Schedule
Need Help?
- Ask online
- Come to before class OH on Wed 11:30-12:30 @Robek’s / Coffee Bean umbrella tables
- I can go to AS-120 (AS building is next to The Beach Hut, next to The Library) after class on Wed, at 3:45 and help anyone with anything.
- Make an appointment to meetup another time
Points on BeachBored
All points through Week 6 are now up on BeachBored. Be sure to check your points and know where you stand! So far we’ve had 321 points possible. Here’s how many points you should have to be on track for each grade level, and how many peeps in 1p / 2:30 are currently at each grade level:
A = 289 points – 56 / 47
B = 257 points – 5 / 4
C = 225 points – 2 / 5
D = 193 points – 0 / 0
F = 192 points – 2 / 6
- 1p GPA = 3.74
- 2:30 GPA = 3.39
Leaderboard
Top 5 @1pm:
- Stephanie Arciva, 394
- Hannah Adams, 392
- Maritess Anne Inieto, 376
- Joy Elizabeth Uba, 366
- Carlos Villicana, 362
Top 5 @2:30:
- Nathan Davalos, 444
- Lydia Chang, 441
- Jamie Van, 396
- Yesenia Hernandez, 395
- Adriana Maciel, 373
Your Websites
You’ve all managed to use your sites to post your weekly activities – awesome!
And a few of you have really started to add elements or design or organization to make your site really useful to you. As I’ve said before, “turning in your homework” is only the secondary use for these sites. I honestly hope you’ll use them long after Art110 is over. A career ePortfolio, or site for your band, small business, health & lifestyle blog, etc, etc, can really boost your connections. Whether you want to impress that HR director, lure in new clients, or express your growing expertise in an area, you site can be a powerful ally.
Here’s a few examples of sites that are developing nicely:
Check out the great “About Me” sidebar widget on Amy Becerra‘s website! It’s often hard to even know where you are or who the author is with some sites. I love that Amy put her pix & mini-bio right on the home page, boldly claiming her website as her own. Over time this content can change as she’s looking for a Robotics gig, showing off her Rock Journalism, or talking about Cats.
And check out how great Emily Tomasello‘s site is looking with the Dyad Theme!
Check out Amy & Emily’s sites and think about making your site more yours!
Downtown Santa Ana Artwalk
Check out Nathan Davalos‘ cool post ‘n pix from October’s 1st Saturday of the month Artwalk in Downtown Santa Ana!
EC: Brewery Art Walk
22-23 October, 11am – 6pm
breweryartwalk.com
Speaking of Artwalks, a big one is coming up. The Brewery is a former Pabst Blue Ribbon beer brewery that’s been converted into a giant artist live-work loft space. Hundreds of artists have spaces there and about 150 or so will open their studios for the artwalk weekend.
Extra Credit:
- Visit studios
- Chat with artists
- Take selfie w artist
- Write a thoughtful paragraph about their work
- Blog it
- 5 points EC / artist
- Up to 10 artists, so up to 50 points EC
What Week is this anyway?
A surprising number of you are using the wrong Week #’s on your posts. I haven’t started taking points off for this, or not giving credit, but please get the week right.
This week, right now, Monday 3 Oct – Sunday 9 Oct, is Week Seven! Please use the correct Week number in your posts! TY! 😀
Wk 7 – This Week!
- Art Talk Discussion – at the bottom of this post
- Activity – none this week
- Artist Conversation – @SOA Galleries
- Classmate Conversation – @SOA Galleries – Different format this week! See below!
Classmate Conversation Wk 7
We’re mixing up the way we do the Classmate Conversation a bit this week! I’m going to ask you to do two Classmate Conversations this week, but you only have to turn them in at the galleries – no Classmate Conversation blog post required this week!
Classmate Conversation #1
As usual, find any classmate you haven’t met yet. Have a conversation about life & stuff. Try to learn something real about them. Ask each other the 1st Question OTW from Lourdes:
What do you struggle with the most and why? Evaluating or analyzing art? Interpreting it? Or relating to it?
