• Home
  • About Me
    • Reviews & Advertisements
    • Affiliations, Disclosure, and Privacy Policy
  • Notebooking
  • Lapbooking
  • Homeschool
    • Teaching Writing
    • Homeschooling an Only Child
    • Homeschooling Middle School
    • Homeschool for High School
    • Curriculum Reviews
  • Charlotte Mason
    • Narration
    • Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Q & A
    • Artist Study
    • Composer Study
    • Living Math
    • Nature Study

Jimmie's Collage

lifestyle blog of a single mom who works from home

  • BUY THE BOOK: Notebooking Success
  • BUY THE BOOK: Essay Tune Up

How CM Artist Study Took Us to The Met

May 2, 2011 By Jimmie Quick 24 Comments

met sign

We spent two days in New York City. (Get a rope.) Our time was limited, so we saw only two things. The most important things, in our minds:

  1. The Statue of Liberty (only from a distance)
  2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Because the Met was so amazing, I am totally satisfied with our short time in NYC.

Taking a trip to an art museum — any art museum– is a wonderful experience just as is watching a Shakespearean play or listening to a live symphony. So if you have a chance to attend any type of fine arts experience, I recommend you take it whether you’ve studied the topic before or not.

MET on map2However, after our trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, I am so thankful for our years of artist study. In a Charlotte Mason style, we study one artist per term, looking at one piece of art each day. We add on some simple biographical background and do at least one reproduction of the artist’s work. It doesn’t take a lot of time each day, but consistent exposure to art adds up over the years.

At the Met, both Sprite and I were able to appreciate the pieces on a much deeper level than simply thinking, “I like that one.”

For that matter, if we hadn’t done any artist studies, I doubt we would have been as interested in visiting The Met. Maybe we would’ve spent our few hours in NYC walking in Central Park or gazing in the expensive shops. That’s why I say that CM artist study “took us to The Met.”

We saw familiar pieces that we had studied before.

sprite with Van Gogh
Van Gogh self portrait

Degas, Monet, and Picasso

degas statue Monet3 Picasso at the Met

Toulouse-Lautrec & Van Gogh

toulouse lautrec van gogh real deal Cypress Trees

Picasso & Vermeer

picasso Sprite vermeer at the met (6)

Vermeer & Seurat


Seurat Study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte vermeer at the met (5)

We saw art from historical periods that we had studied.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt hash marks statue

Lapis Hippo Ancient Egypt at the Met

Ancient Greece

sprite explaining ancient greek items ancient greek art at the met

ancient greek art ancient greek art at the met

We guessed at painters and were thrilled to see that we were right.

Renoir & Degas

renoir degas2

We found favorites from our art calendar.

van gogh real deal04 sprite with a calendar favorite

Of course, the objective of our daily artist studies is not to improve our experience at art museums. That is only a secondary benefit. Our trip to the Met verified that Charlotte Mason artist study  is providing Sprite (and me) a solid overview of art — both understanding and appreciating it. To see her recognize the works of various artists and be excited to visit The Met proves the value of a CM education.

Don’t underestimate the value of small but consistent increments of time.

[If you understand the “get a rope” line at the beginning, be sure to let me know in a comment. I couldn’t resist.]

More You Will Like

Vermeer Artist Study
Transportation in American Art
How to Plan Artist Study for a Semester

Filed Under: artist study, field trips Tagged With: artist study, metropolitan museum of art, museum

Comments

  1. Barb-Harmony Art Mom says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    Yep, I knew you were going to love it! Wasn’t it like seeing old friends? I think seeing the size of paintings in real life is also always interesting since when have prints or view on a computer screen they all look the same. I like seeing the frames too.

    Thank you so much for sharing such a rich entry with the carnival. I am glad that you were able to visit the Met and I look forward to going someday myself. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Mary says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    This looks like such a wonderful experience for Sprite!! I’m sure you loved it as well. One day I would love to take my children to NYC. We recently visited a museum at Emory University here in Atlanta that has an amazing collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, and the current exhibit was actually Winged Beasts – Monsters & Demons in Grecian Art. Wow – what a great trip that was.

    We do not do formal artist study but I hope to implement that next year. We pick an artist now and then and read a story for children, look at some of their work and do a little notebooking, but I need to be more organized!

    Thank you for the links!

    Reply
  3. Tristan says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    Yay! That looks amazing. One of these days we may make it to NY yet…

    Reply
  4. Angel in TX says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:55 pm

    I know! It’s the Pace Picante Sauce commercial 😉
    And I’m envious that you got to go there – not sinfully envious but wishing someday we could see those masterpieces in real life. Wonderful experience!

    Reply
  5. Amber E says

    May 2, 2011 at 8:42 pm

    Pace Picante sauce! Super cute commercial! It looks like y’all had so much fun.

