The piece of art that grabbed my attention the most was a painting called A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie by Albert Bierstadt. At first, this painting caught my attention mainly because of its enormous size. In a room with very lightly colored walls, it was hard to miss a painting that big. My first impression of it was that all the colors are what made it so mesmerizing. However, when I took a moment and looked at it again, I realized that I missed out on so many other details. For instance, the painting had a lot of depth and dimension to it. The mountains looked so real that the painting looked almost like a photograph. I also realized that it was an oil painting which may have contributed to the vivid and realistic view. The length of the mountains was slightly exaggerated to make them the focal point of the painting. The painter also seemed to be paying a lot of attention to the weather. Even though the clouds looked ominous, there was a beam of sunlight shining through the middle almost as if it represented hope or freedom. There were also other details that the artist added to make it more intricate such as tiny trees, ponds, and animals, which really completed the painting as a whole. Overall, my appreciation for this piece along with other paintings increased whenever I took some time to analyze because it allowed me to pinpoint the significant details.
-Zenab Jamil
