St. Louis Art Museum Analysis

Over Thanksgiving break I attended The St. Louis Art Museum, or SLAM, as it is affectionately known by the locals. I focused on the Later European Art, especially from the Netherlands, because I find it captivating and unique. The first painting I studied was called Peasants Dancing in a Tavern by Adriaen van Ostade. The artwork was done in 1659 in the Netherlands as a genre scene. It shows a tavern scene in which peasants are dancing, drinking, singing and playing cards. It is a unique example of light and shadowing—there is a circle of light in the center which highlights several intoxicated people reveling over drinks and cards. It also displays slight foreshortening. At its heart, the painting shows simple everyday life, although some say that it is also a warning against the vices of sloth, gluttony, and greed,
It was entitled The Account Keeper, and it was done in 1656 by Nicolaes Maes. The painting shows an older women bent over a pile of books with her head resting on her left hand as if she is fighting sleep. There are ceramic bowls, ink bottles, baskets, key chains lying around on shelves and desks; the detail and thought that was put into this painting was quite impressive to me. There are obvious, structured parallel lines throughout the painting and the colors are mainly muted. A shaft of light is angled across the painting as if it is coming through a window, highlighting the woman and her work but casting the corners into shadow. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the work is the large map on the wall. Cartographers often study maps in old paintings such as this one to understand the 17th century’s idea of how world looked. It is often easier to find maps in artwork than actual maps because maps were not necessarily considered valuable or worth preserving at the