Day 17: An Art Piece

This one is really hard for me. Not because I have a lot of favorites, but because I don't have any favorites that I can think of off-hand. I really think anything can be considered art if you look at it long enough and with the right frame of mind. I do really like abstract photographs, like the one I posted previously. I think things that really catch a moment in someone's life or a mundane instant during the day are really the most beautiful pieces of art. 

What I think "art" comes down to is our desire to be eternal in one way or another. The great sculptors and painters will live forever, or as long as someone keeps admiring their work and talking about it. Their art may not last forever, but their legacy will live as long as just one person cares enough to care. 

When I was 13, I was blessed enough to be able to go on a tour of Switzerland, Italy, and France, and I fell in love with the Vatican. I'm not Catholic, but everything that I saw in the two days we spent there just blew my mind, even though I went in 1999 and everything was in scaffolding, as Rome and the Vatican were preparing for the new millennium. A couple years ago, my mom got me this book for Christmas. Now, I'm not really a fan of the "coffee table" book, but this is one that I really LOVE. Every piece of art presented in the book is just amazing. One thing that I really like about the book is that each painting is presented with detailed information: the painter, the commissioning Pope, the year commissioned and completed, the style....the list goes on. There's also a full chapter on the Sistine Chapel, which I think was probably my favorite part of Vatican City.

Now I've gone off on a total tangent.... I'm thinking I may have to dedicate a post to pictures and stories about my trip to Europe!