...The Renaissance; the transitional time period from the dark Middle Ages to the age titled Early Modern. During this time period, scholars in Florence--and then much of Europe--revived the ancient ideas of the Greeks and Romans. That being said, the Renaissance was a completely different era due to: the birth of Humanism, revolutionary ideas, and the amazing pieces of art that were created during this time. Stunning pieces of art distinguished the Renaissance as its own time period unrelated to Medieval times. The best place to start is with the medieval mosaic, “Justinian & Attendants” by San Vitale. The mosaic is flat, depicts Christian themes, has no vibrant colors, and its most important figure has a halo around them (Doc 11). On the...
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...The Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement that began in the 1920s, brought an excitement and a new found freedom and voice to African-Americans who had been silent and oppressed for a long time. In Harlem between the 1920s to 1930s the African American culture flourished especially in arts and music. The Harlem Renaissance helped lay the foundation for the post-World War II protest movement of the Civil Rights Movement. During this period, Harlem was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith were a few of the new, up and coming, artists during the Renaissance period. Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Pops" emerged in the 1920s and became an...
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...The Harlem Renaissance was a time for expressing the African-American culture and had a significant impact. Several famous people gained recognition during the 1920s and 1930s. Many things came about, things such as jazz and blues, poetry, dance, and musical theater becoming the next thing for African-Americans lives. Moreover, white people came to discover this newest art, dancing, music, and literature. The Great Migration of African-American people from the rural South to the North, and many into Harlem was the cause of this huge event. It became one of the largest African- American communities in the United States becoming the center for art and literature. Most Famous person involved in the Harlem Renaissance and an influential leader...
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...Assess the ways canonical texts provide insights into different contexts. In your response, discuss TWO texts from TWO different eras covered in Masters in Pieces. Beowulf, composed by an unknown author between the eight and the tenth centuries AD was an epic poem from the Medieval Era. Faustus was a play written in verse by Christopher Marlowe during the Renaissance Era between 1564-1593, both reflecting the dominant ideas and values of the context. The Medieval Era was a politically unstable time predominantly influenced by Christian culture and storytelling, where heroic tales of the noble were highly valued and as a result reflect religious ideas. The Renaissance era marked a major cultural turning point for British Culture as the philosophy of humanism emerged, which engendered literature to become increasingly vibrant and free- thinking. Both canonical texts provide significant insight into both the Medieval and Renaissance era. These concepts are explored through the principals of Christianity and the prevailing conflict during each context time. The importance of religion were relevant in both contexts, Beowulf reinforcing the beliefs of the time while Faustus indicates Britain's shift to humanist values and intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression. Beowulf demonstrates his trust in God easily into Christian context and repeatedly acknowledges God as his protector. “The captain of evil discovered himself in a grip harder than...
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...Brandon Fisher 10/20/15 Hum1020 What is humanism? Humanism can be described in many ways and expressed through various methods . Many authors tend to explain humanism in several different meanings, and because they do not clarify which meaning it is that they themselves believe and can often be the foundation of confusion. Modern humanism can vary from the renaissance humanism in many ways, because generations have changed and different problems arose through the time periods. Modern humanism depends on reason and human life itself, it rejects all sense of supernaturalism and has a dual origin. While renaissance humanism directly focuses on the arts, culture, and rhetorical traditions. In this generation the infatuation with humans and life itself describes differences that these three readings have. However, the author’s opinions on humanism connects the similarities that they share. In Margaret L. King’s Renaissance Humanism, the different essays cover the opinions of humanism which ties to the papal court and all medieval traditions . In each essay the topic is focused on literary and religious magnitudes as well as the idea of classical learning. The beliefs and aspirations of the people were centered on God and saints as well as some scholars becoming more interested in the sciences and arts . During the timeframe of these writings women who practiced humanism were often looked upon as problematic. They were typically more intelligent and willingly tried to step...
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...Primavera (Allegory of Spring) Botticelli Circa 1482 Background of Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) and his artwork Alessandro de Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, also is known as Sandro Botticelli. He was born in 1445, Florence, Italy and he was one of the Italian painters during Early Renaissance. In 1460, he learned painting from the Renaissance painter, namely as Fra Filippo Lippi. Botticelli was a talented painter and he was able to open a workshop at the age of 15. “Birth of Venus” and “Primavera,” both of that were his earliest artwork. The “Birth of Venus,” is the first mythological painting created by Botticelli and it has display as the Goddess Venus that explains her birth. Moreover, the “Primavera” the largest mythological work and it has a humanistic nature and translating the life-renewing cultural to society. The inspiration of the “La Primavera,” is from the influence of Gothic realism by Botticelli's study of the antique. During the World War Two, “Primavera” was moved to Montegufoni Castle. It was returned to the Uffizi Gallery where it remains to the present day. The painting being restored in 1982 and had darkened with time's cruel passage. Who is the target audience? Primavera, known as “Allegory of Spring,” is the greatest works at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. The origin of the painting is unclear, but we can detect the Primavera’s target audience by knowing the history of painting. The powerful families such as Medici family gave the funding of...
