Museums and Culture

There is no lack of fascinating, moving, and awe-inspiring Holocaust survival stories. But when one watches a documentary film based on the survival of one’s extended family, the story is all the more touching. No Place on Earth is based on the story of the Stermer family survival in the Ukraine during World War II. A cave explorer, Chris Nicola, went to the Ukraine in order to uncover his own family history. Instead, he stumbled upon a cave that had relics of past human dwelling. These humans were not “cavemen” or Neanderthals, but people in the last century! Nicola went on a quest to figure out who these people were, but believed the trail would run dry.

The following is a formal analysis paper I wrote for my Introduction to Western Art II course at Queens College.  The assignment was to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and pick a work of art to describe visually using terms we learned in class.  The art piece I decided to focus on was the Chitarrino (titled Mandora on the Met Museum website), a 15^th century stringed instrument that was made in Italy, perhaps specifically in Milan.  This instrument is made from boxwood and rosewood and is located in Gallery 684 of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.