You might look at some of the art at the galleries together. You could optionally do an artist interview together. Finally, draw your ID cards together – make them connect horizontally or vertically as 1 big drawing. When you’re ready, find me in the gallery coutyard, turn in your cards together and tell me something interesting about your partner.
Classmate Conversation #2
After you and your partner give me your ID cards, then together find another pair you don’t know (or don’t know at least 1 of) to make a new group of 4. Introduce each other to the new peeps. So if the 1st group is Justin & Lourdes, and they meetup with Savannah & Jonathan, then Justin will tell Savannah & Jonathan about Lourdes, and Lourdes will tell them about Justin, and so on. You can look at some art as a group, or do an artist conversation as a group, and ask the group the 2nd Question OTW from Justin:
Calligraphy is an underappreciated form of art today. The artistic writing declined ever since the printing press was invented. Do you still think Calligraphy is significant in today? If so, where or how could you apply Calligraphy in the modern printing world?
Finally, draw another group ID Card together! A 2×2 grid to make 1 big picture. Or 4 cards across or 4 cards vertically, whatever you like. When you’re ready, find me in the gallery coutyard, turn in your cards together and tell me something interesting about your group.
Yes, each person will be drawing & turning in a total of 2 ID cards this week. (Unless your name is “Hannah” or “Lydia” in which case, of course, you’ll still have to do your normal card for a total of 3! #priceOfFame )
And then you’re done! Video OTW Discussion & Artist Conversation blog as usual, but no Classmate Conversation blog post required!
Make sense?
Shout if you have questions!
Want to write next week’s Classmate Question OTW? Do it here: Classmate Question OTW
Zines & Flip Books
Lots of nice work last week with your Zines & Flip Books! Here are a few samples:
I drew some roses on the cover and on some of the pages and they were pretty but then I had flashbacks to biochemistry and that we learned about the mechanisms of photosynthesis and decided to include that in my zine too because it relates to flowers. For my major, we really don’t focus on plants in general (and I always disliked learning about plants too) but I randomly remembered the pathway from which plants convert sunlight into ATP, which is used for energy and powering subsequent pathways.
I titled my Zine “Established 88” which is my birth year. Then I had a recipe to make Piña coladas. Followed by a colorful array of checkered boxes, a sketch of a city view, a page of math equations, the alphabet falling from the top to bottom, a love quote, an insert of my jury duty summons and finally a note that read “No ponies were harmed in the making of this product” on a my little pony backdrop.
I am a fashion student. I have just been so fascinated and mesmerized by the glitz, glamour, intensity and fashion that surrounded Studio 54. This week, I decided I would dedicate my zine to Studio 54 and use it as an inspiration book.
Studio 54 was the most legendary nightclub of the disco-era. In the late seventies, Studio 54 was probably the coolest place on Earth. It was started by socialites and entrepreneurs, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, and was located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. Regular visitors included Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Calvin Klein, Truman Capote, Cher, John Travolta, Tina Turner, Elton John and Salvador Dali, to name but a few.
I had already made a board on Pinterest of some of my favorite Studio 54 pictures, so I had a pretty good idea of where to start. Once I chose my pictures and found some cool graphics, I printed them out and wrote down some quotes from articles, as well as phrases or facts that I thought were interesting or related to the picture they were next to. I hole-punched my papers and decided that I didn’t want to use plain old thread or yarn to tie my zine together. I had some old headphones that stopped working, and I figured that would be a pretty unique way to tie this up. Studio 54 is synonymous with disco, so I wanted people to see the headphones, travel back to 1977 and imagine they’re listening to some Donna Summer or Bee Gees tunes.
Overall I had a really cool time making this zine. I enjoyed it because I felt like I could really show what inspired me. If I were to do this project again however, I think I would type the words and print them out rather than write them myself because I hate my handwriting. I would also try to find a better way to secure the headphones because they were kind of loose even after I knotted them in the back of the zine.
