By Olivia Wells

I went to New York this summer to primarily see the Raphael exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But the trip became something much bigger than I expected — in large part because of what I learned in Dr. Mont Allen’s classes at the University of Arizona School of Art, where I’m an Art History major.

Everywhere I went, I found myself recognizing works I’d studied in his lectures. At the Met, I virtually moved through millennia. Ancient Greek pottery, Roman sarcophagi, Renaissance altarpieces, and Rococo interiors. Seeing these pieces in person was a completely different experience than seeing them on a screen. The brushwork, the scale, the way light moves across real paint. None of it translates the same way in a photograph.

The Vermeers were particularly striking in their quiet, glowing stillness, and the Rubens were so full of energy they seemed alive. The Raphael exhibition itself was breathtaking, and it also featured works by Perugino and Da Vinci, which felt like an awesome bonus.

Some photos of Olivia’s trip

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I also followed Dr. Allen’s recommendation to visit the Frick Collection, and I’m so glad I did. Walking into the Fragonard room stopped me cold. I’d studied it for so long, yet I never imagined a single room could make me want to cry from sheer beauty. I stood before The Progress of Love, and it was everything he’d described and so much more. A burst of inspiration I wasn’t expecting.

At MoMA, I finally saw Monet’s Water Lilies and Van Gogh’s Starry Night in person. The scale of the Monet panels was more impressive than I’d imagined, and seeing the actual texture of Van Gogh’s paint up close made the work feel weirdly personal.

What struck me most was realizing how much of the trip was shaped by what Dr. Allen taught me. He gave me the tools to look at art with intention, to notice the small details and understand the context. Walking through those galleries felt like stepping into his lectures, but with everything rendered in real life. I came home with a full camera roll and a much deeper appreciation for what his teaching gave me.

If you ever have the chance to take one of Dr. Allen’s classes, I’d strongly encourage it. He has a way of changing how you see the world and you’ll carry that with you long after the semester ends.

Mont Allen, Assistant Professor of Practice
Classes he teaches in fall:
• ART 160D1: Art & Society in the Western Tradition
• ARH 201:  Survey of Western Art: Prehistoric through Gothic
• ARH 413C: 16th-Century Italian Renaissance Art
Classes he teaches in spring:
• ART 160D1: Art & Society in the Western Tradition
• ARH 202: Survey of Western Art:  Renaissance through Modern
• ARH 315: Baroque & Rococo Art