1. Visit to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art
Ngoc Nguyen

2. • I came to visit my grandparents last week
and we decided to visit the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
has one of the finest Asian art collections that has
enlightened and strengthened my understanding
in my personal art experience. The Museum itself
is an artistic architectural structure that graces
the entire block on 82nd Street in Manhattan.
Entering inside, I sensed myself going back into
an era, into a past where people traded ideas and
learned from each other. It is a past, where I still
find their works of yesteryears vividly within my
grasp, to be remembered and shared as if their
reflections of works were cast for the modern
devoted learner.

3. Venus and Adonis (Titian, Rome)
• This work of art measures about 42 inches x 52 1/2 inches
(“Venus and Adonis; Titian...”). The art was created using oil
paint, a medium composed of pigments and varying types
of vegetable oils, such as poppy, bear-seed, walnut, and
linseed oils (Frank 122). The painting was done on
stretched canvas, and thus it gives the painting a slight
textured quality. The technique in which Titian painted this
work accounts for the soft appearance of the colors. It can
be observed that the paint is very well blended, leaving
almost no sign of harsh brush strokes on the surface of the
work. The colors have a beautiful luminescent quality, from
the light fleshy colored skin of the figures to the bright blue
sky in the background; it appears that despite the hundreds
of years since this painting was created, the colors are as
vibrant as they must have been initially.

4. • I decided to start out by looking at some of the various
paintings. There were many different kinds, including
traditional oil paintings on canvas as well as ordinary paper.
One that stood out in my mind was “Desert Restaurant” by
John Register. It’s a painting of the inside of a diner sitting
in the middle of an open desert. The picture gives an eerie
sense of isolation. One sculpture that I remember was one
by Oliver Jackson, which is untitled. The sculpture appears
to be a figure of a human squatting down. The sculpture is
made out of Steel, Marble, and Crayon. Besides these,
there were many other interesting pieces of art in the
Museum including the unique bright chandeliers made of
blown glass.

5. • I read an article in an old issue of “Art in America” about
the lack of interest many young Americans show toward art
in recent years. The article went on to explain how museum
attendance was down in most museums compared to 20
years ago. Their main reasoning for this was the basic
arguments of the advances in other forms of technology
such as Television and computers that draw the attention of
young ones away from traditional arts such as museums
and live plays. The article went on to say that plays have
become more for the highly sophisticated and less for the
average person. The average person views a live play as any
normal television show and doesn’t recognize the culture
aspect attached to it. (Art in America, “Fading Culture”
1991, 12-14)

6. The Adoration of The Shepherds
• As I look at the painting of The Adoration of The Shepherds, two
artists, Andrea Mantegna and El Greco, showed it different ways
with same subjects. First, the title of the paintings is about Jesus'
birth. Andrea Mantegna artist had lived from ca 1430 to 1506. He
established his reputation when he was 20 years old. This painting
is the evident of his highly individual style. He worked it during ca
1451 to 1453. He painted it in horizontal format with
153/4x217/8(40x55.6). He used tempera on a canvas that
transferred from a wood. In difference, El Greco(Spain 141-1641)
worked it with oil color on canvas by vertical format. The size is 125
5/8x707/8(319x180cm). In Greco's painting, the objects are full on
the canvas that big two angels and others are placed on top of the
middle place, and the people are placed in triangle position based
on the landscape. The landscape is very detail. The people I find it
that Holy Maria is standing in the middle and the mountain is
placed behind of Maria among the landscape things.

7. Asian Art Collections
• Walking into the Hall of the Buddha, there was a sense of peace and
guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei
dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province,
made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time
to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a
delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place
to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha
I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for
granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the
main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down
wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day
be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and
his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large
figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by
followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with
twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s
teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).

8. • When one comes into contact with a Chinese
painting, the style is almost instantly
recognizable. The attention to detail,
craftsmanship, and vast depictions of elaborate
landscapes appear to pay homage to mother
earth in an attempt to reach a state of eternal
balance with nature and life. Before this
equilibrium could be achieved, one must attain
internal discipline. This was required before one
began mastering their brushwork in Chinese
culture.

9. • The Asian culture is a very interesting to learn
about. They have many beliefs, customs and
traditions that make them unique. Art was
very important to the Asian culture. It was a
way to express or symbolize emotions. The
Asian display many different styles as well as
techniques to express who they truly are and
believe.

10. • The Japanese exhibit felt like a place of court where people
came in to be cleansed, forgiven and punished after their
evil deeds. Overall, my learning experience has taken me to
a higher level of understanding that diversity within the
same beliefs in Buddhism are mainly different by the way
they migrated and the way Buddha is represented in the
features and looks in another culture. However, whatever
the culture might be, the teachings of Buddha are all
shared and learned the same way:
“To do no evil.”
“To cultivate all good.”
“To purify the mind.”
“And this is the teaching of the Buddha.”

11. • Museum exploration can be a very gratifying
way to absorb another culture. The vast array
of museums alone is enough to boggle the
mind and fascinate the senses. Visiting
museum is educational. A lot of people visit
museums to gain knowledge about specific
theme. When you visit a museum, the things
you see will be on your head for a long time, it
is not like reading a book or watching a movie.

12. • I remember visiting the Egyptian museum
when I was a kid. It was an amazingly
educational visit. I saw these wonderful
statues, which I can remember till now. It was
great to be able to see things for real after
reading about them in books.

13. • It is a cultural experience. People can know a lot about the country
they visit by visiting the museums. You can about the history of the
country, the music they prefer, or the great figures of the nation.
When you visit a museum you can gather information about the
people of this country, that you can not get easily from books.
• Moreover, visiting a museum is very entertaining. Watching statues
that are three thousand years old or enjoying beautiful paintings in
a museum, is a great experience. While visiting a museum, you live
in a different world, a world that is full of wonders. You feel so
excited about being between these valuable things. This feeling you
will not feel it anywhere else. Visiting museums has several
benefits, it is educational, cultural and fun as well. So when you go
to any new place make sure to visit the museums there, otherwise
you will miss a lot.