No More Notebooks: How Our Tour of the British Museum Brought History to Life

       Hey guys, Nina & Emma Clark here! Today was our third day in London and we had the absolute pleasure of visiting one of the most iconic places in London: The British Museum. Being two art history nerds (shout out to Robert Womack), we were already “fangirling” over the thought of seeing some of our favorites pieces out of the required works of the AP Art History course.



       First of all, the British Museum itself is beautiful and massive in size. Right away we recognized some familiar pieces we had previously studied. As we walked into the first exhibit, we were greeted by two monstrous lamassus from the Assyrian Empire, a class favorite. Talking about their size in class was one thing, but seeing their scale in person was breathtaking. Mary Haden Pickel, a fellow art history pupil, states, “As I approached the lamassu, I felt inferior. Like I was nothing.” What a way to kick off our British Museum experience!

       Leaving the Assyrian age behind us, we walked into the Greco-Roman exhibition area and were simply taken aback by what we saw first: sculpture from the frieze and pediment of the Parthenon. We were struck by the replicated arrangement of the sculpture, which made it feel as if you were at the Acropolis yourself. Even though some of the figures weren’t completely whole, we could still feel the raw emotion and triumph that the figures were meant to communicate. Needless to say, many pictures and selfies were taken.

       Despite the jaw-dropping works we had already seen, there was still one that lingered in the back of our minds: The Standard of Ur. This was one of the works we had studied extensively in class, and we felt as though we knew every aspect of the work. However, finding it was quite the challenge.
Maps in hand and painfully unafraid to ask everyone we saw where it was located, we set out on an expedition to find our beloved Standard. We felt as though we had walked miles around the museum before we asked one final employee for its whereabouts. It was right behind us. We had walked past it several times. Despite its grandeur of symbolism, let’s just say it was smaller than we expected. Once we finally found it, it was so fun to recall all the details that we learned about it in class. Terms such as “hierarchy of scale”, “lapis lazuli”, and “registers” were thrown around in our lively observations of the piece. Seeing the Standard of Ur was not only a highlight of the day, but the whole trip thus far!
       In conclusion, our visit to the British Museum brought our hours of studying and pages of notes to life. It made clear to us the purpose of Winterim as experiences such as these enhance the value of our wonderful education.

Cheers!
Nina Petro & Emma Clark Luster c/o '19