The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by Ryan Brubaker
On a recent trip to Italy, I had the opportunity to reflect on Ayn Rand's philosophy of art while viewing many of the famous works displayed in Italy's major cities. I have very little, if any, expertise in the technical aspects of art or expertise in art history. I have also never read The Romantic Manifesto, so my understanding of Ayn Rand's philosophy of art is limited to her novels and some of her other non-fiction works. However, it did not take a trained eye to see the different emotions and sense of life reflected in certain pieces, and to grasp the basic lessons Ayn Rand teaches in her philosophy of art.
The Ugly
Our last stop in Italy was Venice, where my wife and I decided to take a break from the Renaissance era and visit the Peggy Guggenheim museum. A gallery of modern art, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum displayed many works that were a stark contrast to most of the paintings and sculptures we saw earlier in the trip. The pieces displayed there ranged from the meaningless, to the bizarre, to the anti-life. The featured exhibit displayed the works of an artist whose "art" consisted of a sheet-metal type canvas with slashes cut into it. According to the display presentation, the artist used this style as a way to express man's fight against "the infinite."
There was one particular painting that made an impression on me during our visit to this museum, mostly for the symbolism I attached to the painting. It brought to my mind a Bible verse I remembered from my youth and the irony of this one painting standing out as something worth my attention, among all the other pieces: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men...
Matthew 5:14-16
The Bad
I was anticipating that our visit to the Colosseum would be one of my favorite parts of the trip. But much to my surprise, it left me in a dark mood. As a structure, the Colosseum was certainly impressive, especially as we viewed it from afar as we traveled through Rome. However, I felt quite a different feeling once inside the arena. Along the outer perimeter of the Colosseum are several jail-like cells where those facing their death in the arena were probably kept. Inside the arena, I couldn't help but picture fifty thousand people cheering wildly as they watched people being torn apart by wild animals or as they viewed two gladiators needlessly fighting to their deaths. It was hard to imagine a culture that would allow the construction of such an impressive structure, yet use it for such barbaric events.
The Good
The Peggy Guggenheim Museum and the Colosseum however, were minor diversions from what was mainly a trip filled with amazing sights. I was most impressed by the sheer size, combined with the intricate details, of some of the famous buildings we toured such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Duomo and the Doge Palace. The Trevi Fountain was especially breathtaking. Some of my other favorite works from the trip were Michelangelo's Pieta, The Birth of Venus, Venus of Urbino and Incarnation.
Although many of the pieces we saw had religious themes, they still reflected a reverence for life and a mastery of skill that stirred up strong emotions within me. It was evident the artists viewed man as a subject worthy of art and wanted to reflect some of his best attributes within their works.
The Beautiful
Of all the great artwork I viewed in Italy, there was one particular piece that stood out above all the rest, Michelangelo's David. Pictures of the statue I had previously seen did nothing to prepare me for the magnificence of the statue when viewing it in person. Housed in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, the statue sits at the end of a long hallway underneath a large dome. Several unfinished statues by Michelangelo line the hallway leading up to David, allowing one to get a sense of just how much work goes into transforming a block of marble into a masterpiece.
The statue itself is almost pure white with a level of detail that is simply amazing. I couldn't help but peer up at the statue, expecting it to come to life and break free from its pedestal. From the perfectly sculpted muscles, to the veins in his arms, to the toenails and fingernails, no detail seemed to be overlooked. The statue overpowered everything else in the room and I was very surprised to learn afterwards that it is only fourteen feet tall. I would have guessed at least twenty.
No piece of art has ever aroused so much wonder and emotion in me than this statue. I have never seen anything before that I could have described as perfect, but David appeared flawless. While viewing the statue, I pictured Michelangelo at his work with the same sentiments as Ayn Rand, "my goal in sculpting is to project my vision of an ideal man: not man as he is, but man as he might and ought to be."
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