I thought, “let’s just draw old OC (original characters) and see how that goes.” So, I opened up sticky notes on my computer and made a list of all the ones I wanted to draw.
This child is Ryuhan Jang. I think I made this child last year(?) when I was trying to draw fanart but it turned out bad and turned into him. LOL (omg he was an accidental baby) Brian chose purple to be the background, so I painted that and double traced the boy with a 08 Sakura Pigma graphic pen (I got a pack as a Christmas present & it’s saved my life so many times).
The idea of “hAngry” came to mind because I was getting frustrated when my girlfriend and I could not pick somewhere where to eat. All the foods that I illustrated in my zine were foods that we discussed when trying to make a choice. We ended up going to El Pollo Loco (so I guess you can say that we settled with tacos.) My favorite part of the whole process was drawing all the foods and adding angry faces. I have always enjoyed drawing and especially drawing cartoons.
In high school I enjoyed drawing cartoon characters on the white board of my classes, most portraying a message or joke. I would spend a lot of time on some because I wanted them to look a very specific way, however for this zine I wanted it to be more spontaneous and more story driven instead of focusing on the art itself. I marvel at the entrepreneurs and leaders that can make things happen. Working day and night and never stopping to make our lives better. Being successful can have many meanings and varies from person to person. This zine represents the way that I view success, having the passion to work hard and reach a position of leadership and wealth by making other peoples lives better, striving to make yourself better than yesterday and having a positive impact in your community.
This zine was meant to be a sort of open letter to some of my coworkers. As I am learning more from wonderful, insightful, cultural classes, I am becoming more aware. I’m becoming aware of all the comments and demeaning behavior of others. I’m too aware and it’s impossible to unsee. I hear hundreds of microaggressions everyday from my coworkers towards me because I’m a girl. I see the way the men gather and gawk as a pretty girl walks into the store. I hear the way someone spits hate towards Black people because someone who was Black didn’t tip him once.
Jane Weibel’s exhibition last week actually gave me the sort of idea on what to make this zine about! I was really close to one of my coworkers and I saw him as a best friend even. It was only then after his fifth fucked up thing that I realized I was friends with someone who rejected all of my identities. He told me how he didn’t think gay couples should be able to adopt kids because they could force their “gay ways,” whatever that fucking means, how anyone who does drugs is stupid, a girl is at fault if she’s raped, and countless other ridiculous things. I’ve had enough and this zine was a way for me to release. I can only have so much patience at work.
For my zine I decided to illustrate a story I had read about why dogs do not live as long. The story is about a family dog who had to be put down and the 4 year old child in the family explaining why dogs don’t live as long. The child said people are born so that they can learn how to live a good life but dogs already know how to do that so they don’t live as long.
— Amy Song
To me, this idea was a great balance because the characters are not difficult to draw and it is interesting because a lot of us grew up playing Pac-Man, so it brings back some good memories. Originally I wanted to draw a track and field runner doing a long jump into a sand pit, which I used to do in high school, but I wasn’t able to achieve the action of running too well yet. I would definitely do this again with something possibly a little more interesting and challenging.
— Andy Bui
“What does it mean to be human?” was a question that popped up in a fictional story I read a while back. It was a typical fantasy novel that looks at the relationships between those we considered monsters and those we consider to be human. I used this question to refer to reoccurring sentences that were said to me when I was growing from a small kid to the young adult I am today. The seventh picture was supposed to be a solitary picture of how I saw myself. But then I soon added a door. I wasn’t satisfied by how plain it looked, so I erased that door to draw an open door instead. Now the open door has people peeking from inside the door. The drawing progressed to symbolize the concept of a person having the power to pick whatever path they chose to follow, and where each door holds some kind of idea behind them. The door I picked would symbolize change, a change within myself because of the support I have from my friends today. The last two pages don’t have a message, but they were also things that related to me, ideas that made me who I am today.
