On our first day in London, we visited the British Museum , which had every kind of art from every century and from all corners of the globe. We were asked to explore for a while and find a price that really spoke to us and then thoughtfully observe for while, and figure out what it meant. As I explored all the halls and rooms, it was clear that any piece of art could have been a favorite because all of them were incredible, but I couldn't seem to choose one that really spoke to me. Then, as we were walking out, I saw it. A grand, white, marble horse with a rider was standing all by itself on the left side of the atrium. I walked closer as I discovered it must be my favorite piece.
It doesn't have a name or an artist. The information card simply says, "marble statue of a youth on horseback", and says that it's a Roman sculpture from the first century. I have always loved Roman art and studied Latin for 7 years so I have become quite familiar with it. It amazes me the way sculptors with such primitive tools could create these masterpieces that perfectly depict the human form, and hair and draped fabric. To think that something so great started from a single block granite is unreal. This statue couldn't have been any more beautifully done.
The most intriguing part of the statue to me though, wasn't it's beauty though, it was it's loneliness. There were hundreds of other Roman sculptures in the designated Rome room on the other side of the atrium that we're being ogled at by every guest, and yet here this one was, in the middle of the atrium, probably placed there because of it's immaculate beaut, and people were walking by, not even glancing at the amazing work in front of them. I think this intrigues me because it says so much about the way people have become. If it's not in a glass case, or behind the fenced off line, it's not worth looking at. People would sooner stare at their phones as they walk through an art museum, than pick up their heads and appreciate the architecture, or anything unexpectedly beautiful, like my statue.
Written by Jordan
It doesn't have a name or an artist. The information card simply says, "marble statue of a youth on horseback", and says that it's a Roman sculpture from the first century. I have always loved Roman art and studied Latin for 7 years so I have become quite familiar with it. It amazes me the way sculptors with such primitive tools could create these masterpieces that perfectly depict the human form, and hair and draped fabric. To think that something so great started from a single block granite is unreal. This statue couldn't have been any more beautifully done.
The most intriguing part of the statue to me though, wasn't it's beauty though, it was it's loneliness. There were hundreds of other Roman sculptures in the designated Rome room on the other side of the atrium that we're being ogled at by every guest, and yet here this one was, in the middle of the atrium, probably placed there because of it's immaculate beaut, and people were walking by, not even glancing at the amazing work in front of them. I think this intrigues me because it says so much about the way people have become. If it's not in a glass case, or behind the fenced off line, it's not worth looking at. People would sooner stare at their phones as they walk through an art museum, than pick up their heads and appreciate the architecture, or anything unexpectedly beautiful, like my statue.
Written by Jordan