BMA Trip

 The three works of art that stood out to me were Moonlight on the Canal by Johan Barthold Jongkind, Moon Reflection by Louise Nevelson, and finally Nude by Henri-Edmond Cross.

 (above and right) Moon Reflection

(left) Nude

 Moonlight on the Canal (right)

Moonlight on the Canal was my favorite out of the three artworks I chose. It stood out to me for a list of reasons. The first being its somewhat hidden complexity. Although it appears to just be shadows and rather dark there is a quite a bit of detail in regard to the shade of each shadow. This is what allows the piece to have a good field of depth and not appear flat. All the particularities with how the light hits on the trees, water, and the windmills presents a more realistic image of the night than is usually portrayed with just dark blues and purples. Even the presentation of the man in the moonlight stimulates a more realistic eye view of being able to make some characteristics than a simple shadow of a man. All these reasons tied in with a smaller size painting really shows the care put into the portraying a certain image of nighttime. For me this painting was rather calming and reminded me of all the late nights outside with my friends by the water. At a certain point of the night, when there is no light except the moons and stars, your eyes adjust, and you can make out everything around you. Jongkind's artwork portrays a nostalgic image for me.

Here are some similar works by Jongkind:
 http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=27872
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=106078