21 Days, 3 Credits, Eternal Memories

Rome via Brooklyn

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    fannie

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    Day 4: beauty, symbols, and scale

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    Today Dakota, Lucy, Paola, and I took the 8 bus to meet everyone at the Piazza del Campidoglio by 9am. The bus was running a bit late so we started to worry, but we still made it a couple minutes early. Going up the cordonata (the slanted ramp like stairs) leading up to the Piazza, I enjoyed being greeted by these huge Colossal statues of Castor and Pollux with their Horses, with Marcus Aurelius on horseback(replica) and his philosopher beard slowly coming into view. I like horses so it’s nice being surrounded by so many horse statues. The Colossal statues are “originally monoliths of Greek (Pentelic) marble, 5.5 and 5.8 m high respectively”(Claridge). Creating that scale from one piece of marble seems unbelievable, but the size of these sculptures is a big part of what gives them great emotional power. I have been feeling moved by beauty many times already during this trip, and I think the scale and detail of the art and architectural pieces is a big part of this effect. I still love all the tiny stuff though! Professor Yarrow then did a quick lesson on this Piazza that was designed by Michelangelo and it was refreshing to hear her take on Marcus Aurelius. I always felt a bit bad that I didn’t study his writings because he is considered thee philosopher-emperor. But it was not surprising being told that an emperor of Rome justified authority systems and detachment from the suffering caused by inequality through his meditations.

    Hamood told us about the anatomically accurate vein placement on the divine twins horses.

    It was also interesting to learn that the reclining pose is seen as the personification of a river. I love bodies of water, swimming in lakes and such. This resting position truly does feel relaxing, just like the water. I like finding out what are considered symbols for things that I value. This also happened later in the day with the Winged Psyche statue inside the Capitoline Museum. I didn’t know butterflies were symbolic of the human psyche, and I love butterflies and am very interested in the human psyche! I titled one of the first songs I released “Though I am a Butterfly” and didn’t really know what I meant by that, it just felt right. It felt like a full circle moment learning about the Winged Psyche statue and how the butterfly represents the human soul.

    Personification of the Tiber River
    Winged Psyche
    A butterfly being placed into a childs head to finish creating him. This is from a relief on a child sarcophagus
    Saint Sebastian by Baroque painter Guido Reni
    Yarrow inspired us to replicate during our medieval hunt after class was over. Seeing the difference between my pose and his really does highlight the beautiful intricacy of body placement/movement in Sebastians pose.
    Dakota beautifully replicating Blessed Soul by Guido Reni

    6 responses to “Day 4: beauty, symbols, and scale”

    1. Liv Yarrow Avatar
      Liv Yarrow

      The Soul theme from butterflies to the last photo created a poignant throughline for your reflections. Just beautiful.

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    2. paoladvalentin Avatar
      paoladvalentin

      Hi Fannie! It was so funny to recount our terror with the bus, I remember feeling so afraid it wasn’t going to come and we would be super late, I also remember the relief I felt when we arrived to the Capitoline on time! What you say about the largeness of the statues is very interesting regarding their large size and evoking a great emotional power as well. Something I wondered about size was if the emotional power being evoked was a power over me because they were so large and I felt so small in comparison. I, like you, also loved learning that butterflies are indicative to the human psyche. The frailty and the delicateness of the human condition but also as a power when seen next to the imagery of these powerful gods. It makes for an interesting comparison. Every time I see a butterfly on the trip now I think of that lesson.

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    3. dakota kanouse Avatar
      dakota kanouse

      Hi fannie 🙂 before professor Yarrow had mentioned it I did not know that Marcus Aurelius was a very philosophical emperor. I personally haven’t read much philosophical writings but I would also be interested to read some his philosophical ideas to see how he justified some of his actions as an emperor.

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    4. ardenbelinsky Avatar
      ardenbelinsky

      Fannie! I love seeing your interest on the winged psyche and your tattoo! I think it’s definitely something to look into later, and I love that full circle moment. The posing in front of the medieval art is so cool I love the way it highlights the body movement, like you said, but also how similar we are to the past!

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    5. Safa Hidais Avatar
      Safa Hidais

      Hi Fannie!! I really enjoyed reading your post. I loved how you pointed out the little details that most of us probably walked right past. I honestly never would’ve connected the butterfly symbolism the way you did, and I thought that was really cool, especially since it tied into your own music. I also had no idea how huge those marble statues actually were until Professor talked about them. Reading your post made me appreciate these little moments even more 🙂

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    6. hamood92306 Avatar
      hamood92306

      I love that you pointed out the capillaries and veins on the horse statue! It’s such a small detail but it adds so much life. I also agree thoroughly that the body lines found in a lot of older paintings/sculptures are so impressive. It’s often hard to replicate the pose in real life, even if anatomically accurate!

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