‘Picture this’

Aristotle contemplating the bust of Homer

On this day in which I don’t feel inspired to read but to write I’d like again to present here a work of art that really impressed me. Although I still haven’t read Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch-22’ I tried to read another book of his- ‘Picture this’. I knew there are books which describe how an artist paints his pictures; however, I’d never imagined there might be a book which is organised like a painting- making you really feel as if you watch the painter apply the colours on different places on the canvas just wherever he want but not without a systematic approach- everything serves his genius. And it’s really impossible to believe that from the picture ‘Aristotle contemplating the bust of Homer’ the author succeeded to make so many implications not only for the world then and for the world long ago but also for the world now. A wondrous eclectic book combining insights on Rembrandt’s oeuvre and life, the legislation in Athens many centuries ago, the philosophy of Plato and Socrates and the present situation in the world, it has no plot but at the same time many different and complex plots, which overlap and at the end make an amazing work of art. As I said, it’s like a painting- it is static but implies motion, you can behold the separate details but it’s better to look from distance and really see it all, depending on the lights you see different aspects but still everything is beautiful and just ‘smells’ like genius.