Please note that if it works better for you, I encourage you to make a
VIRTUAL VISIT
to the Metropolitan Museum of Art–unless you feel very comfortable traveling to the Met
Click on this link to get to the Met’s Collections page
If you choose to make a virtual visit to the Met, then please use the Museum’s website, and then
do the assignment just as you would if you were able to go in person.
Use images from the Met’s website in place of those you would take yourself while visiting the Museum.
Details of the assignment are below–each of the sections is a LINK that will take you to a full description
Objectives
Summary of the main points
Detailed description of the assignment………… 1a) Preparation for your trip: Library………… 1b) Write a summary of what you’ve read………… ………… …..Footnotes & quotations; required U. of Chicago style………… 2) When you get to the Museum………… ………… …..In the galleries of your choice: observe, & write your first draft………… ………… …..Take photos to use in your paper………… 3a) Take a break after 90 minutes or two hours………… 3b) Go exploring!
A helpful tip
Approximate length
Required file format
Handing in your paper
Criteria for Grading…………The first six criteria ……….. .Academic honesty
Getting to the Metropolitan Museum
Part 1a:Preparation for your trip: Library
Take some time, and leaf through our textbook(s), considering the works we’ve already discussed, and looking ahead to ones we haven’t yet gotten to. Is there a period or culture that you wish we had given more time to, or wish that the semester was long enough for us to discuss?.
I encourage you to explore something new to you, rather than something you are very familiar with. This is a time to take some risks, knowing that so long as you do all parts of the assignment as well as you can, you’ll do fine in the grade department.
When you’ve found a period or culture you’d like to explore furtherat the Metropolitan (or other) Museum, go to your local Library to find a book that will give you more information.
You can also look on the Archives Online section of the Art History Resources site that I built for my students. KEEP IN MIND THAT NOT ALL OF THE SOURCES LISTED ON THIS PAGE ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
But on this page, you can find links to sites that are the equivalent of going to the Library: the Internet Archive, Getty Publications Virtual Library, Digital Public Library of America, and Hathi Trust Digital Library are fine. (NOT the Internet, unless you speak with me first).
If you prefer to buy a book, Amazon.com or any good bookstore is also fine. Sometimes friends and family members have a strong interest in art and a good personal library. A good book from the personal collection of someone willing to lend a book to you also will do well.
The book DOES NOT have to be specifically on the Met’s collection. Any book that gives you a good background on your topic is fine.
Read at least 30 pages of the book to give you a basic background on the type of art work you’ll go look at. You must do this BEFORE going to the Museum.
If you are most interested in seeing the work of a particular artist rather than a period, check the Museum’s website to be sure that works are available for viewing. In general, tho, you will do better (have less risk of disappointment) to think in terms of a period rather than works of a particular artist. The reason for this is simply one of space in the galleries: the Met’s collection is a comprehensive one, so–with some exceptions–there will be only one, two, or a few works on display by a given artist.
Remember that this assignment is NOT to do a formal analysis of a single work of art.