— Cindy Le
As soon as I heard there was an option to make zines I came up with many ideas. I thought of comics, and Halloween themes, and so many others. Eventually I settled on dinosaurs. I have been in love with dinosaurs my whole life. My mother always groaned when my birthday would come around, because I would inevitably ask for a dinosaur themed party, which she always gave me for 12 long years. I like to include a little humor in my works, so for my book, I made scenes as if dinosaurs had never gone extinct, and as if they lived their lives like any ordinary citizen. It was a really fun project. What I love about zines is how easy they are to make. But they have room for so much creativity. They don’t have to have words, just pictures. And they can still be a complete work. I will certainly enjoy working with zines in the future.
I decided to draw a flipbook with little walking-cycle. The last years I did a lot of computer-generated animations, and it was really nice to do some hand-drawn frame by frame animation again. It always feels like magic when static drawings suddenly come to life.
This week’s art activity was to create a flip book. It had been a long time since I had even attempted to make one of these but in creating this one it really made me happy. It has the same sort of sense of a movie but with a lot less preparation, people, and budget. You can make your own movie fairly quickly and easily using the flip book method.
I think the most difficult thing was coming up with the story. Because I had sewn together my flip book in class, I had already set the number of pages I could work with, without having the story I wanted to draw out. This make more a bit of a challenge to make a story fit in the space but with enough thought, I was able to come up with one. Although this was the most difficult part for me, it was also the most fun. This type of art is simple but because of this simplicity it allows itself to be accessible to many.
The process of creating my flip book consisted of paper from my sketch book. Before starting on my flip book, I did a handful of sketches that I wanted to incorporate in my flip book. Overall, I had a lot of fun creating my flip book. This activity taught me that you don’t need to know how to draw in order to create something.
I wanted my zine to represent myself and things I believe in so I went with a feminist themed zine. Starting with the title I wanted to name it something funny and clever so I went with “Hoe Confidential.” Recently my friends and I have been discussing slut shaming and talking about how much we hate seeing women putting each other down or judging based on their sex lives so we try to encourage other women to use the word “hoe” as a term of endearment.
I decided to draw a flower sprouting from the ground in beautiful sunlight and slowly withering away as the sun goes away. I decided to draw this because it really portrays the importance of just taking a breather in your life and taking the time to relax and enjoy the nature that’s available to us. As students and working individuals our daily lives are always so hectic and full with environmental stress. We don’t often get a chance to just sit down and enjoy our surroundings. Before we know it the beauty that grew is no longer there to be looked at.
Art Talk OTW
- 3 Million Years of Art History
- Joseph DeLappe
- Mahsa Soroudi
- The Mind in the Cave
- Graffiti Writing: Bomb It
- Classical Greece & Rome
- Renaissance & Baroque
We’re leapfrogging over The Middle Ages this week, and heading straight to Renaissance & Baroque. Just in case you want to think about The Middle Ages, the video is here, otherwise, on to the huge cultural rebirth of The Renaissance!
BTW: if you want to play with the Art History Timeline that you see me using in these talks, you can get your very own copy & the Freemind software to view, modify, or make your own, here:
Daniel Puentes
The Renaissance and Baroque era is my favorite time of art due to the focus on realism. The ability to make such accurate sculptures and paintings is astonishing. Especially pieces like Bernini’s Sculpture Ecstacy which is a piece with so much emotion and an event of such epic proportions like an angel coming down from heaven. The attention to detail is also amazing Bernini carved marble to look like actual fabrics and it looks completely life like. I especially enjoy the Baroque pieces because they are so over the top. I also love the architectural work of Michelangelo. Saint Peter’s Is just beautiful and it looks like every every inch of that place is covered in art. This time of art is also very relatable because they focus so much on the human body. Leonardo even implies that man is the measurement of all things with his Vitruvian Man painting. This era of art will always be one of my favorites.
