Museum Assignment

Objective: To formally discuss a work of art from the Frick Collection in New York. Length: Worksheet for primary work and video worksheet, plus a 2 page essay. Format: This paper is not intended as a research paper, but rather as your experience with the object. The only

resources necessary should be your class notes and textbook. Due date: Your assignment is due in its entirety IN CLASS on the date listed above. You must turn in a hardcopy of

your paper. Failure to turn in your paper on time will result in a penalty of one FULL letter grade (your paper grade will be dropped from an A to a B, for example). Papers that are more than one week late will not be accepted.

Requirements: 1) COVERSHEET, which is attached. 2) SKETCH. Make a drawing of the primary work you’ve selected from the list on the following page. You need not be a

good artist, so don’t worry. However, the point of the drawing is to help you identify elements in the composition and figure out the artist’s choices, so spend some time looking.

3) OBJECT WORKSHEET, which is attached. Additional copies of blank forms will be available online. 4) FILM WORKSHEET, which is attached. Multiple-choice and short-answer questions. 5) COMPARISON ESSAY. If there are issues, I may require submission through Turnitin. If so, you will be notified. 6) RECEIPT. In order for your paper to be accepted, you MUST include your admittance ticket from the Frick Collection.

Do not forget, or you'll be going back to the museum! Write your name on your ticket, and staple or tape it to your paper. Keep it in a safe place until you hand in your paper. If you get mugged and it gets stolen, please submit the police report. As a back-up, I strongly urge you to take a picture of yourself in front of the entrance to the Frick.

All of these components must be stapled together. Parts 1-4 will be filled in on the form attached. Part 5 you will print out separately. Your paper should be well written, and

carefully proofread.

Before you go: Look up the works that are listed for this assignment online. Go to the Frick website (www.frick.org), and find them by

searching the collection database.

Plagiarism: Should you feel the need to consult an outside source for basic information (for example, a dictionary of art, mythology, history or religion, you MUST provide a proper citation in the form of a footnote/endnote). Do not plagiarize, and do NOT take either your ideas or wording from online or printed sources; if you have any confusion as to what this means, please consult: http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_understand_plagiarism_1/. Any instances of academic dishonesty must be reported to the college.

Museum info: 1 East 70th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues), New York General Information: 212-288-0700 Tuesdays through Saturdays: 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sundays: 10 a.m. -5p.m. CLOSED MONDAYS Admission is $10 with valid student ID. Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. is “pay what you wish”. If you are traveling with family members, please note that children under 10 years old are not allowed in the Frick. If this presents a problem, talk to me. NOTE: Pencil ONLY in the galleries; no pen! And no photography 

Public transit directions: 1) Take a bus (such as #163 from in front of BCC, about $10 roundtrip) to the Port Authority at 42nd Street and

Eighth Avenue. 2) The subway fare is $2.75; you must first buy a Metrocard for entrance. 3) Take the “N” train uptown to 5th Ave/59th Street 4) Walk north to 70th Street.

There are other routes, including taking an uptown “E” train to 53rd and Lexington, then transferring to the uptown “6” train and exiting at 68th Street (Hunter College). Walk 3 blocks east and 2 blocks north.

Select one of the following: The accession number is like an inventory number; use it to make sure you have the correct work.

