Name Prof Subject Date An Analysis of W.H. Auden’s “Musee des Beaux Arts” Walking on one’s daily route to work one day you hear the sounds of a struggle nearby, craning one’s head over a fence you see a man getting mugged for his belongings. Would one call the police or go about one’s day? At work that day one notices that a coworker has been sobbing in the bathroom all day on and off. Does one try to talk to him, try and see what's bothering him, or does one decide that it's none of your business and continue your day as if one had never noticed his suffering in the first place. Is this phenomenon not uniquely prescribed to the human condition though? It seems that even a pack of animals would aid in their fellow creatures plight yet humans routinely choose to be apathetic to one another's suffering. It is this that WH Auden tries to capture and express in his poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” Auden has realized humanity’s apathetic nature towards fellow man's suffering for seemingly no reason and has chosen to convey to his readers his message regarding this gross indifference. …show more content…
He has been inspired by the paintings of “The old Masters” in the museum around him and he remarks on how accurately they understood human nature. In the works of art around him Auden observes how in each suffering is ignored by the people within, they walk “dully along” and the children play freely, seemingly ignorant of the suffering of others. In the second stanza Auden references a painting in the museum specifically, Pieter Brueghel's “The Fall of Icarus”. In the myth of Icarus while escaping Daedalus’ labyrinth with wax wings Icarus flies too close to the sun and melts his wings, promptly plummeting to his demise in the sea below and in Brueghel’s painting one can observe a prime example of indifference towards others suffering as every subject in the painting ignores the plight of
In the Enseigne, art is also shown to serve a function that it has always fulfilled in every society founded on class differences. As a luxury commodity it is an index of social status. It marks the distinction between those who have the leisure and wealth to know about art and posses it, and those who do not. In Gersaint’s signboard, art is presented in a context where its social function is openly and self-consciously declared. In summary, Watteau reveals art to be a product of society, nevertheless he refashions past artistic traditions. Other than other contemporary painters however, his relationship to the past is not presented as a revolt, but rather like the appreciative, attentive commentary of a conversational partner.
Art for Art's Sake: Its Fallacy and Viciousness. The Art World, Vol.2. May 1917. 98-102
The Metropolitan Museum of Art came about as an idea from Jon Jay in Paris, France in 1866 with the idea of “national institution gallery of art” within the United States. Once this idea was proposed, it was immediately moved forward with his return to the United States. With the help of the Union League Club in NY they began to acquire civic leaders, businessmen, artists, and collectors who aided in the creation of the museum. For over 140 years, the visitors who go here have received everything the mission of the institution states.
W.H. Auden and Pieter Bruegel were both keen observers of the ordinary. In Bruegel’s painting “The Fall of Icarus”, he is able to look past the tragedy of the death of Icarus and focus on the simple scene surrounding the event. Auden’s poem, “Musee des Beaux Arts”, has the same qualities: it glazes over the nature of tragedy, and chooses to instead examine the fact that life goes on while disaster occurs. Arthur F. Kinney highlights this idea of calm in the face of tragedy in a critical essay entitled “Auden, Bruegel, and Musee des Beaux Arts”. Kinney explores Auden’s inspiration for the theme of the poem. The theme, Kinney explains, is not merely generated by “The Fall of Icarus”, but also two other Bruegel pieces. “The Numbering at Bethlehem” portays Joseph and Mary arriving at Bethlehem, while “The Massacre of the Innocents” shows a torturer and his horse in a town square. Both pieces convey the same main theme as “Musee des Beaux Arts”: the complex nature of a substantial event, contrasted with the simplicity of every day life. Each of the paintings reflects on human nature, in the context of apathy amidst tragedy. In his critical article “Auden, Bruegel, and Musee des Beaux Arts” Kinney asserts that “the same statement [is] made by two art forms”, and that Bruegel’s painting and the poem it inspired, “Musee des Beaux Arts”, “juxtapose the unique and the commonplace.”
The article Artists Mythologies and Media Genius, Madness and Art History (1980) by Griselda Pollock is a forty page essay where Pollock (1980), argues and explains her views on the crucial question, "how art history works" (Pollock, 1980, p.57). She emphasizes that there should be changes to the practice of art history and uses Van Gogh as a major example in her study. Her thesis is to prove that the meaning behind artworks should not be restricted only to the artist who creates it, but also to realize what kind of economical, financial, social situation the artist may have been in to influence the subject that is used. (Pollock, 1980, pg. 57) She explains her views through this thesis and further develops this idea by engaging in scholarly debates with art historians and researcher, and objecting to how they claim there is a general state of how art is read. She structures her paragraphs in ways that allows her to present different kinds of evidences from a variety sources while using a formal yet persuasive tone of voice to get her point across to the reader.
