Sophie Wang Literature Humanities Tour at the Met During the tour at the Metropolitan Museum, I was able

to see six different paintings that were visually and thematically linked to texts we read this semester. The first painting was The Annunciation by Hans Memling, which depicted the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. We discussed the ways that the artist portrayed the difference between Gabriel (that of the spirit) and Mary (that of the flesh). This paralleled the two women that St. Augustine mentions in his Confessions - Monica, his mother, who represents a higher spirituality, and his unnamed concubine, who embodies his sinful lust and earthly desires. We also discussed the importance of reading and hearing - Mary is depicted as being interrupted from her reading, turning her head to listen to Gabriel's annunciation, which again parallels Augustine's revelation and conversion in the garden. The second painting we looked at was Titian's Venus and Adonis, which led us to a discussion of Ovid and his reimagining of previous authors' works, just as Titian is visually reimagining Ovid's story. We drew parallels to the story of Apollo and Daphne, and also touched upon the use of symbolism in the sky (from rainbows and clear skies to dark and cloudy) and the contrast between the cultivated garden landscape of the previous painting and the untamed wilderness in this one. Rembrandt's Self Portrait was the next painting we focused on. Rembrandt clearly paints himself as a painter, wearing his smock, yet he doesn't show his hands or a paintbrush, instead letting the light hit his exposed forehead. By doing so, he makes the statement that the artist's power does not lay in his brush, but in his mind. Rembrandt presents his integrated self to the viewer in a self-portrait, but is also very conscious of this presentation. This was the first painting we saw in which the subject of the painting engages with the viewer - by painting himself looking out at the viewer, Rembrandt shows an awareness of the two-way nature of his art, just as Montaigne does in his self-exploration in Essays. Our fourth stop was in a gallery of late 18th century paintings. We focused on the painting Elizabeth Farren by Sir Thomas Lawrence, which was a visual representation of the balances and moderation seen in Pride and Prejudice - our guide drew our attention to the balance between wilderness and cultivation in the landscape, as well as the guarded and awkward stance of Elizabeth versus the forthright and charming expression on her face. As we were in a gallery of 18th century paintings, we were asked to look at other paintings to see if we could identify characters from the book in them. Immediately, I saw Jane in a portrait of Lady Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Derby by George Romney as well as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in a portrait of Mrs. Grace Dalrymple Elliott by Thomas Gainsborough, as did many other members of our group. We then examined Goya's Jos Costa y Bonells, which depicted a child playing dress-up in a soldier's costume. The importance of context was noted, by comparison with Don Quixote as we discussed why Don Quixote's delusions were unacceptable while this child's is so 'normal'. We again touched upon the importance of reading - it had important (and tragic) effects on the lives of both Don Quixote and Paolo and Francesca in Inferno. The final painting that we looked at was Repin's portrait of Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin, which depicts a scholar looking up from his reading, with a mournful look on his face. This

paralleled our first painting in which the Virgin Mary is also interrupted in her reading however in that painting, she looks down and away, contained in her own world, while in this painting, the subject again gazes out at the viewer. His melancholy and tormented gaze was extremely reminiscent of Raskolnikov. Our tour ended with our tour guide wishing that we would not look like Garshin while studying for finals - I hope so too! Overall, I very much enjoyed exploring the myriad visual connections that could be drawn to texts we read this semester. It was fascinating to have my attention drawn to the small details in the paintings that hold so much symbolic meaning, much as we examine passages and stylistic nuances in what we read.