Art Appreciation Report: Exploring Art at the National Gallery, D.C.

This report presents an art appreciation analysis of three selected artworks from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The report begins with an introduction to the museum, its history, and the nature of its collection. The body of the report then delves into detailed analyses of three specific objects: 'The Veiled Nun' by Giuseppe Croff, 'The Old Musician' by Edouard Manet, and 'The Emperor Napoleon in His Studies at the Tuileries' by Jacques-Louis David. Each analysis includes a description of the artwork, its historical context, and an exploration of its formal elements, such as composition, technique, and the artist's intent. The report concludes by summarizing the significance of the selected artworks within the broader context of the museum's collection, highlighting their historical importance and artistic merit. The student explains their personal experience and appreciation of the selected artworks.

Running head: ART APPRECIATION
Art Appreciation
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Museums are known to be the places which are said to hold historical artefacts which
is said to be of historical significance itself. It is the job of the museums to protect and
preserve the various historical artefacts which an individual would be able to find in the
museums itself. I recently had the opportunity to visit The National Gallery of Art, D.C. in
order to see for myself the various historical objects which an individual expects to find in
such places itself. I will explain my experience as well as the objects which I have liked in
that museum itself. This is what this essay will be about.
The purpose of this essay is to describe three objects from The National Gallery
in D.C. and to describe what these different objects themselves are.
It is from my readings about the place that I got to know the fact that The National
Gallery in D.C. is one of the oldest and the most well-known museums which I could find in
The United States of America itself. The museum and the sculptured garden is one of the
most famous paves visited by the visitors when they come to the museum for viewing the
objects relating to the history of the country itself (Falk et. all, 2013). I got to know that the
Gallery is famous for exhibiting historical pieces of art to the visitors who come to the place
for visiting the works.
As the museum mainly deals with works of art, I found a number of them which
appeared quite remarkable to me. However, there are three of these arts which I really liked.
The first of these is the art of The Veiled Nun. This is a marble bust which depicts a female
figure, created in the year 1860 by Italian artist Giuseppe Croft (Moore et. all, 2013). The
bust shows a female figure wearing a veil which is considered by the art historians to be an
excellent piece of sculpture with detailed texture and forms of the bust itself. It is the
mysteriousness of the sculpture which made the bust look like a nun to the audience
themselves to the foreigners, hence the name given to the bust itself. This bust was actually

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placed in The Corcoran Gallery of Art. After the museum was shut down, it was shifted here
in D.C. to be seen by the audiences. It is the design of the sculpture which made me like the
piece of art itself.
The second piece of art which I liked in the museum itself is the 1862 oil painting
named The Old Musician, which was painted by the French artist Edouard Monet himself.
The painting is considered to be one of the largest paintings to be made by Edouard Monet
himself. I liked the painting itself because of the fact that I am a lover of oil paintings. The
second fact is that the painting shows to the audience about the different characters who are
present in the landscape itself (Hopper Greenhill, 2013). One of these characters is
considered to be the same as Manet’s The Absinthe Drinker. There are other characters also
said to be present in the paintings itself which helps the audience to know about the
background of all these characters that has been portrayed in the painting, which made me
like the painting itself.
The third and final object which I liked in the National Gallery museum is the The
Emperor Napoleon in His Studies at the Tuileries. This is a painting made in the year 1812
by the artist Jacques Louis David. The main image of the painting is the portrait of emperor
Napoleon I at his study in the Tuileries Palace itself (Falk et. all, 2016). I liked the painting
because of the way in which it is made with the use of the brush strokes and the use of the
texture in the image itself. The use of the colours helped the artist to create the image of
Napoleon in the best way as it is possible, which is the main reason why I liked the painting
myself.
Thus, from the above discussions, I can say that the three objects which I have seen in
the museum is actually are the representatives of the museum itself. This is because of the
fact that these paintings are part of the different time periods in history. I liked these images

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and arts because they would not be appropriate if they were kept in The Met in New York
City itself. This is the reason why I liked these images in the National Gallery Museum in
Washington D.C. itself.

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Reference List
Falk, John H., and Lynn D. Dierking. The museum experience. Routledge, 2016.
Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean. Museums and their visitors. Routledge, 2013.
Moore, Tamara J., and Karl A. Smith. "Advancing the State of the Art of STEM Integration."
Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research 15, no. 1 (2014): 5.