MY EXPERIENCE
I’ve visited The Met on numerous occasions since I was young, and never once did I know there was a library available to all of our use. The Thomas J. Watson Library introduced me to a wide variety of images and words in Le Diderot Encyclopédie. My experience looking at the book was quite intimate; I never thought I’d have a chance to read such an old book at such close proximity. I was able to examine each page individually and explore the book in the way I wanted, which I found very pleasing.
HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights of the various volumes I looked at include the vast folding pages that displayed larger images, and the more detailed images that had intricate drawings of the items they covered. I was intrigued by the techniques used in each of the drawings; many drawings displayed crosshatching and stippling as methods of shading.
MY WORDS
BEJEWELED
MOLD
CLOAK
I chose each of these words for various reasons. First, each of the items had a compelling image supplement in Le Diderot Encyclopédie. Visual attraction was my first reason for choosing all of these. I chose the Jeweler page specifically because the extensive array of jewels on the page drew me in. From there, I developed my choice of word “BEJEWELED.” I chose this word because it encompasses all of the items I saw on the page, and was the first thing I thought of when trying to find a word. I chose the section about sculpture because it was so vast. There was information about creating cast sculptures of arms, all the way to information about sculptures of horses. I found the many techniques and styles of sculpture very interesting. I chose the word “MOLD” for my sculpture pages because the sculpture techniques examined in the book included moldings and castings. Last, I chose the tailor because I felt a rather personal connection to the topic. I’m a fashion major; making clothes is what I do. Examining archaic practices of tailoring is something that interests me very much. The section in Le Diderot Encyclopédie that featured topics of tailoring drew me in and enlightened me to new sewing practices. I chose the word “CLOAK” for the tailoring section because it is a vast term that was one of the items displayed on the page.