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...focused on Jesus Christ and sins. The time period after was called the Renaissance which created a big change in European history. The Renaissance was a time of exciting changes and advances in art, literature, and science. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the Renaissance changed the views of the world. Illiteracy was common in the Middle Ages due to not having a lot of schools for education. Since people did not have a well education, they did not understand why or how things happened in life. In the Background Essay it quotes, “Both serfs and their masters looked to the Catholic Church and the Bible to explain the world.” In the 1300’s, education began to spread due to the need of people to efficiently carry on their work. Education made people to start to...
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...between the fall of Rome and that time (Hanawalt, 1998). This period was later replaced by the Renaissance period and has been described as a period of rebirth where ancient techniques were revived and new ones developed leading to more success in the art industry. Artists were inspired by the recovery of Greco-Roman heritage from the East and the importation of Byzantine examples to the West (Zirpolo, 2008). This essay discusses the relationship between the Middle Ages and Renaissance historical art periods. The Middle Ages was considered a period of ignorance, barbarism and superstition (Hanawalt, 1998). This period was called the dark ages due to the negative practices involved, but Scholars saw the period differently stating that the history was a continuous process from biblical times to their time. Most of them wrote about battles, feudalism, crusades, manorialism, kings and emperors, rise of towns, Universities and churches (Hanawalt, 1998). Representations of art during this period were modestly scaled with little creativity because artists did their work collectively and mainly for religious purposes. There was no competition in the art industry and traditional techniques were used to design objects. Art was used to spread religion in Europe and throughout other parts of the world and was viewed as a mere utilitarian object which did not have much value. The Renaissance was a historical art period that led to the abandonment of the Middle Ages practice (Zirpolo...
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...Fatima Haidar AP European History Essay Everyone has a way to express themselves whether it's in writing or in arts such as music, dance, or drawing. During the Renaissance the arts were encouraged. The Renaissance was expressed through Italian art by incorporating religion, science, and math. They made self-portraits and wrote autobiographies. The Renaissance was more secular then the middle Ages, but they were still very religious. Although the Middle Ages wasn't secular, nevertheless during the Renaissance period ideas were expressed in the Italian art because religion was embraced, people valued learning, knowledge, education, self-confidence and secularism grew. Religious artwork such as the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo combines art, religion, science, and faith. It also contains a true connection between God and humans. The Old and New Testaments play a significant role in the painting, in the picture you see God reaching towards Adams' hand and there are angels all around God. It depicts God separated from light and darkness. The Sistine Chapel is a really good picture to use to prove that religion still played a huge role during the Renaissance period. Education also played a role in the artwork contributed during the Renaissance. The Vitruvian Man and The School of Athens are two perfect examples. The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci not only symbolizes art but it brings math and science into the painting. Leonardo, like most artists of his time, shared this...
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...prior periods and helped shaped future ones. In this essay I will compare and contrast art from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods. A1. Earlier Historical Art Period The Middle-Ages is a period of time between the 5th and 15th century. Most art during the Middle-Ages was commissioned by the Catholic Church. Therefore the art tends to be mostly religious in nature and focused on creating symbols of Christian concepts and values. Artwork from this period served a purpose such as teaching spiritual truths and lessons, as a meditation aid, or even used to try and convert non-believers. Since the purpose of art during the Middle-Ages was to give glory to God, it was not common practice to seek personal recognition thus many pieces from this period went unsigned. Artists from the Middle-Ages didn’t focus on realism and most artwork from this period looked shallow, flat and lacked perspective. There was little to no use of lighting and shadow during this period. A2. Later Historical Art Period The Renaissance was a period of time between the 14th and 17th century. Art during the Renaissance period was used to show the beauty in nature which included human beings. Renaissance art often depicted everyday life and was very focused on realism and tried to portray things as they looked. There was more emphasis on the individual person and artists made heavy use light, shadow, and perspective. Artwork during the renaissance period was commissioned by people and groups not affiliated...
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...Andres Contreras Civilizations II Second essay October 9, 2013 The Role of Religion and Church during Medieval and Renaissance Society The role of religion and church was very influential during The Middle Ages and Renaissance society. They possessed a great deal of power that couldn’t be taken away by any ruler. In fact, the church was a counter to kings who wanted absolute power. Any king who wished to rule must have the church on his side. Opposing the church would lead to excommunication. Today this doesn’t sound like much, but at the time, excommunication translated to the downfall of one’s kingdom. The Middle Ages were a time in which everything was controlled by oaths. So for a king to oppose to the church meant that he was breaking the oath of allegiance he had with God. This resulted on the pope excommunicating the king. Now, everyone from the king’s subjects to his enemies could be freed from those oaths, and all of the allegiance with that particular king could be cancelled. This means that anyone could rise up in revolt or invade, without fear of condemnation by the church. Also, any subjects of the king who opposed his views could switch sides without being accused of treason. The church also played an important role in government. Being allied with the king, church leaders such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king’s council and played influential roles in society. These important roles granted them power and wealth. But not anyone...
