Young Woman Drawing

My trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was lit. I never took myself for a “museum guy,” but actually going with a purpose opened my eyes. I appreciate the fact that these sculptures, paintings, and artifacts are hundreds of years old. The ability to preserve these things allowing us to track our history and progression as a race is incredible. You are able to get a sense of what was important to the artists and society of that time; in addition, you can also see how some of these ideas, feelings, and morals are still relevant in today’s world as well. Even though you will never be able to fully relate to these artifacts or paintings, it still allows you to valuably reflect on where we are now as a society. In some cases, it even allows you to reflect on yourself.

 

One painting that particularly stuck out to me is called Young Woman Drawing by Marie Denise Villers from 1801. This painting depicts a girl in a dark, isolated room drawing with a large, singular window with view of a couple enjoying their sunny day on a roof in the background. Even though the woman is alone in a dark room on a bright sunny day, she doesn’t seem to be sad. She finds joy in her craft and does not mind being alone. Her white dress makes her seem like she is at peace with what she is doing and where she is in life. The ability to take a message away from something that is from an entirely different culture and time period is amazing. A message lived on in a painting for over 200 years, and I think that that alone is amazing. The message I took away from that painting, and the painting itself, will stick with me for a long time. I learned that you just have to find joy in your craft. That even though life may seem bleak at times, if you love what you are doing, it does not matter.This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative.

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