I got to the museum after a 30 min walk and had to go through the usually trouble of getting the ticket, which is waiting among a mass of tourists. It’s pretty clear that many museum goers are not New Yorkers. I have been to the Met many times in my childhood, but I really never cared for it because the museum is not relevant to my life. This apply to the present me because I don’t have any personal reasons to go the museum unless it is for an assignment. I’ll skip all the things in between and get to the exhibit. I walk through the door, and I am greeted by a large room with paintings. Being very familiar with this scene, I start looking for art pieces to use. I can obviously see the skilled artistry behind these paintings. They are beautifully painted and show dedication to the arts. But at the same time, I am annoyed by the amount of tourist here. It makes me want to leave as quickly as possible. Even with the large amount of paintings here, I have trouble see the painting unless I walk past the crowds of people here in this large room. But when I think about it, the museum really has a lot of these old historical and influential painting; I realize that many tourist come here because if this. Some of these may be from the where the painting was painted and have never seen it. I find my two pieces and start typing on a bench. In the middle of the many rooms in the gallery. I choose Joos van Cleve, The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor from 1520 for renaissance art. Charles Joseph Natoire, The Rebuke of Adam and Eve from 1740 for Baroque art.

The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor is an altarpiece made in the 1520. It depicts a group of people at the site where Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross. My eyes first focus on Christ himself and then I notice the masterful depictions of greenery in the background. Hills and rock formations covered in grass looks beautiful in the building. Then I notice the people at the feet of Christ. The ones to the far left and right seem uncaring and not really in pain. The ones in the middle are however interacting with Christ’s dead body. A nun is praying, a man is setting the cross, a women seems distressed, a priest is on his knees praying. This scene represents humans in a very calm state of mind, showing the mental strength of human beings. It also has people seemingly having individual thoughts on the situation, showing individualism. These traits reflect humanist values.

The Rebuke of Adam and Eve from 1740 show Adam and Eve begging for forgiveness for eating the golden fruit of the tree and God accompanied by angels looks furious and with a finger pointed up, looks ready to curse the pair. The first thing I recognize is the somewhat exaggerated poses of the characters compared to the altarpiece. These poses tell a clear story of drama due to the eating of the forbidden fruit. I also see the clear contrast of light and dark to create a dramatic tone. This is seen from the light that God is surrounded by versus the real world that had greenery from the trees and plants that are darker in comparison. These are typical traits of baroque art.

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