Art Humanities Instructor Thomas Ian Campbell Take Home Final Exam Due Date: May 12, 2013

Part I: Select Four Objects (1-2 pp.) Using four objects of your choice from the museums collection, create a tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tour should have a titleits up to you to determine the theme. The four objects on your tour can be in ANY medium, from ANY time period or culture, but should respond to the overall tour theme. Choose carefully, as the selection of objects will be essential to the success of the assignment. Write a short (1-3 sentence) text for each object. The theme of your tour can be anything you choose, but keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to provide visitors with a cohesive narrative told through the specific works of art that you have chosen. For example, you can organize the tour around different figurations of the human body; violence in representation; the varying ways in which the virtuosity of the artist has been expressed; the changing relationships between tradition and innovation, etc. All of the works you choose should address the overarching theme of your tour. Part II: Exhibition Essay (2-3 pp.) Write a visual analysis comparing and contrasting the four objects on your tour. Explore the formal and narrative content of the works and explain how they relate to the overall theme of the tour. Make sure you have a strong argument that is supported by concrete visual evidence. You can either visit the Met this week or use the resources available on the Met website to complete this assignment. You must include images in the first section of the exam. E-mail your completed project to [email protected]. Metropolitan Museum of Art website: www.metmuseum.org

Motherhood in Art/Mother-Child Relationship/A Mothers Love/Strength of A Mother/ -A Mothers Day Tour At The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Works on Display in Exhibition

Tour Guidebook Tour Guide: Elizabeth Shay May 12, 2013

Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children, Auguste Renoir (French, 1841 1919) Oil on canvas Madame Charpentier, dressed in a luxurious black dress with white frills, sits in a beautifully furnished room with her two children and a dog. Her right hand rests on the sofa, as though in a protective gesture, as she looks at somethings off the canvas. Her daughter and her son talk to each other as the dog sleeps peacefully.

An Egyptian Peasant Woman and Her Child

An Egyptian woman stands in the foreground at the center of a very dark and empty canvas which is dark and empty. She is wearing a black robe that is slightly open showing some of her chest. Her eyes are closed yet she securely holds her child, who sleeps peacefully on her shoulder; his head and arms gently draped on her head.

Young Mother Sewing, 1900 Mary Cassatt (American, 18441926) Oil on canvas A woman sits in the foreground, intently focused on an article of clothing she is sewing. Her daughter rests on her mothers lap, oblivious to the fact that her mother is trying to sew as she curiously stares at the viewer. The background features a table with a vase of orange flowers and large windows through which one is able to see the bright greenery outside.

This impressive painting tells the biblical story of Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael lies on a rock, his eyes barely open, while Hagar kneels over him, her expression and gestures a mixture of distress and relief as she looks up at the Angel coming to help her. The majority of the painting shows a wide expanse of barren land with a couple of trees .light comes from the west.

Exhibition Analysis
No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star. ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

The bond between a mother and child is one of the strongest and most common bond that humans beings experience. Its ubiquity in art is testament to the impact it has had on people throughout the ages. Renoir, Cassat, Bonnat and Carotall explore this relationship in their art and are able to use a variety of techniques including.to demonstrate the closeness of the mother-child bondweave a narrative which explores motherhood.demonstrate the strength of a mothers love./r All four artists use color to help reveal different characteristics of the mother child relationships in their picture. Carot uses a very reduced color palette in his depiction of Ishmael and Hagar in the wilderness to show the rugged and harsh terrain and thus highlight the terrible situation .. This painting helps to show the deep love that a mother has for her child. Although Ishmael is near death and all seems hopeless, Hagar has not abandoned him and tried to save herself. Carots use of very earthy tones to depict a harsh and rugged terrain highlights the terrible plight of Hagar and Ishmael and thus shows how much Hagar really loves him. Although everything seemed hopeless, Hagar refused to leave her son until now finally help in the form of an Angel has come. Bonnat uses an even more reduced color palette (black and shades of brown and yellow) to achieve a similar goal as Carot. In Bonnats painting, the dark colors give a sense of foreboding, yet the way that the child sleeps peacefully and the mother confidently holds him contradicts this feeling. In so doing, Bonnat conveys the ability of the mother to protect her child in the midst of the worst situation and the deep love that she has for her child. The chiaroscuro that Bonnat uses to highlight the bodies of the woman and her child and shows how secure the relationship is despite the dark despair all around. Renoir and Cassat use more color in their depictions of the mother and child relationship. In Renoirs painting, Madame Charpentier is dressed in a luxurious black and white dress, while her two children are dressed in very soft blue and white colors. The viewers attention is immediately drawn to Madame Charpentier and suggests the importance of the mother in the mother-child relationship-it is th mother who is the dominant important figure in this relationship. In Cassats painting This color immediately draws the viewers attention to Madame the positioning of their subjects on the canvas and in relation to each other to convey the closeness of the mother-child bond. In Bonnats painting, the child is sleeping on the mothers shoulder and head and almost appears to be intertwined in her arms and body. Together the pair visually forms one figure, and Bonnats depiction of the pair as such shows the unity of the two and closeness in the relationship. The depiction of the child as naked and so peacefully sleeping on its mother shows its vulnerability and total reliance on her. In Cassats painting, a child is shown also resting on its mother, however, the fact that she only partially rests on her mother and that her mother does not hold her as the mother in Bonnats painting does, demonstrates a less close relationship. In Renoirs painting, we see a similar case in which the mother is not as engaged with her children as the mother in Bonnats painting is. In Carots painting, Hagar is not touching Ishmael, however the fact that Hagar is on her knees and lifts her hands to the sky communicates how much she loves Ishmael and how much this situation is affecting her.