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
Many people do nothing to help those suffering in society. Some people continue leading their happy, privileged lives without any care about the less privileged, while others simply pity them and walk away, claiming that there is nothing they can do.
He states, “Waves of anger and fear circulate over the bright and darkened lands of the earth” (6-8). Auden’s use of oxymoron and personification serve as a guide here as he begins to allude to the current conflicts that are beginning. More importantly H.W Auden is also attempting to get the reader’s attention, by stating that people are oblivious to the horrific events that are unfolding. He is disillusioned because humanity as a whole, had become so consumed by their personal affairs, that they became oblivious to the great evils that where unfolding. He elaborates “Obsessing our private lives” and “the unmentionable odor of death offends the September night” (9-11). Again Auden’s use of imagery and personification both allow the reader to visualize the problems that surround the globe and additionally support his enragement with
Marcel Proust in the first volume of his ‘In Search of Lost Time’, ‘Swann’s Way’, (1913), and Donna Tartt in her 2013 novel ‘The Goldfinch’, reveal, through their central characters, the various impacts art can have on one's relationship with reality. Although Proust and Tartt’s retrospective novels explore similar coming of age themes, as their young protagonists’, Proust’s nameless Narrator, and Theo Decker, struggle between their inbuilt passion for art versus and the common values of their respective societies, both authors conclude on vastly different estimations on the consequences and costs of valuing art over
Items displayed in museums hold historical significance and are representative of society’s culture. Preserving valuable collections for education and enjoyment is a primary role of museums. While fulfilling this role, the architecture of the museum is also an important factor. Historical buildings are converted into museums and architects must consider the use of the space and the museum’s purpose during their initial design. Other museums are built with a clear purpose in mind. As museums are designed, many characteristics are determined. Display and storage spaces as well as visitor services impacts museum’s functionality. Based on the function of a museum, architectural requirements are different.
I first visited the Guggenheim Museum two weeks ago with Claus, my friend from Germany. We had the MOMA in mind but I guess talking, talking we must have passed it by. Half an hour from the MOMA we found ourselves in front of the Guggenheim, the astonishing white building that was Frank Lloyd Wright's last project. Why not? We said to ourselves. And so we walked right in.
The Museum Of Modern Art “MOMA” was firmly established on 53rd street in 1939 in Midtown Manhattan New York, after a decade of moving due to its growth in modern art pieces. Originally Patrons Miss Lillie P. Bliss, Mrs. Cornelius J. Sullivan, and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. wanted to establish a program dedicated to modern art in the late 1920s. A. Conger Goodyear, Paul Sachs, Frank Crowninshield and Josephine Boardman Crane, whom later became trustees, created the Museum Of Modern Art in 1929. It’s founding Director, Alfred H. Barr, Jr. wanted the MOMA to be "the greatest museum of modern art in the world." Its intent was to provide ordinary blue collar individuals with a better understanding and acknowledgment of art in its era.
In Confronting Images, Didi-Huberman considers disadvantages he sees in the academic approach of art history, and offers an alternative method for engaging art. His approach concentrates on that which is ‘visual’ long before coming to conclusive knowledge. Drawing support from the field of psycho analytics (Lacan, Freud, and Kant and Panofsky), Didi-Huberman argues that viewers connect with art through what he might describe as an instance of receptivity, as opposed to a linear, step-by-step analytical process. He underscores the perceptive mode of engaging the imagery of a painting or other work of art, which he argues comes before any rational ‘knowing’, thinking, or discerning. In other words, Didi-Huberman believes one’s mind ‘sees’ well before realizing and processing the object being looked at, let alone before understanding it. Well before the observer can gain any useful insights by scrutinizing and decoding what she sees, she is absorbed by the work of art in an irrational and unpredictable way. What Didi-Huberman is s...
I was lucky enough to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in November of last year. The museum was located in somewhat of a museum park. The Rijks museum and the Stedelijk Museum are located on the same block. A beautiful landscape of ponds and trees are centered around them. The Van Gogh Museum has an audio tour available in all languages via a handheld tour guide. Unfortunately, funds limited me to get the audio tour, but I was able to nonchalantly follow a British couple around most of the five floors. The museum chronologically directes you through a collection of Van Gogh's and his contemporery's works.