It's now my computer's wallpaper.
If any of you are into randomly looking at beautiful works of art, I highly recommend The Web Gallery of Art, which has high resolution images of thousands of pre-20th century pieces (with background/explanations).
When I find myself wanting to flee technology and find refuge in the unspoiled (well, relatively unspoiled) natural world of the pre-industrial age, I console myself with such things: the access we have to the world's artistic contributions--visual, literary, and musical; across time and geography--is astounding. I suppose there are in fact privileges that come with 21st century life. (Okay, hygienic, medical, and educational practices are a bit better, too... And maybe a few other things. But think of the night skies you would have been able to see.)
2 comments:
Beautiful.
True, the night skies would be much more spectacular without those pesky city lights. But my feelings about the night sky mirror your mixed feelings about making art universally accessible via technology. Without the industry that produced the streetlights, we would not have high-res close-up photos of the planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies; plus "street-level" views of the Moon, Mars, and Titan -- also universally accessible. :-)
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