Brian Sath
Hello Daniel! I totally agree that the Renaissance is one of my favorite time periods for art, however, I would have to disagree on the Baroque era before I watched the video. This is because I have never even heard of such an era that was highlighted within my history books growing up. I do agree that the intricate details on all of the art pieces were truly over the top. Personally I feel like the sculpture of Mother Teresa was my favorite art piece. To highlight the golden qualities and actually sculpt marble into something with such details. It is truly amazing that an individual like that could think outside the box at that time period. Michelangelo was also very interesting with his work at the Sistine Chapel. He went above and beyond to create artwork that not a lot of other people even today have completed art work like that today.
Jonathan Girgis, 1:00pm-
I love Bernini’s work! It really stood out from among the rest because his work, in my opinion, had a lot more creativity involved. He did not just create a work of art based on Saint Teresa, for example, but he made his work tell a story. Even “David” does not just show David posing in ancient Roman fashion as done by Michelangelo. Bernini’s “David” is about to reach for a pebble to throw against the unseen Goliath, as described in the Bible. This puts the center of attention, David, sort of in the ‘middle of something’ and this makes it much more interesting. Either way, the Renaissance/Baroque periods had some of the most creative output in artwork ever seen. It was simply incredible.
I completely agree with the your comment about Bernini’s work, specifically when you mentioned his “David”. I very much liked his take on David, more so than Michaelangelo’s simply because it shows so much more of a story, and in my opinion makes me kind of think about the story and David as a person himself so much more than Michaelangelo’s does. Like Professor Zucman said in the video, I have to agree with many other students when they say that while Michaelangelo’s David is a better representation of what art, I guess Renaissance art specifically is supposed to look like, but I definitely do enjoy Bernini’s piece more, and I would be more likely to date this David as well haha.
Hi Daniel,
I agree with you on many aspects. As you mentioned, the ability that these artists have to make sculptures and painting is amazing because they show a great amount of emotion. Also, Bernini’s artwork is really realistic. It’s amazing how Michelangelo does more than sculptures as well. Last, I agree that the Renaissance period focuses so much on the human body because of the many scultprues that many artists create.
Hello Daniel,
I completely agree with you that the Renaissance and Baroque time period emphasized on realism. The art work seemed so detailed and accurate focusing on the human body I just couldn’t resist on seeing many other art works. Just like the Davids that was spoken about on the video, they both have amazing detailed structures of their body, it really seems so real. What I thought was the main difference between the two David’s was that Michelangelo’s seems more soft and beautiful vs. the Bernini’s David seems more masculine, making it a more datable guy. This time period as well has to be one of my favorites.
Roxana Chavez
I knew the Mona Lisa and the statue of David made by Michelangelo were some very famous art pieces, however I did not know that they were part of the Renaissance and Baroque era. Its interesting to learn that that in todays Art Talk video. I googled more famous art work that happened during the Renaissance and ”The Last Supper” was one of them by Leonardo Da Vinci. I have seen some movies where such paintings and famous artifacts hold secret messages such as some of Da Vinci’s paintings. I also looked into the painting called the ”The Swing” created by Jean Honrore Fragonard because I recall seeing in the movie Frozen. I did some research on its significance and read that the angel statue on the left side of the painting has a finger to his lips as an indication of sshh of the affair. Which is the man on the floor looking underneath the women’s skirt. It was really interesting to learn to some of the very famous paintings still used today were created in the Renaissance era.
Monique Alcala
Hi Roxana! I have not seen the movie Frozen so I decided to do more research on the scene in the movie. I think the actual piece “The Swing” by John Honrore Fragonard is beautiful and well done, but it’s interesting how a piece such as his is still relevant to the modern age. Frozen along with other movies are exposing the renaissance era to the public which may have had no prior knowledge on it. It may not be a full in depth history or art lecture but the fact that they incorporated such artists is enough to possible get the viewers thinking about art. I also think it’s pretty rad that Frozen would want to expose that on the younger generation. Disney has also been inspired by this same piece in their other famous movie “Tangled”. The Disney artist Lisa Keene drew her own digital version of the swing. Whenever she used her hair to leave her castle she would swing down on her long locks and it was after the artists digital remake.
