January is a month of exciting read-a-longs for me and I’m particularly looking forward to getting started with Monuments Men. Not only am I co-hosting with the wonderful Jennifer at Bookalicious Mama, I’ve really been enjoying the book so far. Today I’ll be answering the first set of questions from Jennifer. If you want to join in, you can share you answers on her post here.
On page 20, Paul Sachs said: “If, in times of peace, our museums and art galleries are important to the community, in time of war they are double important.” Do you agree? And in present day life, does this still ring true? Are museums and art galleries important to the community?
Personally, I don’t think museums would be more important to me during a war, but I can certainly imagine some people finding comfort in art during such a trying time. In present day life, I’m not sure museums get the same number of visitors they used to, but I think that’s a shame. I think science and history museums are incredible educational resources for a community. The importance of art museums is less tangible, but they provide an enriching opportunity that I think people are the better for.
Do you feel the U.S. overreacted by evacuation and re-allocating key pieces of art in their art museums?
I’m not sure. I think it’s easy to say yes in retrospect, since obviously none of our museums were bombed. At the time though, I’m sure it seemed like a reasonable precaution. Had some of our museums ended up being bombed, we might be very grateful for that foresight today.
Page 23: “These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man’s creative power. They are expressions of faith, and they stand for man’s struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.” Do you agree with this statement?
I do. I think there’s an emotional impact when you look at a building or monument that’s existed longer than you have. These monuments tell us something about who we are and where we came from.
Do you think the library and art collections from Monte Cassino were saved or removed?
Since the author didn’t mention these treasures showing up later, I assumed they were destroyed. However, I cheated a little in answering this one and checked the wikipedia page. Fortunately, most of the art had been removed to the Vatican by the Germans before the bombing.
