Today we visited one of our many historical landmarks on our campus here at Roehampton University.To which we got to visit a beautiful room known as the Adams room.
The room was named after Mr. Robert Adam, which contributed much to the Neoclassical artictecturhe, interior and furniture designer not only here in London but also in Scotland were he was originally from. Mr. Adam had a passion for creating chimney pieces and we are so lucky to have one them here on our campus. One of the main reason that everyone fell so in love with Robert Adam's chimney displays were displayed to a larger group of the public, not just the very wealthy could have a Adam's chimney piece. On the website Thistle and Rose which best describes Adam's style of chimney piece by saying:
"The symbol which, above all others, was to characterise this radical change was the mantelpiece which bears his name. While Adam's wealthy patrons continued to favour expensive chimneypieces of monumental statuary marble, either inlaid or meticulously carved, there was another kind of demand on the rise, and it came from a burgeoning professional and merchant class which believed that it too had the right to aspire to good taste in architectural matters. This was a clientele of means, rather than a rich elite, and its spending power, while substantial, had its limits. Their number included artisans, clergymen, shopkeepers, professors, doctors, prosperous widows, and the sons of minor landowners. For them, neoclassicism symbolised cultural advancement and defined Scotland as a progressive country in the mainstream of universal enlightened learning."
The images displayed on our very own Adam's chimney were that of Hercules with Vice and Virtue. Lets talk a bit about Vice and Virtue. In one of the many obstacles Hercules must face, he is made to choose a path, a path of Vice or Virtue. Vice being the easier path full of overindulgence but that perhaps might not lead to victory, or Virtue a more "truthful" harder working way that could lead to a better outcome. Depicted very well in the Adam's Room chimney piece.
While Virtue is looking strong with her armor, hand up as if leading the way, Vice is on the other side sitting, leaning her breast more towards Hercules. Then there is Hercules in the middle stance between these two women his club more towards Vice and the bare of his skin more toward Virtue. Although Hercules appears to be to leaning more toward Vice, with a greater look, it seems to me that he is more putting up a guard and trying put up a barrier between himself and Vice. Where as because his skin is bare towards Virtue is shows more trust in her, that Hercules doesn't need to protect himself away from Virtue. That he knows that Virtue is the "better" choice.
Why is it so bad to choose more into Vice. Without looking it this with a religious background, she is not offering him a better outcome, but is that not what life is about? Taking that risk? I don't understand why Vice is so misconstrued for being so less of a person? Why because she is a women and she flaunts her sexuality? Maybe if women would have been more praised for owning their own sexuality in the Grecian and Neoclassical times the chimney piece wouldn't be portraying Vice in still this negative light?
Later in the middle of the week our class got to see a hidden Neoclassical Temple, that sadly has been very much run down. The school is trying to save this gem, but unfortunately there just is not any funds for restoration right now in the schools budget. The temple has literally been kept hidden to try and preserve it as much as possible from vandals. It was such a thrill to get to see and sad at the same time because to see pictures of how great it looked a 100 years ago to the life the temple lives now is truly disheartening. How does this relate back back to Vice and Virtue? For me it stands for the unknowing, we have this once very beautiful temple that has now been all but destroyed, my point is that if you choose the said virtue path you still don't know for sure the ending of your story, if you choose said Vice path the wrong path you could have the happiest of ending or perhaps the sadist of ending, like our said temple.
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