May 18 is International Museum Day, a celebration of museums around the world that educate people of all ages and providing enriching cultural experiences. Check out this blog from Crestwood Children's Librarian Nancy Wissman as she reviews The MET Museum Visit & Tour with Professor Val Franco that she attended on May 8.
Professor Franco, University Lecturer and Art Expert, graced the tour of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibit on Caspar David Friedrich with a wealth of knowledge, not only on the art of Mr. Friedrich but his life as well, including an overview of his place in art history. Mr. Friedrich was a German painter in the mid 1800s during a period of art called Romantic; his art is summed up in the title The MET chose for his exhibit, The Soul of Nature.
Tour participants viewed a variety of works exploring Mr. Friedrich’s connection to nature, which was often reflecting the global state of his country and the world. The work was complex and Professor Franco’s extensive information was a valuable addition to the viewing.
As a Romantic painter, Mr. Friedrich used light and its complement dark and shadows to express himself. Viewers first examined these two paintings with the number three in mind: three sections front, middle and background, three main objects, three sections vertically.
The use of light and of Threes is evident in these paintings of the Ruins of Oybin Monastery. Professor Franco also told tour participants to pay attention to Three as it relates to Christianity.
By contrast to the previous haunting paintings Professor Franco highlighted for us, this one is almost joyous. She shared a painting not in the exhibit to show us the different ways Mr. Friedrich used light, reminding us again to look at the foreground, middle ground, and background in addition to what the eye is drawn to.
One of Mr. Friedrich’s most famous paintings is The Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog. Participants and Professor Franco spent some time here examining light and shadows, foreground and background, the symbolism of the wanderer as he appears to be a well-off Gentleman, and the intricacies viewers might have missed had they not had Professor Franco to point them out.
The tour ended with a painting from late in Mr. Friedrich’s life called the Stages of Life where he includes a group of people, which was unusual for his art. Professor Franco explained that he was beginning to look at his own mortality, and The Met description states that the people are somewhat represented in the five ships and boat present in the painting.
Afterwards, tour participants were treated to a beautiful sunny day above The City at the museum’s rooftop installation. Quite a contrast from the paintings just examined.
In exploring more of the museum on their own, a few participants went to the John Singer Sargent exhibit. While they still saw the use of light in his paintings, that was the end of the similarities to Mr. Friedrich’s art. Most of these paintings were women and children. These participants were most looking forward to seeing the famous Madame X painting. They were not disappointed as the museum hung it in a prominent well-designed spot.
To learn more about the Soul of Nature exhibit at The Met, read here, and more about the Sargent and Paris one, here.
Hoopla has an eBook, Caspar David Friedrich. Master of the Tragic Landscape (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840), to learn more about the man and his art.
Tour participants would highly recommend going to any other event with Professor Val Franco and her great knowledge; keep an eye on the Yonkers Public Library Calendar. You can also find information about the exhibits at the Riverfront (Library) Art Gallery, the numerous art classes at all three branches - to create as well as to learn, and, of course, many other activities!
Looking to plan your next museum visit? Take advantage of Museum Passes from Yonkers Public Library. YPL patrons can enjoy free admission and other perks from participating museums, such as the Hudson River Museum, The Greenburgh Nature Center, Storm King Art Cetner, the Museum of Modern Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and more! Passes are free to borrow with your Yonkers Library Card. Learn more about specific museum pass rules and offerings here.
Nancy Wissman is the part-time Children’s Librarian at Crestwood Library. Visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art after many years reminded her how much she loves art. Nancy is especially excited about bringing science to Crestwood with the Saturday STREAM storytime, which combines her love of story reading and storytelling with her new passion for science. Nancy has been a librarian for over 30 years, working in several libraries in different library departments, but most enjoys connecting children with literacy.