Brooklyn Museum Analysis

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum are organized in a style that shows a developing history of the United States through social and cultural representations. The iconic work that seems to unify both museums is the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington which significantly highlights the spirit of American history painting through the later parts of the eighteen hundreds. Being the American icon he is, George Washington and his portraits reveal that he is one of the influencing factors for American Artists pursuing to define American identity. We also see the works of other artists such as Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand that utilize the sizes of their paintings to invoke a sense of individuality …show more content…
The Met also shares this similar feature because there are multiple rooms dedicated to Colonial Portraiture. There is an elegance that goes with these paintings, which makes the individual viewing these paintings think, is there a reason for why the museum gives off a different feeling to this from in particular? The answer is clearly yes, because colonial portraiture is significantly associated with historical portraiture and is deemed more valuable because it is literally the first form of American painting in the United States, before it was even a country. The Museums put these paintings into white colored rooms and attach finely decorated frames to add to the historic and fancy appeal that the paintings give off. The viewers are more prone to see these works exhibited in this way because there is a sense of education and respect that is given off them. Their function was primarily to serve as basis for this country’s artistic history so maybe it is justified to display them in such a way that reveals their utmost significance. Maybe another reason to why we pay attention to colonial portraiture more is because of the European influence that started the trend. The foreign influences within these works produce the “American” feeling that is embodied within this country. There is nothing more American than having a shared culture with Europe because afterall American History is world history and incorporating other factors and influences projects the patriotic feeling. This patriotic feeling is expressed within both Museums and is structured in a way that you visibly see the Roman, Greek, British and German ideas that are incorporated in these works by painters who themselves were European born. The Brooklyn Museum does a fantastic job underlining this message through the arrangement of the paintings along the