I haven’t been to the Met in years. The last time I was there, was in Kindergarten. Although I didn’t get to see the prized Jackson Pollock artwork I love, seeing the old masters work was quite interesting. I especially loved the pieces by Raphael. The progression towards realism during the early renaissance period, as portrayed in his artwork, was fantastic. I didn’t much care for the flat, 2 dimension styled paintings of the later dark ages, but seeing the realism in Raphael’s work was fantastic. Similarly, the Hanseatic League paintings of the Netherlands were also quite remarkable. They managed to look quite real, and I almost mistook one for a photograph. Also, the transition from using egg (tempera) to oil paints was clearly visible within the paintings as well as the transition to canvas. Canvas allowed so much more depth in my opinion, and allowed for much more sophisticated layering techniques that were quite visible in the pieces. Similarly, The use of oil paint allowed for so much detail as painters could go back and change their designs. Overall this trip was well worth my time and I enjoyed it.
-Anthony Margulies
