Blog Post 1

Of the sites we have visited thus far, one of my favorites was the painting exhibit in the National Maritime Museum. I found the paintings to be extraordinarily detailed and realistic. Also, for something that was so heavily discussed at the time, I thought all of the paintings displayed an incredible amount of detail and depth. I was expecting flatter images with less perspective, especially in the older paintings.

I noticed that several of the paintings utilized slanted horizon lines. Up until that point I had only ever seen paintings with perfectly horizontal horizon lines. I think the use of these slanted horizons gave the paintings a more off-kilter and dynamic feel to the artwork.

I was also intrigued by the medium used. Initially I was surprised that almost all of the paintings were oil paintings. However after remembering the details on how artists made and stored their paint from our book, it would make more sense to use oil paints. For those not acquainted with art, this is because oil paints take a much longer time to dry (sometimes a week for a small painting) and they may have been easier to make and work with.

Outside of structure and composition I thought that the early depictions of whales and other sea creatures were not only amusing, but also insightful as to the views the Dutch held towards the sea and its inhabitants.

My favorite painting was called "The Elder" by an artist whose name currently escapes me. (It was the first painting that the tour guide showed us.)

Blog Post #1

My favorite site of the first 3 we saw in Amsterdam was the Meritime museum. Specifically I liked the replicated Dutch East India company ship. It was interesting to see how sailors back then lived, and what kind of conditions they had to deal with. I especially found the living quarters interesting, and seeing how small everything was. It made me appreciate the age that I live in much more. Growing up I always knew about sailors and old ships like the one we saw, but I never saw one up close like this. I am now much better able to understand the hardship and risk that people made back then just to make a living.

Blog #1

Of all the sites I went to, the museum Boarhaave was my favorite for a couple of reasons. We may not have been able to actually step into the museum because of the renovations, but I still feel that it had the most information. The most and best information came from our guide Tiemen Cocquyt. Tiemen had known a story for every artifact at the museum and we could tell he was excited about each of them too, whether the story was about how it was invented, or his story of how he acquired it. I think it is very important to know the story behind each artifact because it gives each item so much more importance. An example of that is the microscope that was made of a rifle barrel, it was only a strange oddity at first. Then Tiemen had pointed out that the microscope was made in a prison camp and the scientist just made it out of whatever materials he had. It felt like there was more importance surrounding the microscope after I understood more about the story behind the artifact.

Museum Boerhaave

Hey everyone! We've been to many cool and exciting new places, but out of all of them I would say that the Museum Boerhaave was my personal favorite. First off, the tour guides could not have been any better. Both were not only well knowledged in their own respective field, but also had a vast knowledge of the entire collection that was been housed. They helped to bring the life and interest to what ine might think to be just an ordinary rod of glass. One example was the meter stick. They talked about how hard it was to make the true meter stick, because of the air and humidity the meter sticks would become distorted and could no longer be counted on for accurate measuring. Another time that they brought the history to life was when they were talking about the building and how two professors could not get along because of each others.  It showed how that behind all the technological innovation and complicated discoveries, there are people with emotion and lives behind them. Not humanoid robots without feeling or emotion. The guides showed not only the machine, but also the struggle behind what it was trying to prove and the adversity that the people faced. This is why the Museum Boerhaave was my favorite part so far on the trip.

The National Maritime Museum

Visiting Het Scheepvaartmuseum, The National Maritime Museum, in Amsterdam was an incredible experience. My favorite part of the museum was the paintings gallery. I really enjoyed how the arrangement of the paintings created a unique and immersion environment for the viewer. Painted arrows on the wall with the text "Follow the horizon" emphasized how the horizon of every painting was aligned at the average viewer's eyelevel, allowing one to admire the paintings with the same natural pose as one might use when looking out a window. The paintings did not always lay flat against a wall; several paintings were displayed in the middle of rooms, with reflective black glass beneath them resembling a mysterious sea. I have never seen art displayed in such an interesting fashion, and I really enjoyed how the composition of the gallery made me feel a natural and intimate connection with all of the incredible art that was displayed.

Hello fellow students and bloggers,
I would like to express my like of the Boerhaave Museum. First of all, our guide(s) couldn't have been better. When someone thoroughly enjoys what they are talking about it makes the audience enjoy the topics as well, and that is just what our guides did. Then one of the first things we viewed, and that I enjoyed, was the multitude of meter sticks, of which weren't all necessarily the same length (or so we were told). The next items I enjoyed were the books - I am still amazed that gloves weren't needed when handling the books. And seeing two versions of the same book in one day - what are the odds! Lastly, the fact that we got to see one of Leeuwenhoek's microscopes in a way no one else has was pretty spectacular - we are one special group. 😊
Bye for now!

Blog Numero Uno

Hello Everyone!
It was definitely fun these first few days, but of all the sites I would have to say the National Maritime Museum was my favorite.  The painting gallery was amazing.  Most of the pictures seemed like you could reach out, touch the water, and feel its wetness.  They were very lifelike, and some of the artists styles even reminded me of Vermeers styles that he used in his paintings.  My favorite painting was of course the one that depicted "sea monsters" which were actually supposed to be whales.  Another favorite part was the navigation room.  The walls featured all the various constellations that can be seen in our solar system, and they glowed like a real night sky.  The exhibits in that room were pretty awesome also.  I never knew that compasses were made that big.  It really is amazing how people found out how to use these various technologies to their advantage on the high seas.

Cheers!