Why do we find modern cities so soul destroying? We look around and there’s quite a lot to draw the eye. The giant buildings rise to the heavens… the huge billboards are full of colour… and at nights the lights glitter. There’s a lot to gorge the senses.
But there seems to be very little of beauty. The buildings are boxes. All the art is meant to sell something. The rest of it is minimalist. It’s not supposed to get in the way of commercial enterprise. The result is a weary clichéd trampling of the spirit.
We would like to see a renaissance of beauty… objects appearing randomly in odd places that reward our glances with a something that evokes a gasp of surprise… a quickening of the pulse… a measured step… a more determined purpose. Imagine passing by the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius as it stood in the Piazza del Campidoglio. How could one not feel the Princeps’ power flow through one’s veins like hot blood? One might say of him as Pilate said of the Christ: Ecce Homo! Behold, the Man!
And thus we would like to recapture that reverence for beauty that was so apparent in past ages. We will wander through time looking for beautiful objects with the hope that, when discovered and contemplated, they will cast their awful power upon us. This store will be dedicated to unwrapping such gifts to the discerning eye. We’ll keep you posted on our discoveries.
Note: The original statue is now housed in the Musei Capitolini. A copy stands in the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill).