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25 Merchant Taylors’ Prep School Newsletter - 17.05.2019 MTP Classics Y8 British Museum Visit We are blessed by having the British Museum almost on our doorstep. It is one of the world’s truly global museums, containing 8 million artefacts. Y8 explored the Parthenon Sculptures from several different perspectives. Mr McConnell focused on the political angle: where should the Sculptures be, in London or Athens? Is it still right for us to enjoy exhibits collected by the empires of the past? Mr McConnell also encouraged the boys to consider why the British Museum looks like the Parthenon in many ways. A key part of the visit was responding artistically to the beautiful Sculptures. All the boys had the opportunity to sketch a metope (a piece carved in high relief) of their choice in pencil. Mr Roach inspired, encouraged and gave feedback during this process. With Mr Waddington, the boys explored the history of the Parthenon, perhaps the most famous classical building. Y8 also learnt about why and how the building was constructed and decorated. We discussed how buildings are used to project power. We also examined the frieze, in low relief, of the Great Panathenaia procession, held every four years. We learnt about how the skilful carving gave the illusion of life and movement. After stopping off at the Rosetta Stone, Y8 enjoyed eating their lunch in the spectacular Great Court surrounded by visitors from all over the world. In the afternoon, we tried something different. We visited the Assyrian galleries which contained much older friezes commissioned by the brutal Assyrian kings. We contrasted these friezes with the classical ones we had seen before lunch. Mr Roach facilitated another sketching session, this time with charcoal. The boys picked their own lion from the famous lion hunt friezes to draw and colour. Thank you to Mrs Gadd, Mr Greenish, Mr McConnell and Mr Roach for leading with such enthusiasm. Richard Waddington Head of Classics