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...The Renaissance & Baroque Arts The Renaissance, also known as the period of “rebirth”, directly followed the Middle Ages. Some considered the Renaissance period as a bridge from the “Dark Ages” to the modern era or the “light”. This period in history lasted about four centuries—late 13th century to the early 17th century— featuring “a revival of classical art, literature, philosophy, architecture, and learning” and introduced some of “the finest artists and intellectual achievements in the history of the Western humanities” such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo Buonarroti (MindEdge, 2013). Renaissance art is traced back to Italy where artists and scholars looked to the ancient Greco-Roman culture for inspiration by reviving the language, values, and traditions that were lost after “the fall of the Roman Empire in the sixth century” (A&E Television Networks, LLC, 2013). Furthermore, Renaissance artists added individuality to their works through portraying “beauty and mystery of the natural world” (A&E Television Networks, LLC, 2013). Most of the art produced during this time showcased religious imagery, completed mostly as Catholic Mass altarpieces. Artists around these times were sponsored by patrons of the arts such as The Catholic Church and affluent families such as the Medici family in Florence. Political permanence, growing wealth, and technological advancements are some of the social conditions that may have contributed to the arts of the Renaissance era...
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...ARH 253 April 12, 2015 Essay First Draft Comparing and Contrasting the Northern and Italian Renaissances The Renaissance was one of the world’s most important movements, specifically for culture throughout all European countries. The term renaissance means “rebirth,” which is very significant since this movement was the revival and turning point of change for all art forms specifically art, literature, music, religion along with many other aspects as well. Starting in Italy, the Italian Renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance. From the Italian Renaissance sprouted the Northern Renaissance, which was the movement that occurred in all European countries after the Italian Renaissance. While both movements hold many similarities, they also have a variety of differences as well. First, the obvious difference between these two movements is the geography of the Northern and Italian Renaissance. The Northern Renaissance relates to all of the happenings in the countries of Northern Europe surrounding Italy. Even though these were two separate movements with many differences, they both held significant similarities due to the close proximity of the countries where the Renaissances took place. Both the Italian and Northern Renaissance followed the era of the Middle Ages. The Italian Renaissance began in the cities of Florence and Siena, and later spread to Venice. The Northern Renaissance is also recognized as the “late gothic” which still held...
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...The Inferno Essay Dante's The Inferno, is an epic poem that has thrilled and informed the common man for centuries. He portrays a vivid description of one man's journey through hell and back with the past poet Virgil at his side. This epic has lead many through the depths of Medieval Christianity, displaying its importance on every society since then. With this description, man is awakened to the ethical, political, social, and philosophical aspects of Dante's time, later introducing the Renaissance era. Society in the Middle Ages consisted of two focuses; survival and God. These focuses lead many to forget the developed areas of knowledge and reason before their time. This society's people were believed to be laborers, or otherwise known as the hands of God, as displayed in their art work and literature. All actions were taken not for themselves but for God alone. This was described clearly, by Dante's witnessing of the thirteenth circle of hell containing the suicides. Those within this circle committed an act completely self centered, altering their intentions from God to themselves, leading them to a circle lower then murder. God and the church were not only a primary religious focus, but a structured hierarchy system for all society to follow. With God at the absolute highest position, his principles created an ethical map structuring nine circles of hell along with a social structure in the Middle Ages. This social structure was a fixed hierarchy where individuals never...
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...THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ASIA FALL SEMESTER 2014 History of Art Dr Raymond-Josef Hoffmann Description: This course is an introduction to art as the embodiment of cultural, social, and political values, ranging from ancient civilizations to the modern period. The class examines painting, sculpture, and architecture , and both domestic and ornamental artifacts of Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Western civilisations. Various historical periods will be considered through an examination of creative practices, themes, and visual forms. Examples of the work of representative artists and movements, from Praxiteles in ancient Greece to recent artists will be explored. The course will also consider cultural and artistic exchanges between societies of Europe, the Americas, Asia (including central Asia), and Africa, when appropriate. Human beings have been culture-makers and illustrators from the beginning: the history of our species on earth can be traced from early cave drawings and implements for eating and hunting to decorative arts, gothic cathedrals, skyscrapers to non-cognitive forms of expression that defy interpretation. This course is an exploration of an essential aspect of our attempts to shape the world and to create an environment in which self-expression, pleasure, ideology and aspiration can thrive. 1. Structure: The course comprises two 80 minute discussion/seminars based on specific works of art each week. The topics and readings are given...
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