History is how we have learnt to think about ourselves. It's not as though the Greeks and Romans are static entities out there to be discovered and translated. We make them speak, we talk to them, and they inform what we say.
Mary BeardRead
I think most people gain some sense of how to look at a painting, but no one ever teaches you how to look at a piece of silver.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that while people learn to appreciate art, they often lack guidance in understanding the intricacies of less recognized forms of beauty, like silverware.
Mary Beard's quote points out a gap in art education: while many are taught to appreciate paintings, the nuances of appreciating other artistic forms, such as silver craftsmanship, go largely unaddressed. This reflects a broader commentary on how society often overlooks the significance of various art forms and the need for a deeper, more inclusive understanding of creativity.
Themes
ArtAppreciationSilverBeautyCraftsmanship
In practice
Example use cases
In an art appreciation class, when discussing the nuances of different mediums, this quote can highlight the importance of diverse artistic forms.
More from Mary Beard
All quotes →I don't think that we are completely dominated by what we have inherited from the past, but it is the case that as far back as you can go - just to Homer, but also to the literature of Rome, the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance - what you will find is that women's voices are not taken seriously.
Mary BeardRead
What politicians do is they never get the rhetoric wrong, and the price they pay is they don't speak the truth as they see it. Now, I will speak truth as I see it, and sometimes I don't get the rhetoric right. I think that's a fair trade-off.
Mary BeardRead
I'd quite like to be in Caligula's court - living in the back room somewhere and just being able to observe.
Mary BeardRead
Whatever you say about popular culture, people like people who know things, who are experts, and it doesn't particularly matter what they look like.
Mary BeardRead
There is no way, absolutely no way, that I would want people to stop reading the 'Odyssey.' But I want them to read it with their eyes open. To notice it and then to think what it says about us.
Mary BeardRead
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