Also she stares directly at the painting, unlike the child in Bonnat who is sleeping and whose face is covered. We thus are able to distinguish the child in Cassat from her mother. She has her own personality and identity unlike In Bonnat and Cassat also shows a mother and child pair with the child resting on its mother. In Cassats painting we see a young girl resting on her mothers lap as her mother sews. The fact that she is leaning on her mother as she works and that her mother seems not to mind, conveys that they are very comfortable with each other and that she is reliant on her mother, however to a very different extent to the Bonnat paintng. In Bonnats painting, the child is sleeping and relying totally on his mother. We also cannot see his eyes as they are covered with part of his mothers dress. In the viewers eyes this represents a subsuming of the childs personality and identity in the mothers, further adding to the oneness that this mother child pair shows. In Cassats painting, the young girl stares directly at the viewer and seems both bored and curious. Thus, we see Cassat distinguishing the child from her mother in this relationship; she has her own identity and personality. The childs mother in contrast looks down and is focused on her sewing. She also does not hold her child as the mother in Bonnat does. This further shows the difference in the relationship dynamics of this mother child bond. A similar situation is depicted in Renoirs piece. Although the mother looks up, she appears to be distracted and is looking at something that the viewer cannot see. Her children, though close to their mother are not physically touching her and are talking to each other. Renoir thus shows in his painting a similar relationship dynamic to the one depicted in Cassat; that of the mother who is caring yet does not have that unity and the closeness of relationship that the mother and child pair shown in Bonnat enjoy. Of course this is not to say taThis and does not seem as does not hold her as in and Bonnat depicts his mother and child pair as Bonnat and Cassat,

the mothers are at the geometrical centers of the canvas. This placing at the center of the canvas helps to show the importance of the mothers role in the relationship; she is the central dominant figure. In Carots painting this is not the c and the In Bonnat and Carots painting the protective role of the mother is highlighted. In Bonnat, the Egyptian woman rests the sleeping child on her head and holds him securely with both hands. Furthermore she has covered her child with part of her dress. Bonnats use of a dark and empty background allows the viewer to focus exclusively on the mother and child and the way they interact. The positioning of the pair at the center of the foreground of the canvas also achieves this goal. Bonnats depiction of the pair as almost intertwined displays the unity and closeness of the relationship. The dark background gives a sense of foreboding, yet the way that the child sleeps peacefully and Renoir, Bonnat and Cassat use very tight compositions in their depiction of the mother child relationship. The use of tight compositions in these three cases helps the viewer to focus on the mother-child relationship. Bonnat, in particular, uses a very tight composition and this technique helps the viewer to focus on the mother-child relationship. This effect is further heightened in bonnat because of the absence of any visible features in the background. Carot however, does not use a tight composition. The

mother and child pair occupies a very small portion of the huge painting with the landscape occupying the rest. Carots dwarfing of the pair helps to show the vulnerability in the mother child relationship and the terrible situation that Hagar and Ishmael are in. Thus Carot shows that a mother may like how terrible the situation is for Hagar and Ishmael are situated in a the compo In Cassatts painting For particularly Bonnat, this helps one focus on the pair mother confidently holds him contradicts this feeling. It is as though Bonnat is trying to convey the ability of the mother to protect her child in the midst of the worst situation.

In Renoirs painting, Madame Charpentier sits on a sofa in the center of the painting. The bottom of her dress is swept to the side almost in the shape of a triangle. It is interesting that her children are seated in such a way as to make a similar triangular shape. and the In Bonnat and Carots painting the protective role of the mother is highlighted. In Bonnat, the Egyptian woman rests the sleeping child on her head and holds him securely with both hands. Furthermore she has covered her child with part of her dress. Bonnats use of a dark and empty background allows the viewer to focus exclusively on the mother and child and the way they interact. The positioning of the pair at the center of the foreground of the canvas also achieves this goal. Bonnats depiction of the pair as almost intertwined displays the unity and closeness of the relationship. The dark background gives a sense of foreboding, yet the way that the child sleeps peacefully and Renoir, Bonnat and Cassat use very tight compositions in their depiction of the mother child relationship. The use of tight compositions in these three cases helps the viewer to focus on the mother-child relationship. Bonnat, in particular, uses a very tight composition and this technique helps the viewer to focus on the mother-child relationship. This effect is further heightened in bonnat because of the absence of any visible features in the background. Carot however, does not use a tight composition. The mother and child pair occupies a very small portion of the huge painting with the landscape occupying the rest. Carots dwarfing of the pair helps to show the vulnerability in the mother child relationship and the terrible situation that Hagar and Ishmael are in.

Thus Carot shows that a mother may like how terrible the situation is for Hagar and Ishmael are situated in a the compo In Cassatts painting For particularly Bonnat, this helps one focus on the pair mother confidently holds him contradicts this feeling. It is as though Bonnat is trying to convey the ability of the mother to protect her child in the midst of the worst situation. Show Postiionig(both on canvas and of people)/space /compositionfocus of painting Background Size Color Testure-impressionist Positioning Renoir, bonnet and cassat Mother is in center of the painitngnot case in carot Girl/boy leans on mother-shows her dependency-cassat, bonnet, carot and Renoir differ but still communicates same message Space/Size Bonnat and Cassattight composition, Carot completely opposite but ,background.how mother feels Background Carot.Empty barren space, Bonnat almost nothing, Renoir shows wealth Color Carot..enhance barrennessdire straights.color of dressesblack and white

Focus on the mother love