Roman Art

There's too many wonderful things to learn about and do! My latest obsession is Roman Art. I was very excited when I saw that an exhibit of Roman Art from the Louvre was coming to the Seattle Art Museum.

A few years ago I had the amazing experience of visiting some friends in England. It was a wonderful trip but I learned later what an opportunity I missed. I didn't spend any time learning about the art, history, architecture or other things I would be seeing in England before my trip. I was perfectly content with my experience at the time. It wasn't until I began to study art and history several months later that I realized how much art and history I had stood in front of without the ability to appreciate it. I was like a pig wallowing in creme brulee who couldn't tell the difference between it and Jello. I vowed to never make that mistake again.

So begins my study of Roman Art. I will be prepared when I come face to face with these treasures from the Louvre.

I started with a bunch of children's picture books on Roman Art, History, and Civilization. I've read through those and feel like I've got a basic understanding of things. Now I'm going to study the great Roman Classics. I'm getting my book titles from the list in the back of Mortimer J. Adler's classic work, How to Read a Book. The list is organized chronologically and includes what Adler considers to be the greatest books of the western world. He makes a compelling argument for reading and studying the books on this list. I hope to read them all. Right now I'm going to focus on the books written during and about the Roman Age. I'm beginning with Plutarch's Lives. I'll let you know how it goes...