Business 101

Final Paper

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

French, 1796-1875

Agostina 1866

oil on canvas

132.4 x 97.6 cm

Chester Dale Collection

My journey started the weekend of November 12, 2010 when my girlfriend and I decided to take a mini vacation to Washington D.C. Being at the nation’s capital enabled me to learn more about our country’s history and beautiful architecture from when Washington D.C. was being built. While doing a lot of sightseeing in Washington I decided to visit the National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov) to enhance my knowledge about the pioneers of paintings in the world. The building seems to have the original neoclassical theme designed by John Russell Pope who also designed the Jefferson memorial. The gallery is very beautiful with marble on the walls and throughout the floor. There are security guards at every entrance and exit to ensure everyone’s safety. The temperature in the gallery was just right; the lighting was not very bright at all throughout the hallways. My girlfriend and I really did enjoy our visit to the gallery because of its size and the amount of art work under one roof. There were certain areas or galleries that were more crowded than others. Also at the gallery there are many rooms to walk through. In the West Building which is the one I visited seems to have an extensive collection of painting and sculptures by European masters from the medieval period through the late 19th century, as well as pre-20th century works by American artists. Some known artists that I saw include Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Leonardo da Vinci.

I choose a panting from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot called “Agostina” because when I first saw this painting I seen a lot of emotions on her face. The painting is of a French woman that seems to be in distress. She does not look to be in poverty due to her nice colorful clothing and the style of it. I do not remember the artists that were around this...