Review

I should probably say why on Earth I was reading this. Given I do not have an artistic background. And have only a passing interest in aesthetics. Well, it's silly. I don't recall how I originally found it, but I read this blog post and really liked the image used at the top. Particularly this fella.

He seemed so familiar, but I couldn't place it. That being said, he stuck in my mind as just this...really good shape. For a couple of days, I found that the image would return to me unbidden. Come to find out it's only one of the most famous pieces of ancient Greek sculpture, the Farnese Hercules. (Actually Roman, but thought to be a copy of a Greek original.) And I, the culturally deficient baboon that I was, didn't immediately recognize it as such.

On a lark, I decided to read the book the image actually came from. It was perfectly short. Also because I've taken a mild interest in art history recently. It didn't end up being all that interesting to me. A book on aesthetics is well outside of my wheelhouse. But I didn't mind following along with the pictures and seeing what Hogarth was saying. I can also pick out the grand and magical serpentine line now. He's not wrong, though. It does give an immediate sense of life and beauty that a more straight figure does not. An odd experiment on my part in branching out my literary tastes. But there is something there that I like. Looking at a piece of art while someone more knowledgeable about it breaks down its elements and its history is quite enjoyable.