    Reply
  6. Melissa Telling says

    May 2, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    That’s great that they let you take pictures! The museums around here have no camera policies. 🙁

    Reply
  7. Mary says

    May 2, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    It’s so great that you had such a fulfilling trip. How exciting to exerience fruits of the homeschool labor 🙂

    Reply
  8. j says

    May 2, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    But did you have any picante sauce while you were there? 😉

    Reply
  9. Angela @ Homegrown Mom says

    May 3, 2011 at 12:10 am

    Oh, I want to go! We have the Getty here, which is the most fabulous place I’ve ever been 🙂

    Reply
  10. Tonya @ Live the Adventure says

    May 3, 2011 at 12:21 am

    I recognized many of those paintings but one is my favorite. When we lived in Ohio we actually visited a topiary garden modeled after the masterpiece. I think you’ll enjoy it: http://tinyurl.com/3l7znf3

    Can’t wait until I’m able to visit the Met! How exciting!

    Reply
  11. Dawn says

    May 3, 2011 at 6:15 am

    I can’t wait to go there someday. It looks like you had a wonderful time.
    Blessings,
    Dawn

    Reply
  12. Nadene says

    May 3, 2011 at 6:55 am

    I agree with Barb – those frames are so beautiful, and it is always amazing to see the original size, textures and colours in real life, rather than the prints. You are exceedingly fortunate to have so many masterpieces to view! Here in South Africa, we have very few opportunities to see so much under 1 roof.
    My children have viewed your post such excitement, pointing and calling out who the artist is and a even giving a few facts! Yay! CM has truly enriched our lives!

    Reply
  13. Giggly Girls says

    May 3, 2011 at 7:21 am

    We were just there in December and it was amazing. We couldn’t stay terribly long as we were traveling with a toddler but even my three year old was able to recognize some of the art from her little art books. We had just finished studying Mary Cassatt before we went and we had quite the hike to find her. We got lots of great shots for our future studies too.

    Next time we’re in NYC we’re going to the Museum of Modern art because it has some of my little ones favorites.

    I’m bummed that you didn’t get to stroll through Central Park. It was my absolute favorite.

    Reply
  14. Julie says

    May 3, 2011 at 7:46 am

    Looks like you had a wonderful time! I would love to visit NYC. I’ve never been up that far . . . yet.

    Reply
  15. Sybille says

    May 3, 2011 at 8:45 am

    Amazing!! That Museum must be so inspiring!

    Reply
  16. Amy @ Hope Is the Word says

    May 3, 2011 at 9:37 am

    “New York City!?!?!!!”

    “Get a rope.”

    One if the best commercials ever!

    Great post, Jimmie!

    Reply
  17. alecat says

    May 3, 2011 at 10:09 am

    How wonderful!
    I’m sure we’d feel the same way.
    We followed your idea about the calendar. It’s just fabulous! My son, who isn’t really ‘into’ art, is the one who checks out the details to share each day. He’s finally found that he likes how art connects with history, even though he doesn’t consider himself very artistic.

    Reply
  18. Joy says

    May 3, 2011 at 10:27 am

    New York City?! Get a rope. — A salsa commercial though I don’t remember the brand. Though things like this always make me wonder what cultural cues my kids miss because they don’t see commercials.
    Also, this has encouraged me to revisit artist studies. We’ve dropped it lately. Thanks for the encouragement to keep it up.

    Reply
  19. Rachael says

    May 3, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    Oh Jimmie, I am so please for you and Sprite! It must have been a wonderful experience – look at all those van Goghs!! It is so good you were able to take pictures! We weren’t allowed to for the Impresssionists exhibition we saw, maybe because the paintings were on loan from overseas.

    Reply
  20. Becky says

    May 3, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    Great post! It amazes me how much my children have grown to love and appreciate great art, because of the CM method (me too!). I feel blessed everyday to have a chance to teach them in this method.

    I am desperate to go to the Met, so I feel like I got a little chance to live vicariously through your visit. 🙂

    Reply
  21. amy in peru says

    May 3, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    yay!

    Reply
  22. Penny says

    May 5, 2011 at 9:25 am

    I love it! It looks like it was a fantastic experience. I recognized the Degas too as he is our artist this term. I simply must get the calendar. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  23. Deb says

    May 5, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    How fantastic! I have wanted to go there since reading “From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” when I was a kid.

    And the MoMA…and the Guggenheim….so much to see!

    Reply
  24. Nikki says

    May 6, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    “Don’t underestimate the value of small but consistent increments of time.”

    I love this and it’s exactly what I needed to hear! Thanks!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

jimmie lanley
So glad you clicked over. You are welcome here. I'm Jimmie, a single, work from home mom of one teen.

Get This One FREE!

My books

Notebooking Success eBook

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in