The Frick Collection
The Frick Collection is a museum situated in East 70th St. just a few steps away from 5th Ave. This museum has various galleries containing paintings, sculptures and several antiques. The art is not contemporary but from dates around the 1400’s-1800’s. In the entrance there is a guy who provides you with a free audio tour if you want one. The audio tour is a handheld device similar to a phone that allows you to input the number placed next to the art you are looking at and after pressing play, the device will tell you some history of the painting as well as the description. The audio tour was really helpful in noticing the painter’s perspective and hidden features of the painting that are significant.
The paintings in The Frick Collection were mostly by European painters and a few by American painters. The paintings were awesome and very interesting. There is one painting that was very memorable named The Sermon on The Mount in which Jesus was standing on top of Mount Tabor surrounded by the 12 apostles while addressing the people below. It was memorable due to the artistic representation of the geography that surrounded them. It was very beautiful, solitary, and peaceful in a way. The audio tour makes the painting even more interesting because it helps you understand what is going on and the significance of certain aspects of it.
The sculptures in the museum were very cool. They all had striking poses and interesting stories behind them. I remember one that was very powerful. It was called Hercules and The Hydra. It was a sculpture of Hercules when he was battling the deadly Hydra. The Hydra was biting Hercules but he still rose above it. The audio tour provided a short telling of the mythical fight. Some of the sculptures are naked and very detailed in appreciation of the human body. The antiques were very fancy and interesting. There was a table that by pressing some buttons, the table surface changed shape to support candles and for writing.
There is a room in the museum called the Garden Court to which in my opinion is the most calm and beautiful room I have seen indoors. It consists of a semi-transparent window roof, plants around the interior square, sculptures, and a fountain in the middle. It is a great spot to stop by and talk to your friends while admiring the room. The room can also be considered a work of art because it also had a history and description like all the other works of art in the museum.
This collection contains works of art that are better than some kept at other museums. The collection may be smaller than one would imagine but its only 5 dollars for students and it’s worth it in the end. The audio tour is a very helpful and a smart idea that other museums should take into consideration. I strongly recommend this collection for anyone who is interested in antiques, in early forms of art or just art in general.
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:23 pm
That electronic device that you were playing around with must have come very handy. And such innovative experience, which I haven’t have yet, must have totally worth the five dollars. How small was the collection tough? Did it take you at least an hour to appreciate the entire gallery?