The Speed Art Museum was built in 1927 and is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The museum has a distinguished collection of 17th Century Dutch and Fleming paintings, 18th Century French art, Renaissance and Baroque tapestries, a lot of contemporary American paintings and sculptures, as well as African and Native American works. I was very impressed with the layout of the museum and how the parking lot area and the museum grounds are very well kept. I should add that the personnel was very courteous.
             My favorite painting was "Adoration of the Shepherds" by Paolo de Matteis. The painting shows Christ soon after birth, the shepherds, and some stable animals. It shows how the shepherds were led by the angels to the manger to praise and pay homage to the baby Jesus who radiates a miraculous glowing light. The whole painting is so alive; Virgin Mary beside baby Jesus in the manger is the pure reflection of happiness and hope for the world. I believe this represents the salvation of humans through Jesus Christ.
             There were some other paintings that caught my attention; one, in particular, was called "The Newspaper Boy." The painting seems to come alive as if the boy was going to walk out of the painting. The colors are vivid and flow into each other effortlessly with no apparent seams or edges. The details of the background are dramatic in every detail; the painter didn't miss anything from the snowflakes to the street lamps to the curding with gutters.
             Along with all of the paintings, there is a large variety of other art such as vases, urns, bowls, sculptures, masks, tapestries, and headdresses. These items ranged from early human to American Indian with items from almost every era in history. There were also some modern works placed throughout the museum at various points so as not to interfere with the timeline of each area.
             The painting that I disliked the most was "A Dutch Magistrate" by Jan Versprouch. This painting...