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Although I had to go out of my way, my trip to the Metropolitan Museum was certainly a pleasant and lively experience. As soon as I got there, I saw hundreds of people which included a vast amount of tourists. Many people were taking pictures with their cameras of all the different pieces of art work. There was art work from many different time periods there. This includes Egyptian art, Greek art, and many more. The painting that I decided to analyze was The Battle between Christians and Moors at El Sotillo by Francisco de Zurbarán (1648). The writing next to the painting said that in Spanish forces in the year 1370 were saved from a sneak attack by the opposition when a heavenly light revealed the hidden rebel soldiers. There is also a biblical reference in the painting as the soldiers looked up during the battle and saw the Virgin Mary looking down at them. According to the Bible, the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, “the Son of God” despite being a virgin. This is viewed as a miracle in Christianity. The painting has a heavenly scene above and an earthly scene below. The figure on the left is depicted as leading an army that army has God on its side as shown by the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus Christ looking down upon the scene. The eye of the viewer is drawn up towards the Virgin Mary and the Christ child because it is the only light part in a dark painting. This technique is the use of the element of contrast between light and dark tones to achieve a dramatic effect. The design is asymmetrical and the painting was done in the Baroque period. The format of the painting is an arched painting that was part of a large altar piece which when together was a polytych. It was on the bottom and was flanked on both sides by two square ...

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... perspective with the soldiers and the building. The soldiers in the foreground are much larger compared to the building and soldiers in the background. Perspective is achieved by the size differences between close up objects and far away ones like the horses. The foreshortening is used by the artist in the soldier's arm pointing the viewer into the painting. All eyes above are directed down to the battle field. Lastly, I was drawn to the painting The Battle between Christians and Moors at El Sotillo by Francisco de Zurbarán (1648) due to a lot of emotion and drama unfolding before my eyes. I could see a story with a compelling narrative as I looked at the painting. Indeed, I probably spent most of my time at the museum on this piece of art. The painting had an interesting back story and a lot of action which made for a satisfying viewing and analytical experience.

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