Feb. 10, 2024
By Dana Treier
Webmaster
Thirty students from Mr. Raguseo’s Italian IV-Honors Middle College class and the International Culture Club, which is advised by Spanish teacher Ms. Veiga, came together on Jan. 12 to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Raguseo said he and Veiga organized the field trip to the Met, as it is commonly called, to expand students’ appreciation for global cultures.
“It is important to be exposed to different cultures and forms of arts because it makes you respectful, appreciative and accepting of other people along with their talents and accomplishments,” Raguseo said. “Hopefully, the students who [went on] this trip realized that there is world-class art close to where they live and take advantage of all the attractions a major city, such as New York City, has to offer.”
Raguseo said his favorite part of the field trip was observing the awe on his students’ faces when they entered the first gallery they visited. The gallery, which consists of Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art, contains the genre of artwork the students learned about when studying the Italian Renaissance in his class.
“It was the first time many of these students saw such art in person, so it was very rewarding for me to make this experience happen for them,” Raguseo said.
Senior Isabella Guzman, who is vice president of the International Culture Club, said she was eager to go on the field trip because she wanted to learn about new cultures and explore a variety of artwork.
“It was the first time many of these students saw such art in person, so it was very rewarding for me to make this experience happen for them.”
“With billions of people and hundreds of countries full of such rich histories, there is absolutely something to be taught and learned from everyone,” Guzman said.
She said she especially enjoyed learning about the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome.
“The old artifacts and statues were super interesting. One of my favorite parts was seeing the Egyptian jewelry [and learning] that Egypt was ready to flood an area for irrigation systems, and museums around the world wanted to save some of the ancient artifacts,” Guzman said.
She said there is a lot to explore, learn and see at the museum, which is the fourth largest in the world.
“[My classmates and I were] trying to walk as fast as we could to see as many paintings as possible within the half hour we had left,” Guzman said. “Everyone was calling out across the group that they had found a [Claude] Monet or [Pablo] Picasso painting, and it was pretty entertaining.”
Senior Sophia Turano, who is in Mrs. Almeida’s Art III and Raguseo’s Italian IV-Honors Middle College class, said she enjoyed the Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman and European Art exhibits the most.
However, she said her favorite piece of art was Emanuel Leutze’s painting depicting George Washington crossing the Delaware River, which is part of the museum’s collection of American artwork.
“[The painting] was absolutely gigantic and very artistically detailed in depth and perspective,” Turano said.
She said she recommends others visit the museum because it contains over 5,000 years of well-preserved global art for people to enjoy.
“The art was really great to see in person. It can’t really compare to a photograph of it,” Turano said. “It’s definitely worth a visit…. I would 100% visit again.”
