Norton Simon Museum

As I entered the Norton Simon Museum , the first exhibit I saw was a sketch done by the famous Pop artist Andy Warhol. The drawing was of canned tomatoes by Val Vita , a company that Simon owned, and was commissioned for Simon's birthday by his sister . As I walked through the extensive collection of paintings, drawings , and sculptures, many of the pieces caught my eye. The museum was divided into different chronological periods so that one could see the evolution of art and the themes that were expressed through them . Also the different cultures represented, including an entire floor dedicated so Asian art , showed the influence and contrasts that the works presented.

The wing that I felt most interested in was the 17th & 18 th Century pieces. Biblical subjects were the usual subject of these pieces and the quality and vividness of the art caught my eye with each new design I saw . A piece that was very interesting was "Martha Rebuking Mary for Her Vanity" done by Guido Cagnacci . The oil painting shows a distraught Mary Magdalene deserting vanity in order to drive out the demon. At the top of the picture is an angel striking out a demon away in order to allow Magdalene to repent for her sins . Another religious piece that I enjoyed was the "The Birth of St . John the Baptist" done by BartolomÐ"©-Esteban Murillo. The image was of a baby John the Baptist being attended to by nurses while angles descend onto the scene . Also shown in the image was Elizabeth resting in a bed.

However not all of the works in this wing held religious connotation . An image that appealed to me was a depiction of how Cleopatra committed suicide, "Suicide of Cleopatra" painted by Guercino . This image stuck to me because of the widely known legend that Cleopatra used cobras to commit suicide. Cleopatra looking away as she inserts her hand into a bowl of deadly snakes demonstrates this . Another secular image was one done by Dutch artist