Loving the Art in “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy”

Portrait of a Woman and Man at a Casement

An example of a “chopine”

On my second visit to the Met, I spent a couple of minutes in the lobby admiring its size and design. The many exhibits held by the building and the routes you take to get to some of them have always bewildered me. I admit that during a class trip in high school, a friend and I got lost in the museum for an hour. This time, however, I knew for sure the exhibit I was going to visit and how I was going to get there.

The country of Italy and its contributions to culture through art and food are definitely among my interests. Thus my first stop at the Met was the “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” exhibit. Most of the artwork featured here included plates and metal objects, paintings, and sketches. The applied designs themselves were directly related to mythology and women. The presence of the Medici family within these works was also expressed; this family sparked the obsession for art in Florence, Italy and passed its name down to three ruling popes.

One of the artworks that I feel captured the cliché love story was “Portrait of a Woman and Man at a Casement,” by Fra Filippo Lippi. The painting looked aged and had a classical mood to it, as the colors used were not very shocking or experimental. The first subject to gain the viewer’s attention is the woman in the picture, who’s flat and non-dimensional profile gives off a stoic expression. The only thing elaborate about this simple-looking woman is her decorated Renaissance attire. She is staring at her lover through a “casement,” or window with a sash made to open easily. They are lost in each other’s eyes and it seems as if he is secretly meeting her.

The second work that I’ve chosen to describe is “Chopines.” These shoes worn by women in the 16th and 17th centuries were among the objects that fit into the “art” category of the exhibit. They certainly looked unique and had a structure that resembled an abstract, marble ornament. The description on the pair of shoes read that they were made of wood, which is sure to cause discomfort for the feet. The shoes also displayed a leather exterior, showing how Italian shoemaking can be traced back to such an early time.

Being in the exhibition room of “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” allowed me to experience a sample of Italian culture and history. It places the viewer in the time of the Renaissance and creates a milieu similar to that of any museum in Italy itself.