Pictures

Test 3 Question 3

The artwork created between the 6^th and 15^th century while highly religious based, did show amazing craftsmanship, use of color, and architecture. The knowledge of the Italian renaissance masters is still very helpful today. I do not feel that these works and artists influence the theme of my art, as I tend to avoid religious themes, however one can learn a lot from there sense of color, composition, and technical skills. I can also look at these pieces and learn from past artists mistakes. In pieces such as Virgin and Child Enthroned I feel that the central composition is boring and others do a better job at being more engaging and exciting. The illuminated manuscript’s calligraphy was incredible and I hope to be able to incorporate more beautiful text into my work. I was very impressed by the pages from the Book of Kells at which I looked. I loved the red, red, and gold ink and paint combination found in the Book of Kells as well as many paintings during the 14^th and 15^th century. As an art student I do not currently see many contemporary artists drawing up renaissance themes for their works as the overly religious paintings and sculpture have “gone out of style” as the church is no longer the largest art patron. However to this day every artist studies or has studied the work of the Italian masters, as they are still being recognized as some of the best painters and sculptors that the world has ever seen.

Test 3 Question 2

The pieces that interested me the most were pieces such as David by Michelangelo and his later created The Creation of Adam. I found these the most interesting as they were pieces that I Had heard of seen before throughout my entire life, to now understand their backgrounds and meaning was very interesting. The Creation of Adam is from Michelangelo’s fresco within the Sistine chapel and it depicts a scene from the book of genesis. With god’s hand almost touching Adam’s, the figures are incredibly well rendered and the colors are vivid. This piece today is one of the most recognizable and famous in the entire world. The reason I found it the most interesting was its influence on pop culture today and the number of time I had seen it before without ever discussing it. David is another well known piece which I had seen for years before ever learning about it.  Created after the hero David from the bible, the statue shows perfect form and an ideal man. As it represents that man who defeated a giant(Goliath) it became a symbol of civil liberties in the Florentine Republic in Italy.  To this day many have made replications of his work and one can see them all over the world. A replica now sits where the original once was, as it has been moved to the Accademia Gallery in Florence. These pieces were ones that I had heard of for years but never learned about. To receive this information makes the pieces all the more interesting as well as raising questions as to how such large perfect pieces were ever created by just one man. 

Test 3 Question 1

From the 6^th century to the 15^th, Europe and the Americas saw a huge change in art and architecture with an emphasis on religion. Thousands of pieces were commissioned by churches with the rise of Christianity as well as an increase in art patrons. The architecture in the Americas began to increase as large temples were constructed such as Temple I in Guatemala. In Europe we saw the rise of medieval and Romanesque art. Pieces such as the book of Kells and the Palace Chapel of Charlemagne were created. These were two good examples of the religious oriented pieces that were being created at this time, the book of Kells being created by monks and containing the four Gospels of the Old Testament. The Romanesque art created were all churches and cathedrals with elaborate carvings and decorations, modeled after the roman architecture that came before it. These cathedrals such as the abbey church of Notre Dame contained large arches where one can see the Romanesque styling. This period led onto the gothic art in which more cathedrals were constructed this time with beautiful stained glass windows and tall, complicated spires. The stained glass windows were very important ass they usually portrayed various scenes from the bible. During the 14^th and 15^th century in Europe many more religious paintings were commissioned. These paintings often were of Christ and a scene from the bible.  In paintings like Virgin and Child enthroned by Cimabue as well as Bondone’s one can see the central composition and muted blues and reds along with lots of gold with gave it a sacred feeling. In Europe the Renaissance and High Renaissance were deemed the reach of perfection for art, masters such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello led them. This time saw the best religious related work created. World renown pieces were created such as David and the Creation of Adam. During this time religious commissioned work reached its pinnacle.