Detroit Institute of Art Essay

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Detroit Institute of Arts is located on Woodward Avenue, at 5200, in Detroit Michigan. The Institute is open to the public from 9am to 4 pm, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 9am to 10 pm, on Fridays, and from 10 am to 5 pm, on Sundays. According to the museum's website, tickets for the general admission cost 8$ / person for adults, 6$ / person for seniors, 4$ / person for youth (6-17) and 5$/person for college students. Admission is free for those under 5. Free general admission is also provided for residents of the city of Detroit, each Friday, and for everyone, on the second Sunday of each month. The museum's original building, designed by the architect Philippe Cret at the beginning of the 1920s and opened to the public in 1926, has suffered transformations throughout the years, through additions and alterations, but its Italian-Renaissance is still impressive and recognizable.

The DIA houses a collection of art the ranges from prehistory to contemporary. The permanent collections include sections such as "Africa, Oceania and Indigenous Americas," presenting a "Mummy" dating from between 30 BC/395 AD, "Islamic Art," represented, among others, through pages from the Qur'an dating from periods going back as far as the 9th century AD, "American Art before 1950'," best represented by Diego Rivera's murals with the subject: "Detroit Industry," "American Art after 1950'" and "European Art." The museum is proudly housing one of the first African-American Art collections in a major museum in the country. The Performing Arts are also well represented in the museum, with a permanent collection dedicated to them. One of the most notable here is the "Paul McPharlin Puppetry Collection."

Generally, labels are placed in visible spots, clearly listing the name of the artwork, period, medium, origin and their provenance, along comprehensive descriptions, some even with a comment from the museum stuff.


It is difficult to pick just one painting from the permanent collection dedicated to European paintings. I am contemplating Edouard Manet's "On the Beach" today.

Alongside paintings by Fra Angelico, Ghirlandaio, Rubens or Van Dyck, this painting strikes one as the result of the clash between classic and the willingness to explore something new. The two women in the foreground, suggesting the shape of a reversed L, dominate the aquatic scene. The calm sea, in shades of green and blue, is in harmony with the light yellow sand of the beach. The slightly cloudy sky casts a mild light that envelops everything in grayish tones. The black dress of the woman lying on the beach immediately catches the eye and the stark contrast is impressive. In a surrendering pose, with her left arm thrown over her beautiful mien, the woman in a black dress looks like a resting lioness. There is something strange that appears to create a connection between her and the woman in the second plan of the painting, the one resting in the water. The bather's shades are visible on the water, just as that of the woman in the black dress is visible on the wet sand. One can almost hear the weak waves slowly approaching and finally dying on the shore. The salty air is everywhere. With an economy of gentle brushstrokes, Manet has perfectly rendered the fluidity and the movement of the water medium. The colors of the women's dresses, according to the fashion of the time are in complete dissonance with the marine environment in pastel colors. Another woman in the water, barely drawn, appears to be holding a baby in her arms. They….....

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