Writing Assignment: Essay 3 – Cultural Event
David Warner
Professor Christine Prickett
Hum 112 World Cultures II
March 16, 2013

For my cultural event, I chose to go to the Walters Museum, in Baltimore Md. I took my wife with me as she used to do an internship there years ago, and it is her favorite museum. I myself am not a typical museum enthusiast, as well I feel there is only one good place in Baltimore, and that is Johns Hopkins hospital. Nonetheless, I looked this as a nice way to spend a day with her, and did approach the museum with an open mind, as it was a new experience, and she was excited to go. Upon arriving on Sunday March 3, 2014, the first thing that stood out was the structure itself. The building is a combination of old and new, it appears old, but has modern amenities, and one can immediately tell not a single expense was spared. First impression for me was great, it usually means a lot and the building itself is very impressive. Inside, the building is just as impressive, lots of marble and ornamental trim work, and each display is positioned allowing a good close up view. My first choice of a work to describe is “A Glass Of Lemonade” by Gerard Ter Borch, which originates from the baroque art time period. This painting was purchased by Henry Walters in 1910, which he bequeathed to the Walters Art Museum. This piece depicts a poor to middle-class young man making a glass of lemonade for a young woman, possibly to convey his feelings to her. Ter Borch was known for paintings focusing on interiors and portraits, and in this piece, he makes use of the baroque characteristics, using heavy shading on the interior background, which brings focus to the subject of the young man and the glass of lemonade. My initial impression was drawn to the subject of the women and man and the glass, which I assumed it was lemonade due to the title of the picture. Once I read the description, and re-assessed this picture, I could see the detail in the facial expressions that expressed the “love sick” feelings that Ter Borch and this baroque style painting are conveying to the audience.

My second choice of a work to describe is “Vision of Cornelius the Centurion” by Gerbrand Van Den Eeckhout. Gerbrand Van Den Eeckhout learned the lesson of using shadowing and light to highlight aspects of his paintings from his teacher Rembrandt van Rijn. This painting is another baroque style painting, signed and dated in 1664. Upon viewing this work, I noticed a dark, almost blurred background, and the use of light colors bring attention to what appears to be an angel hovering over what appears to be a soldier. The use of the light colors highlights the angels clothes and also the soldiers armor. Upon reading the description of the painting, it represents the contact of a divine angle telling the human to seek out St. Peter for preaching on Christ. The human is obviously the one without the wings, the centurion, and is kneeling on the ground, representing the submission to a greater authority. Most of this I did not initially pick up, but one is able to see the description in the painting once learning the intent of it. In summary, the event was a positive experience. Not only was I able to spend time with my wife doing something she enjoys and touring a highly regarded museum, I was able to take in a cultural experience and piece together how artwork can be viewed with a little knowledge from our class. Am I an expert after this? Nowhere close, but did I gain more appreciation for what we studied? Absolutely I did. I have not attended a museum of this nature since a field trip as a kid growing up. I had no idea how highly regarded and preserve historic artwork of this nature is. The Walters Art museum takes great pride and care in both their facility, and the artwork displayed. From our class, the baroque style just stood out more to me, maybe because of the name itself, being so abnormal, that it was easier to remember. Once I looked at a piece of art, and learned the time period it was created, I could assess the use of shading and light and

actually make a determination if the art fit the style or not. My initial reactions upon attending the museum were mixed, as honestly this is not a way I would choose to spend a free day. During and after the tour, my reaction was quite the opposite. I would actually return to the museum again on my own choosing. As stated, The Walters Art museum is a great place, which impressed me, a great facility, a diverse and a well preserved inventory. I wish we had done the cultural experience prior to the start of our class, the visit there help me gain a better understanding and appreciation for this class and for the historic relics, both the ones we studied and the ones in the museum.

References:
Terborch, G. (1666 – 1668) A Glass of Lemonade. Retrieved March 16, 2014 from http://art.thewalters.org/detail/26676/a-glass-of-lemonade. Eeckhout, G. (1664). Vision of Cornelius the Centurion. Retrieved March 16, 2014 from http://art.thewalters.org/detail/32288/vision-of-cornelius-the-centurion. Encarta. (1994). Baroque. Retrieved March 16, 2014 from
http://www.uib.no/ped/baroque.html.