MET Museum Assignment

Objective: To formally discuss a work of art from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Length: Worksheet for primary work and 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) COMPARISON ESSAY. In addition to submitting a hardcopy, you will be required to submit a copy of the essay

portion of your paper to Turnitin. You’ll find the link on Moodle. 5) RECEIPT. In order for your paper to be accepted, you MUST include a receipt from the Met. 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 your ticket in a safe place until you hand in your paper. If you get mugged and your ticket gets stolen, please submit the police report. As a back-up, I strongly urge you to take a picture of yourself in a recognizable location in the museum, preferably with your object.

All of these components must be stapled together. Parts 1-3 will be filled in on the form attached. Part 4 you will print out on a separate sheet. 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 Metropolitan Museum’s website

(www.metmuseum.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: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York General Information: 212-535-7710 Sunday-Thursday: 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. 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 “E” train uptown to Lexington Avenue/53rd Street; transfer to the #6 subway uptown to 86th street. Exit

there. 4) Walk three blocks west to Fifth Avenue and four blocks south to entrance at 82nd Street.

There are other routes, including taking a PATH train to 33rd Street, then taking the N,R, or W subway to 59th Street, then the #4 or 5 subway uptown to 86th Street. Parking at the museum is available for $31 for up to three hours, which might be economical if you put several students in the car! *For further directions, visit their website at: www.metmuseum.org

Select one of the following: Note: When you see a set of numbers in parentheses after the name of the object, that is what is called an “accession number” – it is like an inventory number. Make sure the number below matches the one that you’ll find on the plaque in the museum! Raphael, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (16.30ab) Michelangelo, Young Archer (L.2009.40) Paolo Veronese, Mars and Venus United by Love (10.189) Style of Hieronymus Bosch, Christ's Descent into Hell (26.244) Caravaggio, The Musicians (52.81) Gian Lorenzo Bernini, A Faun Teased by Children (1976.92) NOT ON VIEW Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Juan de Pareja (1971.86) Rembrandt, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (61.198) Johannes Vermeer, Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (89.15.21) Peter Paul Rubens, Venus and Adonis (37.162) NOT ON VIEW Peter Paul Rubens, Wolf and Fox Hunt (10.73) Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates (31.45) Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Ugolino and his Sons (67.250) Gustave Courbet, Woman with a Parrot (29.100.57) Édouard Manet, The Monet Family in their Garden at Argenteuil (1976.201.14) The comparison: For your comparison, write a 2-page essay comparing and contrasting the two museums, the Frick and the Metropolitan Museum. You’ve already seen a video about the Frick – go online and do a little bit of research about the founding of the Met, and its mission. Compare the experience of viewing art in each setting and the advantages and disadvantages of both. *If you did not do the Frick paper, talk to me regarding the comparison essay. 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.

COVERSHEET About you: Section: T/Th 11am Name: Date submitted: Primary object: Artist: Country of origin: Title: Date of work: 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 Met? 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 physical point of view from which you should ideally view the work?

What is the medium of this object, and the way in which the artist uses it.

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?

Discuss how this work fits into the period in which it was made. Is it a good example of Renaissance/Baroque/Neoclassical/etc. art? If so, why? If not, why not?