyes and looks so innocent. It seems like she is so interested in what she is seeing and could be so easily amused like the nobody else is in the room but you and her because she is having so much fun. There isn't any knowledge involved in her expression besides knowing that her family is around her and knowing how to use her imagination to make games and keep herself occupied.