Hi Monique,
It is very true that the version of the swing is also found in the movie Tangled! I never paid much attention to that but now I can totally tie them together and Disney artist Lisa Keene did create her own version of the swing. I agree with you on it being really rad to have Frozen show the younger generation some very famous art, although they may not know it until they are older that its famous they will be able to recall it from watching those disney movies. I am also curious on what other disney movies might incorporate some very famous art work? hmmmm I am going to for sure keep an eye out next time I watch disney movie.
Hi Monique,
It is very interesting that art from the Renaissance has influence even in today’s society many years later. For me, I personally feel like the art from the Renaissance is timeless in its breathtaking beauty and attention to complex detail. Also, in the Disney movie “Frozen” during the song “For the first time in forever” there are multiple Disney renditions of classic paintings such as “The Swing” which was mentioned before. In fact, the whole portrait hall in the movie “Frozen” contains Disney renditions of classic paints from different eras.
Hi Roxana! I am so glad you mentioned the painting in Disney’s “Frozen” because that is what I thought of too when Professor Zucman showed it in the video. I was surprised when I found out what was happening in the original painting through the video so I went to compare it against the Frozen version and I am glad it was reworked and portrayed more innocently in the movie. In the original painting, the guy in front of the girl is trying to look up her dress, but in the Frozen version, there is just a guy pushing the girl and they are seemingly having fun on a date. I think that it is interesting how Disney is utilizing old, classical pieces to reference artwork from the Renaissance and Baroque period instead of creating their own. Perhaps it is their attempt to get kids slightly interested in art?
Monique Alcala
Whenever I think of Michelangelo, I think of his paintings but after doing some research on him I found out that he is also a sculptor and architect. He had an apparent talent and eye for art starting at a very young age. My favorite piece of art he created is the “Pieta”. The “Pieta” is a sculpture that took a little less than a year to create and recreates Mary holding dead Jesus across her lap. The sculpture has remained in several different churches since its debut. I found out that Michelangelo had required special permission from the church to study cadavers in order to perfect his art whether it is his paintings or sculptures. In my opinion his time spent with cadavers really paid off because the “Pieta” has a remarkable amount of detail to it, and it is fascinating to think that this marble piece was done by hand. An interesting piece of information is that he thought he had heard pilgrims giving credit for his work to another artist so he carved his name into Mary’s sash.
Amanda Martinez
Hey Monique! That is really interesting I also did not know that Michelangelo studied cadavers to perfect his art, but it makes sense his attention to detail is amazing. I have seen a replica of the Pieta and even though it was a replica it was beautiful. He seems to capture every muscle on the Jesus’s body and the fabric is so realistic you would not think that it was marble. The “Pieta” is actually the only thing Michelangelo ever signed since when he made this he was a not very well known young artist. He signed it across Mary’s chest because he overheard people talking about it and they said that someone else had made it so he came back to sign it while no one was around.
Daniel Puentes
Hi Monique that Pieta piece by Michelangelo is simply breathtaking. This time in art history is my favorite because the art was so intense. The fact that he studied cadavers to carve the marble is an example of the lengths that Michelangelo would go through to accomplish so much detail. The moment that Michelangelo is portraying is also a very grand and dramatic moment. This renaissance was a great time for art .
In response to Monique’s comment, I was also interested in Michelangelo art work. I also find it amazing how he was able to work with different mediums and did not limit his art to one single medium. He was a sculpture, architect, painter, and poet. You mentioned how you enjoyed his art work the Pieta. I also enjoy the Pieta because it is really complex sculpture, it is something that is really iconic an beautiful. However, I really enjoyed his painting on the Sistine chapel ceiling. It is astonishing how a single person from many many years ago still has a major impact on art today.
Hi Monique! I really enjoyed Michelangelo’s sculptures as well. I liked how intricate and detailed they are. It amazes me how realistic the sculptures are. I have seen pictures of Pieta and I thought it was amazing! I looked at more pictures of Michelangelo’s work and I thought the facial expressions on David is really detailed and life like. Michelangelo’s other work are all so amazing. It is interesting that a lot of his works are religious, like one of his famous paintings, The Creation of Adam, or his paintings in the Sistine Chapel.
