Chic and the City Part 3: An Artist's Heaven

I am now home from my incredible and incredibly brief excursion to the Big Apple and I am finding it hard to narrow down my highlights to one. However, if I absolutely HAD to narrow it down, I would have to say that my visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my dad would be the highlight. I was overwhelmed with the amount of famous works from artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, and many many more. My dad and I were on a bit of a time schedule and were only planning on seeing The American Woman exhibit I had come there for, but we got a little sidetracked on the way as we wandered through room after room of breathtaking paintings. On our way out we checked out the Picasso exhibit that is currently there and got lost once more. My dad is an artist too, and I would credit him as the original influence behind my passion and deep appreciation for good art.

First off, The American Woman exhibit did NOT disappoint. The exhibit took us through room after room with an introduction to the woman of each time period and how her style reflected her lifestyle and the changes that were taking place for women at the time. Then we were lead into rooms full of mannequins displaying the fashions of the time. Everything was obviously carefully planned out, even down to the sparkling wigs the mannequins wore. My dad probably got tired about how much I was going off about it, but I couldn't help it. Each American woman represented was amazing and beautiful in her own way, and it made me wish we still dressed with such elegance everyday. My dad managed to sneak in a few photos with his iphone, but I highly recommend taking the virtual tour of the exhibit by clicking on this link.

The Art: Picasso

These pictures my dad took with his iphone of paintings in the Picasso exhibit ( with the exception of the one above) that struck his fancy. My dad loves color, as you will be able to tell from the paintings he stopped to take photos of...

This is one Picasso's of earlier works, which my dad and I both really liked. I wish he had stuck with this style.

Also one of his earlier works, this Picasso was our other favorite. I found it intriguing and wanted to know the story behind it.

This room of Picasso's works had a real tribal feel to me. I found it interesting how many stages he went through and his drastic changes in style.

My dad wanted a picture in front of this painting that looked to me like a child painted it. But of course, the color was interesting.

I have never been a big Picasso fan for paintings like this one above. However, I am very glad I saw this large collection of his work through the ages because I got more of an idea of his true talent from his earlier works and I appreciated his body of work because of it.

This drawing proves that Picasso knew the planes of the face very well. I really liked the geometrical aspect of this drawing, and how he made the face look architectural in a way.

I had to point this drawing out to my dad. I was so intrigued by it and couldn't stop staring. I am amazed by all the different things Picasso did with the human face.

I regret not taking any pictures of my real favorite paintings at the museum, but I am equally glad I saw these Picasso works because of the new perspective they gave me. If I lived in New York I would make a ritual of visiting the Met every week. I could easily spend an entire day there getting lost in room after room of masterpieces. If you're ever in the city, make a visit to this museum a priority!