Bronzino, Portrait of Lodovico Capponi, 1550-1555 (Accession number: 1915.1.19) Duccio di Buoninsegna, Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, 1308-11. (Accession number: 1927.1.35) Fra Filippo Lippi, The Annunciation, c. 1440. (Accession number: 1924.1.85) Titian, Portrait of Pietro Aretino, c. 1537. (Accession number: 1905.1.115) Paolo Veronese, The Choice Between Virtue and Vice, c. 1580. (Accession number: 1912.1.129) Gerard David, The Deposition, c. 1510-1515. (Accession number: 1915.1.33) Francesco da Sangallo, St. John Baptizing, c.1535-1538. (Accession: 1916.2.41) Michelangelo (after), Samson and the Two Philistines, 16th century. (Accession number: 1916.2.40) Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni (Vecchietta), The Resurrection, 1472. (Accession number: 1916.2.02) Hans Holbein, Sir Thomas More, 1527 (Accession number: 1912.1.77) The comparison: For your comparison, write a 2-page essay comparing and contrasting the your object with another one, using the worksheet as a guideline (so, consider physical properties like size, medium, installation, as well as subject, composition, function, style). You can use an object we’ve discussed already in class, or one that we haven’t, but that is in your textbook. The object can be from the same culture or a different one, but choose carefully – you want the objects to be different enough that there is a lot to say in your comparison, but not so different that they have nothing in common. Use proper vocabulary. Your essay should be well written, and carefully proofread. Please take advantage of the resources available to you (free) at Bergen. If you find writing challenging, please visit the writing center located in L125, open Monday-Friday, where you can make an appointment to work with a writing tutor, or visit them during drop-in hours. I strongly recommend this, even if it is to just have another pair of capable eyes help you to look over your finished work. Your essay should use a standard font (like Times New Roman, 12-point), have 1” margins, and be double-spaced. Video worksheet: Introduction to The Frick Collection, an eleven-minute presentation produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Christopher Noey, is being shown regularly to the public in the Music Room every twenty minutes, beginning at 10:20 a.m., with the last showing at 5:00 p.m. There are no showings on Sundays when concerts are scheduled (usually 5pm). Watch the film, and answer the questions on the worksheet. If you miss it at the Frick, you can find it online here: http://www.frick.org/interact/new-orientation-film

COVERSHEET About you: Name: Date submitted: Primary object: Artist: Country of origin: Title: Date of the object: Dimensions: Medium: You can do your sketch of your primary object below:

PRIMARY OBJECT WORKSHEET

Describe the condition of the work:

How is the work installed in the Frick? Consider the height, the lighting, the viewpoint, etc.

What is the function of this work of art? Is it commemorative? Religious? Utilitarian? Something else? Explain. Where do you think this work was originally meant to be seen, and how do you think it was installed in its original location? Is there one clearly intended point of view?

What is the medium of this object? Why do you think it was used by the artist, and how does the use of that medium affect the artists choices? What does it say about the patron/owner of the work?

Discuss the composition (the arrangement of forms). Be specific in describing what you see. Ask yourself, “What choices does the artist make, and why (meaning, what is the impact of those choices)? Consider things like the primary focal point, the use of symmetry or asymmetry, and the manner in which the artist guides you through the work.

Is the artist interested in the realistic/naturalistic depiction of forms? If there are human/animal figures, what can you say about the artist’s interest in anatomy? Does the artist use devices like contrapposto?

If the work is two-dimensional (painting), is the artist interested in depicting a convincing illusion of three-dimensions? Is there the use of perspective (linear/aerial) or foreshortening? If the work is three-dimensional (sculpture), discuss the way the artist takes advantage of the real space of the work. How does the object change depending on your relationship to it, and your specific viewpoint?

What is the meaning? Is there apparent iconography?

FILM QUESTIONS

Henry Clay Frick made his fortune: a) in the railroad industry. b) in the steel industry. c) in the whiskey business like his grandfather. Henry Clay Frick’s early collection was formed of:

a) Renaissance paintings b) Medieval sculptures c) local Pittsburgh artists After the death of J.P. Morgan, Frick acquired from his collection a number of works, including:

a) Renaissance bronzes and Chinese porcelain b) Rembrandt portraits and Old Master drawings c) Stained glass windows and Baroque engravings

Frick turned his drawing room into a special display room for:

a) Two Holbein portraits and an El Greco painting b) A central fountain c) Fragonard paintings

For his home, Frick favored particularly:

a) portraits and landscapes b) abstract paintings c) large-scale narrative pictures Frick lived in his 70th Street mansion from:

a) 1899 to 1919 b) 1914 to 1919 c) 1914 to 1931 The Frick Collection, as a public museum, was:

a) created as a result of Henry Clay Frick’s will. b) founded by Henry Clay Frick’s daughter Helen in 1920. c) founded by Henry Clay Frick’s wife in 1930.

The great Garden Court was:

a) built by Frick to house his collection of bronze statues b) designed by Thomas Hastings in 1913-1914 c) added after Frick’s death

The Frick Collection ________________ organized according to “school” (meaning, according to time period and culture).

a) is b) is not The Frick Collection displays:

a) Only works collected by Henry Clay during his lifetime. b) Works on permanent loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. c) Works collected by Frick during his lifetime, as well as those added by his daughter.