The Metropolitan Museum of Art Part 1

Sunday marked the end of an era for the Met. Starting in 1971 the Met started giving out metal tags as admission tickets. Now they are switching back to paper stickers. Apparently the metal tags cost 3 cents and the paper tickets will only cost a penny . . .times 6 million visitors a year and I guess it adds up. but is it really worth the loss?

Sometimes the best souvenirs are free.  :-)

This painting by Caravaggio The Musicians is one of my favorites. The second player from the right is a self portrait if the artist. Caravaggio was known for his use of light and dark to build depth in the painting. His painting of Saint Jerome is a wonderful example of this technique.

This is by Johannes Vermeer called Young woman with pitcher. As soon as I saw this picture I remembered it from studying art in my sophomore year of college. Vermeer often focused on domestic scenes and most of his paintings are set in two rooms in his house. One of his greatest works is Girl with a Pearl Earring, on display in the Hague. The painting inspired a book and then in turn a play and movie.

Giovanni Pannini is a genius . . . . Can't decide which modern Roman monument to paint? Paint all of them as if they were paintings in a gallery! In this picture are many famous works including Michelangelo's Moses, Bernini's statue of Constantine, David, and Apollo and Daphne. Apparently Pannini also included his own version of the Spanish steps (not the final design used).