The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons

THE LICTORS BRING TO BRUTUS THE BODIES OF HIS SONS

I write poetry, as many of you know. I often use great works of art for inspiration. This one I was never able to write a poem about. It is too ... it is too...

It is also a male experience, I cannot really get my mind around.

It is said that the full title of the painting, by Jacques Louis David, which I recently saw in the Louvres -- yes, we turned a corner on our tour and there it was -- is "Brutus Returning Home after Having Sentenced His Sons for Plotting a Tarquinian Restoration and Conspiring against Roman Freedom; the Lictors Bring their Bodies to be Buried."

The story is that Brutus, as you know, overthrew Caesar. He overthrew the monarchy and thereby established the Roman Republic. Then his sons turned around and plotted to assasinate Brutus, in order to restore the monarchy. As a judge, it was Brutus' job to render the verdict when his sons were caught. He condemned them to death.

In the painting, the lictors bring the bodies into the house. On the right are Brutus' wife, and probably the daughters-in-law, and maybe their daughter as well.

I use this painting in The EQ Course, where we analyze the painting. Why would David choose such a moment to paint? Because there can be few moments as horrible, so full of emotion, and it was worthy of his great talent. It is a moment of intense emotion frozen in time -- like a poem. We look at the postures, the expressions, the placement of the figures and practise finding the words (emotional expression). Look, for instance, at 'the hand that once ruled the world.' Look at Brutus' feet. See how he sits in the dark. And the look on his face; it is almost too much to bear.

There is a purpose to everything an artist does. The canvas is his; the topic is his. David puts the women on the right, in the light. He puts the man on the left in the dark. Why? Share your thoughts.

When taking the course, and working on this painting, one of my students wrote: "I never knew all that was in a painting. Thank you."

How can we thank the artists?

My Trip to Europe

GRAFFITI IS CONSIDERED A FORM OF SELF-EXPRESSION IN ITALY

I just got back from a trip to Europe, where we toured London, Paris, Lucerne, Florence and Rome. We hit the highlites, making notes for what we wanted to come back to.

The Top 10 Things I Learned

#10 - There are cultural differences, but there are also individual differences. On the whole, the French don't care much about rules, but our French Guide was the only one who said "If you aren't back on time I will leave without you and I will not come look for you."

#9 - It is not illegal to do graffitiin Italy. It is considered a form of self-expression.

#8 - Order your meat 2 degrees more well-done than you would in the US. 3 degrees more. i.e., if you want it "rare," say "well-done." I'm warning you. And don't ever order anything called "faux filet."

#7 - Everything in London is about 3 men: Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Napoleon Bonaparte. Understandably.

#6 - Our guide considered Nero's "fiddling while Rome burned," to be "urban renewa;" on the part of Nero. Ouch.

#5 - I M Pei built the most incredible underground city underneath the Louvre.

#4 - If you can drive the Champs d'Elysees you can drive anything.

#3 - The Autostradad del Sole, from Lucerne down to Rome, is an out-of-body experience.

#2 - Why did the US ever start allowing billboard?

and the #1 thing I learned -- a smile and quiet respect is the Universal Language.