Continuing to use the free time made available by retirement and the time at home encouraged by the commonsense response to Covid-19, my wife and I participated in a recent Zoom art class with six sessions. This was the most recent of a series we had previously attended in person. For me this represents an attempt to fill educational holes in my educational experiences.
It’s working. I have greatly enjoyed and benefited from the time spent. The instructor is a major component of the experience. He’s informed, knows how to engage his audience and is enthusiastic. I am now able to look at, appreciate and understand paintings of earlier years, especially those from the Renaissance and the 19th century. The important benefit for me is not the learning of dry facts but how to genuinely appreciate and enjoy the art. My wife and I got so energized by the exposure to the art of Michelangelo and Raphael that we took a pre-virus tour of Italy (starting in Malta and ending in Rome) with Tauck so that we could take part in a special tour of the Sistine Chapel after regular visiting hours. Only our group and one other—perhaps 50 people all told—had an hour in the chapel. An overwhelming experience.
A surprising benefit of the art course has been an opportunity to explore the history, especially the cultural history, of the times when the art was being created. I especially appreciated being exposed to the history of France during the 19th century as regimes, presidents, and kings came and went. Wish I had taken the opportunity to seek this education earlier.
