Colloquium (Essay Sample)

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Colloquium
We arrived at the museum and were welcomed enthusiastically on the parking level. In addition, the attendants gave us all the information we needed, including a map of the museum. The tour commenced. The 109-year-old Missouri institution was a sight to behold. It was a magnificent view of a marriage between the old and the new. The old building was grand and flawless. It married well with the Saint Louis Art Museum’s East building. Our tour guide told us that the new building was designed by the British architect David Chipperfield. In addition, it was built to accommodate the extra collections that the museum collected. In fact, it increased the gallery space by a third. Anyway, the architecture was impressive.
The tour guide also gave us a brief history of the museum. He told us that the Saint Louis Art Museum started in 1881 as part of Washington University. It was originally known as the Saint Louis School and Museum of fine Arts. A long name indeed! In 1904, the museum was moved from a building in downtown Saint Louis to its present home in Forest park. The forest park building was designed by Cass Gilbert, and it was constructed for two years. In 1904, the museum was renamed City Art Museum. In 1972, the museum changed its name to the Saint Louis Art Museum to reflect the contribution of the county residents in supporting the institution. Notably, the support from the county residents made it possible for the institution to allow free visits.
Inside the museum, there is something for all art lovers. There were Egyptian mummies, one which was named Amen-Nestawy-Nakht, and artwork and even renaissance period artwork. There were also items collected during world war two. It was amazing that when people in the whole world were busy fighting each other, Saint Louis Art Museum was acquiring art masterpieces. One of my favorite art form was the Claude Monet’s (1840-1925) water lilies. I liked the way every piece carried an explanation of the time it was created and acquired, and the artist who mad it and his or her life. In addition, there was a brief history of the piece and the person who donated it to the museum. Moving on, we went through a piece of level two: European art. Here there was a vast collection of works by European masters such as Matisse, Gauguin (1838-1903), Monet (1840-1925), Picasso, and Van Gogh. I was attracted to Van Gogh’s (1890) drawing, Stairway at Auvers. It was incredible. I wondered how he managed to create such an excellent drawing back then. There were also paintings such as Robert Henri’s (1896) Portrait of Carl Gustav Waldeck, George Caleb Bingham , The Verdict of the People (1854-1855), and Bartolomeo Manfredi’s (1616- 1620) Apollo and Marsyas. The tour guide told us that the museum had the largest Max Beckman collection such ...