Rosetta Stone English British Level 1-5 Torrent
George Bradley
The museum was concerned about heavy bombing in London towards the end of the First World War in 1917, and the Rosetta Stone was moved to safety, along with other portable objects of value. The stone spent the next two years 15 m (50 ft) below ground level in a station of the Postal Tube Railway at Mount Pleasant near Holborn.[53] Other than during wartime, the Rosetta Stone has left the British Museum only once: for one month in October 1972, to be displayed alongside Champollion's Lettre at the Louvre in Paris on the 150th anniversary of the letter's publication.[50] Even when the Rosetta Stone was undergoing conservation measures in 1999, the work was done in the gallery so that it could remain visible to the public.[54]
May 11th, 2017
Today my group walked to The National Gallery and arrived around 10 AM. I was never much of a fine art fan, but I decided to enter the museum with as little reservation as possible as to what the experience would hold. One of the first things I noticed when entering the gallery was that a majority of the paintings subjects were Christian in nature. I enjoyed these paintings the most. Many different painters had scenes of the nativity, the crucifixion of Jesus, and St. Jerome. These paintings I had no problem taking a few minutes and really looking into them and admiring the work of the artists.
One thing Peter and I noticed and discussed was the contrast of the christian and mythological paintings on display in the gallery. One room in particular had two large paintings one a picture of Christ, and one being a mythological scene. We also noticed the level of detail in specific paintings, and how the closer you got the more you could notice. I can only imagine how much time must have been spent on many of the works. We also are both James Bond fans and had to stop in the gallery that appeared in "Skyfall" to recreate the scene.
After looking at very detailed paintings is was hard to believe that some paintings in the gallery can be considered masterpieces. Specifically the Monet gallery left me underwhelmed. I understand the difference between realism and impressionist works, but I still wasn't that impressed. The one thing that did impress me was the way that painters with only dots could create a keen sense of depth in their work. Overall I enjoyed my time in the gallery, however, it wasn't my favorite attraction I have visited so far.
Nothing in the gallery related to my milestones, but this makes sense because the works there are not from the time periods my milestones cover.
May 12th, 2017
Today my group and I walked to the British Museum and entered right around 10 AM. After the typical bag search we entered the museum to a large central room. We walked by a shop that caught our eye as it had numerous items for sale with a Rosetta stone print. We all had a laugh and thought some of the items were "over the top." Funny enough we decided first to stop at the ancient Egypt exhibit. As we walked through the door we were greeted by none other than the Rosetta stone itself. This was the one piece on display that I wanted to see the most. I have memories of writing a paper on the Rosetta stone at some point in my previous schooling. I know that it unlocked languages to historians that were previously thought dead and I understand the importance of a find like that. We continued to walk through the Egypt exhibit after stopping at the stone.
We then wandered into the Greece area of the museum, and I was impressed by the collection of items they had. Then I thought of the phrase "the sun never sets on the British Empire", and I really realized that by looking at all the different items they had. The British Empire was all over the globe at points concurring lands so it makes sense that they would have brought back and had access to so much global history. They even had items from North America, and this made perfect sense because I assume at least a portion of the items were sent back when the original colonies were still controlled by the crown.
We continued to walk through other exhibits including one on the enlightenment. I was very impressed by the collection of different artifacts they had. One thing I was really impressed by was the craftsmanship in miniature wood carvings. They held interesting designs including one of the last supper that was really well done. That was one theme I had when walking around the museum was the level of craftsmanship that all the different civilizations had around the world through history. I think today's world is more driven by technological advancements and craftsmanship today is less artistic and more practical. Overall I enjoyed my time in the British Museum admiring their large collection.
I didn't see any exhibits that relate to my milestones, but it is a large museum and I did not get a chance to see all of it.
May 22nd, 2017
Today our group visited the Imperial War Museum. We arrived a little late due to a slight travel mishap, but we arrived a little after 10 AM and began our exploration of the museum. Immediately after walking through the door I could see fighter jets hanging from the ceiling and I was hooked. The amount of vehicles, War memorabilia, and weapons was astounding. One of the most interesting exhibits was the Family in Wartime exhibit. It really brought the war to a level that I could understand living in.
I find it ironic the contrast of how terrible war is to live in, but how enjoyable I find learning about war to be. War is terrible, but how important it is to preserve freedom. I had the thought while walking through the museum of how the world might look today if no one had ever fought back. I think there is something to be said about human nature and how it is resolved to resisting the will of those who are believed to be in the wrong.
One thing I found to be most annoying regarding the museum was the amount of Churchill literature available. I felt this way because I made a point to visit the Churchill war rooms early on while doing milestone 1 so that I could get books and was disappointed with what I found. However this museum, not focused on Churchill, had scores of books dedicated to Churchill.
I found my time at the war museum to be very enjoyable. Following leaving the museum I met up with my family to spend some time with them before heading back to the flat to continue work.
June 2nd, 2017
Today our group visited the Wallace Collection. We left from the flat at 9:30 took the tube, and arrived around 10 AM. I had briefly looked at the website the night before and saw that it was a large collection of fine assorted pieces. After checking our bags we began to look around the home that now had been converted to house the collection as a museum. Everything was very ornate, and it didn't take long for me to realize that whoever Wallace was he must have come from considerable wealth to amass such a elaborate collection. I began on the ground floor and began to work my way around. I saw paintings from the 16th century, religious statues, and even pocket sundials with compasses so that they could be properly oriented. The variety of items was the most impressive thing about the collection. Items from all over the world were on display.
Then I got up on the second level and began to admire the artwork on display. There were lots of religious, British, and European scenes depicted. One group mate engaged a curator asking about the origins of the collection. She began to tell us the story of how a family began collecting the items on display today. The family passed the collection down for many generations until there was only an illegitimate heir. This man's last name was Wallace and he continued to collect until he died childless, and his wife set up the museum in his name after his passing. I thought this was a really captivating story and that it really brought more meaning to the museum. We thanked her for telling us the history and continued onward.
We then made it back down to the ground floor where the armory was held. This was my favorite of the displays in the museum. After seeing this armor up close I began to think of it's practical applications in battle. I can't even imagine trying to fight in armor against another armored soldier. I also enjoyed looking at the ornate firearms and thinking how rudimentary they are compared with modern arms. Once we had seen the entire collection we picked up our bags and left the museum. I traveled via tube to the British Library where I now intend to spend the rest of my day making significant milestone progress.