Early in the morning, on the verge of opening up, art museums around the world await visitors. In the galleries, in hallways lined with portraits, paintings, sculptures and statues, unobtrusive, uniformed security guards take their positions.
Standing this close for hours at a time, guards develop an intimate relationship with the museum’s artists and their work. In silent reflection, with the time to consider techniques, skill and the feelings they invoke, the guards develop favorites among the paintings and objects that might not be the museum’s most well-known or splashiest pieces.
We asked five guards at five of the world’s most renowned museums to share their favorite pieces and why. They find them deeply meaningful, and you might, too.
— NEW YORK
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Emilie Lemakis: ‘Seated Figure’
I’ve worked at the Met for 29 years; I’ve never even applied for any other job. So I’ve been looking at the African sculpture “Seated Figure” for many, many years. He’s from the 13th century, he’s very powerful and poetic, and on his back he has these markings; it looks like he’s been through affliction. He sort of speaks to me, saying, “What I have endured, I have survived; the pain is behind me, and now it decorates me.” He’s so ancient, and he survived, even just being here in the museum.
Being a security guard means having a job you can care about but won’t take over your life. It’s not going to steal your soul. You take off your uniform, you leave, and then you have your life. I think a lot of people work here because they just want to make a living and be surrounded by art, so it attracts a lot of creative people. I myself make a lot of art about my job. We have this employee art show, and I created pieces for it that are about the museum. Once, I collected a whole bunch of late slips — when you’re late, you get this yellow slip — to make a big paper airplane.
— MÁLAGA, SPAIN
Picasso Museum
Auxi Roca: ‘Woman with Raised Arms’
I always say you don’t have to like Picasso, but you can’t deny that he was a revolutionary artist. That’s something I really love about him — he wanted to break the rules, and he completely revolutionized the concept of art.
For “Woman with Raised Arms,” he mixed the paint with sand to create a special texture. I think Picasso felt very free in this period. His style here, it’s so personal. I can also really see the influence of African art; I just love its exciting colors and emotions. I’m a person who’s very interested in emotions. If I could go back in time, I might have studied something else and become a therapist. When I’m in the museum, I try to connect my interest in emotions and therapy to the art I see there.
Sometimes people come in, and they worry that they don’t know anything about art. And I always say: “But you can feel! You don’t need to know art, you need to feel art.” And I think you can feel Picasso’s art quite easily. I don’t think it’s all that difficult to find Picasso’s personality in his paintings. We think of Picasso as an artist, but I think of him like a person — just like you and me.
— LONDON
The Victoria & Albert Museum
Eleanor George: ‘Centrepiece’
“Centrepiece,” by Alfred Gilbert, was presented to Queen Victoria as a Golden Jubilee gift. It’s such a fascinating piece — not just because of its construction but because of how you can read so much about the artist’s life in his work. You can tell he’s English.
You can get to know an artist through their work, and sometimes you can see yourself reflected in their lives, even if they lived in a completely different time. It’s like reaching across to somebody and knowing that you’re the same, and people always will be the same, whether it’s a little pot from 6,000 years ago or something that was made yesterday. I just think there’s something really beautiful about that kind of timeless, boundary-less connection that comes with passion and creativity.
I seek art in every kind of facet of my life. I went to art school and graduated during the economic downturn around 2010. You know, it was difficult to get jobs, to try to find a way. Working at the V & A was a dream come true, because finally I could have a job which complemented the way I work, which is to learn as much as possible, to draw as much inspiration as possible and to really become deeply intimate with the craft. Seeing all of the works of hundreds of thousands of artists represented just reminds me of the reason for being: that it’s worth being creative, no matter how the pressures of everyday life make you feel.
— PARIS
Musée d’Orsay
Fan He: Monet’s ‘Nymphéas Bleus’
Art is my favorite thing in the world. I’m from China; I came to Paris in 2009 to study art. I had a job in graphic design, but it was stressful. So I quit. My friend, who is an artist, suggested trying to work in an art museum. This way I can surround myself with art.
Claude Monet is my favorite artist, and my favorite painting here is “Nymphéas Bleus” — the water lilies, his most famous one. Monet was obsessed with water lilies. He depicted all the charm of water, and the relationship between the water and the water lilies. He has his own style and painting technique. I like nature, so I’m drawn to his flowers and use of colors. The colors change with the change of light in his paintings.
I’ve worked here for four years now, and I’m always so happy to enhance visitors’ experience here. It’s my favorite museum in the world.
— AMSTERDAM
Van Gogh Museum
Mohammed Boukhrouf: ‘The Potato Eaters’
I always loved to draw, ever since I was 4 years old. When I was 12, I got into an accident. I could no longer play outside, play soccer or run — even walking was difficult. That lasted two years. I sought refuge in the library. In old history books, I saw paintings by Rembrandt and other artists from that period. When I got to impressionism, I just loved it. The use of paint, those colors; it really appealed to me.
“The Potato Eaters” is the painting that introduced me to van Gogh. It made me delve into impressionism. Van Gogh had a completely different style from other impressionists. As soon as school was out, I’d go to the library to bring those books home and try to draw the paintings myself. I was alone; it was basically my whole world. I’d fantasize that I’d become a painter myself, but my father didn’t care for that.
When I started working here a year and a half ago, that interest for art got rekindled. Vincent van Gogh is like a childhood friend of mine. His story, the battle he fought, it touches me. Now it feels like he’s my employer. That’s how I look at it, anyway. — NYT
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