^ Amy Song
Hello Monique,
I too find Michelangelo probably one of the best sculptures and probably the most influential artist this world has ever seen. His work is really detailed and almost looks like theirs a story behind all of his work, some of his work also almost looks like it says something like and event of some sort. You mentioned how you though the Pieta was one of your favorites, I also thought it was perhaps one of the most interesting, intricate, detailed pieces of work hes created. His painting in the Sistine Chapel also were just jaw dropping, it amazes me how one has the time, and patience and will to create such a beautiful masterpiece.
It is awesome to know the great lengths that these famous artists took in order to do one piece of work in order to make it as realistic as possible. Michelangelo is an extremely influential artists to this day. The amount of time that it took him to complete every piece he’s created in amazing and shows dedication to each craft/medium he uses. Although most of the works from this period are religious based and not everyone is religious today- people can always find beauty in the artwork and respect the amount of time and dedication that they put in to it.
Hey Monique!
That’s actually one of my favorite sculptures as well. The first time I actually had seen and heard about the sculpture was in middle school and I never really thought much about it until now. My favorite thing about Michaleangelo’s pieces are probably the significant amount of detail. If you look at most of the pieces they almost look a bit similar in regards to the facial expressions and messages that are trying to be given through the piece. I admire the fact that there is so much detail in all his pieces because it just shows how much his art really meant to him and how badly he wanted to perfect them.
Monique,
The Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo is a great representation of Renaissance artwork. It revolves around a significant religious figure who is brought to life in stone and looks like an art piece that would remain relevant in any other historical era. I was surprised to learn that Michelangelo studied actual cadavers in order to accurately sculpt a corpse. This seems like an amount of effort that appears excessive, but actually is worthwhile due to the infamy of Pieta. Do you think Michelangelo knew that his sculpture would exist for centuries and become a lasting legacy for his name? I believe he did assume this, because it seems like the only explanation for his incredible amount of effort. Studying corpses for the sake of artistic ability was meant to insure that his finished product was flawless, and meant to be displayed long after Michelangelo died.
Hello Monique, I did research myself and saw how much he did to make his art project perfect these artist go all out in order to make sure they make the best piece of art. I agree that it is interesting that Michelangelo studied cadavers just to perfect and make all the details on his Pieta. I myself like his work of art and I think all his work is amazing and unique.
Amanda Martinez
Both the Renaissance and Baroque styles of art are very beautiful. I actually had never heard of the Baroque era so I watched another YouTube video about it and it was very interesting. The style came about around the same time Lutheranism emerged as a way for the Catholic Church to advertise to the common people since most people at the time could not read. Baroque was actually a derogatory term at the time that meant the paintings were overly exaggerated and filled with unflattering details. I did notice the change in the amount of details between the Renaissance style and Baroque I feel like it makes the paintings more realistic. I like how in the Baroque paintings were slowly stepping away from people having a perfect complexion with smooth skin and made people look more realistic by showing “unflattering details” like wrinkles and discoloration of their skin. The paintings not only told biblical stories, but they told stories of everyday life in the perspective of the artist. The video had some really nice examples one of what looked like maybe someone getting mugged and another one depicting a battle. These painting were how people learned what was going on around them since most of them did not read so even if there was a Newspaper it would be useless.
Hi Amanda,
Like you I also have never heard of the Baroque era so I also did some research about it. One interesting thing that you wrote that I would like to point out is that the Catholic Church used artwork during this era to spread news because most people could not read. That really fascinated me because I never thought of art as a way to spread news but now I can totally see how it can. When thinking about spreading news I always thought of a newspaper and reading articles, however, now that I am thinking about the articles that I have read, they all pictures of the current events and such.
