The Met Part II (rookie)

If asked to describe the Metropolitan Museum of Art in one word, I would resort to "overwhelming." This word can certainly connote negative emotions such as stress and anxiety, yet I use it in a more positive manner. "Overwhelming" is fitting for me to use because, as a first time visitor, my mind could barely keep up with the constant flow of information experienced from the first step into the museum to the last step out.

As Tim stated previously, any time spent in the Met is a learning experience, and my first visit certainly was. I feel as though I completed a whole art history course in a single day's time after my initial Met experience. I took away so much from this visit that I had a hard time sifting through everything and organizing what I learned.

I can now more confidently say I understand why Rembrandt was regarded as a master. Previously, only having the knowledge of what I've read in art history books and from mostly black and white reproductions of his work, I did not understand why his work was regarded with so much praise. The Met, through a first hand account, allowed me to understand why this particular painter is so important to the history of art. I was struck by the extreme life like nature of Rembrandt's work. His work is not necessarily the most realistic, however his portraits are embodied with a deep and convincing sense of humanity. I could imagine each of Rembrandt's subjects as living, breathing, thinking individuals, each with a separate and unique history. I cannot pinpoint the exact aspect of Rembrandt's portraiture which affected me so thoroughly, however I have come away from my first visit to the Met with a deeper understanding of this particular artist's place in the art world.

Besides Rembrandt's portraits, I was particularly struck by several other artists and their works, notably El Grecco, with his implementation of lighting and exaggeration of the human form, as well as Frans Hals, who depicted everyday, non-romanticized scenes.

I am definitely looking forward to our next visit to the Met. We received a small taste of more contemporary work by Impressionist and Expressionist artists such as Renoir, Sisley, and Pissarro on our first trip. As my favorite artists are from these two schools, I am looking forward to seeing and learning from the contemporary work the Met has in it's vast repertoire.