A Reflection on Visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art

For my cultural event I chose to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I've always, even while I lived in Portland, had a wish to visit it and to experience the feeling that was so popular among those who have been there before. I often imagined what it would be like, but when on Saturday the 14th of October I actually went there for the first time I was speechless. It was a lot more then what I pictured it to be. I spent 4 hours there and in that time I was only able to see the first floor and briefly run through the second floor.

As I walked in and turned left, I found myself among the most beautiful sculptures by artists not only of American heritage but also from around the world. I saw the sculpture of Adam by Tullio Lombardo, Alheus and Arethusa by Battista Lorenzi, Andromeda and the Monster by Domenico Gaidi, Ugolino and his Sons, my most favorite of them all due to the reality of the expressions on the faces of the sculpture and the amazing detailed work that Jean Baptise Carpealle has done. Those were just a few of all that I saw, the ones that got stuck in my memory because they were so amazing.

From that gallery, I went into another, a gallery that holds rooms from the 19th and 18th centuries, with all their ancient furniture. Rooms filled with a completely different atmosphere then my own or the one that I am used to. Gorgeous chairs, rugs, paintings invited me to touch them, to feel their culture, to hear the noises that they would make, but of course forbidden to be touched or to even come close to them.

After that I went through gorgeous galleries of African Art, which took me into a completely different world of their own culture. I walked by masks, dishes, chairs, and millions of textures and colors of wood, which they were made out of.

And then I was led into another room, a gallery of ancient Greek works. This was probably the most interesting room to me because I've always found the Greek culture the most amazing of all and once I even attempted to lean the language, but did not follow up with it and therefore with time it disappeared form my memory. In that gallery I once again saw gorgeous dishes thousand years of age. I felt like I was there, along with them, as old as they are, living a small portion of their lives.

That room led me into another room called "The Year One". That' a room filled with Asian culture, particularly Chinese as well as other cultures similar to it. I saw and read about the Great Wall of China, how it was built, how long it is, and its function. I learned that it is one of the three man made structures that can be seen from the moon.

Following that room is a gallery filled with weapons and ancient soldier outfits. Because I am against violence and also because I am a female, that room did not seem very interesting to me so I quickly moved through it upstairs.

There, I found a gallery of musical instruments. No words can describe how gorgeous and unique some of them are! I saw many types of flutes, guitars, organs and violins. They all looked different according to the country that they came out of, some looking stranger than others.

But perhaps in the gallery of European paintings I felt the most alive. Because I love to draw, seeing some of the greatest works of art was very inspiring to me. Magnificent drawings, which are thousands years of age struck me with their beauty. I felt jealous that I live now and not back in the 18th century. The richness of the colors, the beauty expressed through each individual painting, made me wonder if the world progressed or actually moved back a little in terms of developing its art skills.

I went into the gallery of photography and drawing for just a few minutes. Once again, de Vinci won my heart with his drawing "Head of the Virgin". I have always been a big fan of his, and seeing his works again made me immediately want to go home and draw.

In the end I visited the Museum Store, where I bought three books of drawings and a postcard with one of de Vinci's drawings on it. Buying at the store made me feel good because the money goes to support the museum, and that is something I definitely wish to support.

My whole visit to the Museum was awesome! I had the experience of my life, and I fully enjoyed it. Through the visit I learned not only about one other culture, but also about several at one time. They were all new to me, and I enjoyed learning about all of them. I will definitely go back to the Museum again to take a closer look and explore the details that I didn't notice this time.