Another battle of what is and what is not art was ensured in the opening of the Armory Show in 1913 at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue. The show was the first to display European avant-garde art in America but some people were not ready for the “puzzle pictures,” bold colors and primitive forms of the cubist paintings from Europe. The show was held from February 17th to March 15th and was considered the most important exhibition ever held in American History. During the time it was on display, American was going through changes, and New York was the capital of change. Just like many of the other movements in New York history, the Armory Show brought changes to the rest of the country as well and became a turning point in the nation’s cultural history.

One of the paintings thats I really liked was Third Class Carriage (Un Wagon de Troisième Classe) by Honoré Daumier. In this painting we can see how much darker the inside of the carriage is compared to the outside. Through the windows, we can see how bright it is, while the carriage appears dreary and gloomy. The faces of the passengers also seem frigid and even a little detached from their surroundings. They don’t look at the people around them and are in their own world. The colors of the painting also show the mood of the people. The colors are not bright and they are shades of gray, brown, creme, blue and a little of red without much life.  This attracted my attention because it reminds me of riding the train. In the train, you see people of all ages, just like you see here. Everyone also keeps to themselves and almost ignores the other people around them.

Another piece that attracted my attention was Parau na te Varua ino (Words of the Devil) by Paul Gauguin. This was interesting to me because it reminded me of the story of Eve with the serpent. The colors are also eye-catching because of all red found in it. It contrasts greatly with the forest green background and helps it stand out. The red can also signify the evil that is there because of the presence of the demon in the form of a man. The waves that are on the floor can be the power that the malevolent being has over the woman and that is trapping her in with no way of escaping. The demon also stands out because he is the only blue found in the painting. The color brings attention tot him and we are able to notice his importance. The woman’s face shows her panic and her fear of the demon and since she can’t move, she moves her eyes towards the demon, in a way that almost seems to be pleading him to let her go. There is also a serpent in the forest that has half his face red while the other one is green which can signify hidden evil. I liked this painting because it signifies the evil in the world, and shows that mankind itself can be evil.