A (Short) Day at the MET

So I got into NYC early enough today to head down to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park.  Wow!  The place is humongous.  It would take probably three days to see everything well.  Fortunately, I am mainly interested in paintings, so I narrowed down my viewing and saw most of what I wanted to.  I like Rembrandt, Matisse, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, and guys like that.  The MET had an ample collection of all of these artists, and obviously more.

Perhaps the most striking painting to me was one by Jules Bastien-Lepage.  It is of Joan of Arc at the moment that she receives the vision to recover her homeland from the British.  Sadly, the picture does not do it justice.

The painting is huge (Joan herself is lifesize, so it is probably 9 x 9 feet or so)  Her eyes are done particularly well, which you can't tell from such a small reproduction; they reproduce her no doubt shock and surprise in a very believable way.  I loved the painting.  Done brilliantly.

William Bougureau is rapidly becoming my favorite portrait painter.  The MET had one of his called Breton Brother and Sister.  You can see his knack for catching people in direct and striking, yet appealing ways.

My favorite by him is at our own Detroit Institute of Art; It's called "The Nut Gatherers."

He is adept at creating an intimate, appealing moment, as if the two girls are sharing a secret together.    

Perhaps more on the MET visit later.  I got to see some excellent paintings by Renoir and Van Gogh that I liked, as well as some other odds and ends.