The Frick Collection
In a sunny morning I visited an art museum, The Frick Collection, located at 1 East 70th Street. When I arrived at the museum, I was impressed by the magnificent building that was beautified by landscape gardening. It looked more of a mansion than a museum from outside. Later I learned that the building in fact was a mansion which was a residence of a steel tycoon Henry Clay Frick. It was converted to a museum in 1913-1914.
The Frick Collection has wide-ranging artworks, including famous painting by the greatest European artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Thomas Gainsborough, and major work of sculpture. It also has furniture, enamel, and carpet. Walking around the museum, I felt I had been transported to 17th and 18th Century Europe, but I was totally aware that I was still in 21st Century because of the portal electronic device, in which I could key the number and listen to the historical background and description of the artwork corresponding to the number. The artworks showed the artistic talent and vivid imagination of European artists. Their works were quite different from today’s modern art, such as Jackson Pollock’s. They placed emphasis in detail and realism. Most of themes in the paintings were romance, nature, and religion. I particularly like the romantic paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. If I find someone I really love, I definitely will bring her to see this painting and let her know my love is as strong as the love expressed in the painting.
In the East Gallery his masterpiece, The Progress of Love, expressed a strong sense of love. It included five painting: The Pursuit, The Meeting, Love letters, The Lover Crown, Reverie and Love Triumph. In first four of mentioned paintings the setting was a garden, and the last one was the sky. The color used in each painting was bright and warm. I like the painting, Love Letter, the most. In the painting a dolled-up young lady in a voluminous dress was sitting at a stone table, and a young man was standing closely next to her. They were in a garden where the flowers were blossoming and trees were leafy. Statues of a peaceful lady and a joyful toddler added an upbeat feeling to the painting. The young man leaned against the stone table and rested his head on the girl’s shoulder, gazing at her face, while the young lady was reading from a piece paper in her hand. It had to be a romantic love letter because of the intimacy between her and the man, and the flushing on her face. The painting was really detailed and showed a great deal of realism. I felt what love is like by looking at the painting because the painting portrayed love, an abstract idea, in concrete way.
The indoor garden was my favorite spot of the museum. The garden was sunlit with the ceiling of translucent panes. There was a fountain in the middle of the garden. Sitting on the bench in the vague shine, watching water flowing out of the fountain, listening to water splashing, and smelling the fragrance from the blossoming flowers, I felt completely relaxed and the fatigue from walking was gone.
The Frick Collection is a great art museum. The only thing that annoyed me was the no-camera policy.
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Ryan, I would like to wish you luck in your pursuance of ‘someone you really love, ‘ so you can take her to the Frick collection next time. I really like the museum’s use of technology. I mean, I have never gone to a museum in which electronic devices, rather than writing , would describe artworks. I guess I should go to this museum and experience it myself.