Captivating

My favorite artist is Claude Monet. When I look at his paintings, I feel as though I am in the setting of the painting myself. I love how art an offer that kind of escape into another world- the world inside the painting. Although I especially love Monet's waterlily paintings, one Monet painting that I think illustrates this point well is La femme au métier (pictured below).

I love this painting because I feel it makes me feel like I am in the room with the artist. I want to walk up to him and see what he is painting. Monet's paintings captivate me and take me into the painting's world. They inspire me, and they invoke my curiosity.

Source: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/later/

Another painting that has the same effect is Las meninas by Diego Velazquez (pictured below). Every time I look at it, I feel as if I am in the room with the princess, her attendants, and the rest of the busy people and events going on in the room of the painting.

Source: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/V/velazquez/meninas.jpg.html

The captivating ability of art, to offer a short escape into another world, is my favorite thing about art. Many people find that books have this effect on them, but art can have the same effect. I love to sit or stand in front of a painting and just let it captivate me. Whether I fully understand its meaning or not, the painting can still have the ability to take me away from reality for just a moment.