Upon visiting the MET as a school assignment, I decided to make it a solo day trip adventure. I went on a Friday afternoon, which evidently became the busiest point in time I’ve ever seen a museum! I guess that’s what there is to do on such cold days, nonetheless it was really fun. I sat down by the Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing, which had a beautiful fountain/pond that I was able to plan the rest of my visit by. I made my way to the European Art section to complete this assignment.

There, I found numerous pieces of art work representing the year 1250 – 1800 and more specifically, the Renaissance and Baroque art periods. The difference between the two art forms is essentially their time period and their level of influence to the world. Renaissance art from the 15th and 16th century contain much about science, philosophy, literature, and education. Baroque art otherwise evoked more dramatic emotion and was to be able to reach even “the most illiterate” of the communities.

This first piece titled Madonna and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Leonard, Augustine, and Apolloni by Girolamo dai Libri is a great initial representation of Renaissance art. It’s origin alone, Verona, Italy, made in the 15th century is your first indicator. It was painted for the Augustinian church of San Leonardo, an altarpiece. The juxtaposition of the lively tree and the dead one beside it represent Death and Resurrection – key themes in Renaissance art. Renaissance art is very large on liveliness, rebirth, education, teaching, philosophy and beyond. This piece is a good representation of these themes.

A good representation of Baroque time period is a dramatic hunting scene called A Forest at Dawn with a Deer Hunt created by Peter Paul Rubens. There are three aspects in which “hunting” is represented by: light vs. dark, growth vs. decay and life vs. death.