Comparison of Two Art Pieces

Since moving to Palm Beach County last year, I had no idea that I lived near such an amazing opportunity to look into the art world first hand. What I am referring to is my trip to the Norton Museum of Art, conveniently located in West Palm Beach. The museum was founded in 1941 by Ralph Hubbard Norton and his wife, Elizabeth Calhoun Norton. The museum currently houses over 6,000 works of art and is open six times a week, except during holidays.

After being admitted to the museum and spending some time exploring, I decided to head towards The Emily Fisher Landau Collection. I took time to examine each piece in the collection, but nothing really caught my eye until I saw Ed Ruscha's “Lion in Oil”. This piece was made using a synthetic polymer on canvas, measuring 64 by 72 inches. What immediately drew me towards the painting was its majesty. I was drawn in by the seemingly lifelike appearance of the mountain. The colors and textures used to paint the mountain were utilized in such a way that the piece had a photographic appearance. Affixed in the foreground of the piece is text that reads “Lion in Oil”. I believe that the artist found the text appealing and decided the place it in the middle of the piece. What I liked the most about this piece was the feeling of inspiration it gave me. After some analysis, I determined that if this painting was placed in my office, I would find myself looking at it a lot.

Once I analyzed and examined Ed Ruscha's “Lion in Oil”, I took a trip to the second floor of the museum which housed the museum's permanent Chinese Art collection. I saw a variety of early Chinese art that reflected the culture at the time. A beautiful scroll, titled “The Nine Bends River”, which was created by Tang Yin in the late 15th Century caught my attention. The scroll itself is made out of silk and measures 86 by 38 inches. Although a little faded due to its age, I could see the sheer mastery that was involved in the creation of the scroll. I had...