Come See Jesus by Coby Goodrich

Come See Jesus 

Deep in the mountains just outside the distant land of Vermont, a small town offers a wealth of artistic talent and (somewhat creepy) character. On a rainy March 16^th day, the drowsy Critic Crew arrived on sight in Williamstown at the Clark Museum. Morale remained high, but the hot tub had definitely taken its toll on the energy of the crew. A lovely lady of a tour guide led us on a brief tour of the museum, and then we were released to explore. The Clark Museum is the collection of Sterling and Francine Clark, who spent the wealth of their family collecting paintings and other works of art. 

The majority of the paintings in the museum were still life and nature scenes, but one small gallery held a collection of religious paintings. One of these paintings was called “Virgin and Child with John the Baptist” by Sandro Botticelli and Studio. The painting was done in a gold circular frame, which relates to the time period in which it was painted. The circular frame also compliments the smooth edges and faces of the characters in the painting. The characters pictured are the Virgin Mary, young John Baptist, and baby Jesus. The painting was done with oil paints and a vast stretch of green hills and a river in the background. The Virgin Mary is standing and holding her baby, while young John the Baptist prays by her side. Her face shows a calm and tender emotion as she gazes at her baby, who is clinging to her hair. Almost attached to each of the heads of each person are circular discs. It is unclear what the discs are supposed to be, however they look like halos and give the painting a more sacred feel because of it. The sun also appears to be rising because the light is a pale yellow, and the sky is a lighter blue than black, meaning the sun is coming up. 

I would recommend seeing this painting to any religious person interested in art, as it is also part of a gallery containing religious artwork and could be more interesting to a religious viewer. The museum as a whole is very complete and full of good artwork and presentation. It should be visited by anyone looking to view good artwork.