Hi Amanda and Tina,
I was intrigued by your conversation about people in the Renaissance being educated by pictures as opposed to words, and so I looked into literacy rates in the Renaissance. I read an online paper published by the Visual Education Commission on this topic. It said that literacy is a hard thing to define, and measuring it often comes down to seeing how many people could sign their own names. With that being said, the ability to read was by no means widespread. In the merchant class, the highest it could have reached was only 40%, while only one in a hundred laborers were literate. I’m sure this had an impact on the art movement. Many of the art pieces, if not the majority, were commissioned by the church. This is probably why the video showed so many paintings and sculptures that had religious themes, like “Madonna and Child” and the “Pieta”. Perhaps this art was meant less to spread news of current events, and more to educate the public of religious history, since few could or were allowed to read the bible. I always loved the concept of art as a teaching tool. Today, it still fills this role. In textbooks and museums art is an indispensable tool. Educational art today is less financed by a church, however, and more by scientists and book writers. It is interesting to see the change, and I would love to see what artists like Leonardo and Michelangelo would think of today’s museums.
-Hannah Adams
Hello Amanda! Just as you and Tina I was very unfamiliar with the Baroque era. I also did some research on the Era and loved it so much more than the Renaissance era. I felt that the detail and exaggeration made the pieces much more exaggerated but still beautiful and impactful to the human eye. I guess as you said it related to the fact that these art pieces were basically the way they got their news. Its funny though because even today the media also over exaggerates in order to tell the better story. I too liked how it wasn’t about biblical stories but more about story telling. I feel that, that made led to the grater detail and creativity.
Samuel De La Cruz
Hi Amanda, I did not realize the difference between the Renaissance era and Baroque era art styles from smooth perfect complexion, to unflattering wrinkles and frowns on the peoples faces in the art. I still feel both are very beautiful eras that art came out of but you gave me a better perspective into differentiating between the two eras. I agree with you in that the Baroque era art is more realistic and it can better capture the moment and mood it is trying to depict. Even in today’s modern art details are exaggerated to get a message across like in cartoon paintings of a person with a huge head and a small body. The same kind of cartoons are used to defame and make politicians bad by depicting that person with a donkey head and an evil look. Art seems to resonate over and over again through time leaving an impression to future generations.
Lukas Fuentes
Hi Amanda,
I learned a lot just from reading your comment! I too had never heard of the Baroque Era, but the works of art shown from this era in the video caught my attention. I too enjoy how the style of art in the Baroque era was more realistic and didn’t depict every person as being flawless. I think it is interesting how this art was a major medium for getting news out to people during the time, since most people were illiterate.
I think the Renaissance era is one of the most popular in art history. I have heard of the Renaissance for many years from Michelangelo’s famous ‘David’ scultpure to Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa.’ However, I have never heard of the Baroque era so I went ahead and did some research about it and found differences between the two art eras. The Baroque era came later in the 1600s whereas the Renaissance era came around in the 1400s. Furthermore, artwork from the Baroque era is more dramatic than the artwork from the Renaissance era. This can be seen in Bernini’s ‘Ecstasy of Saint Teresa’ in which he dramatically has Mother Teresa has been hit with an arrow by an angel. I was very interested in this sculpture because Mother Teresa, a saint, someone you would not imagine to get killed by an angel, is getting killed by an angel. I was curious as to why, so I did some more research. Apparently, Mother Teresa wrote about her religious ecstasy in her autobiography ‘The Life of Teresa Jesus.’ Mother Teresa describes this experience to be like the angel leaving the great love of God in her body.
-Tina Nguyen
Stephanie Arciva
Hey Tina!
Wow! Thanks for clarifying those two eras for me as well as interpreting Bernini’s piece even further. I appreciated that piece very much, more for the aesthetics of it, but it’s interesting that there is such an profound story behind the intricate piece. It makes me appreciate the piece even more because Bernini was trying to capture and portray such an intimate experience Mother Teresa had and I feel that is difficult work. I feel like every single square inch of the piece has to work towards that interpretation rather then having a a piece of art that did not have such profound background to it. It makes you internalize Mother Teresa’s experience as well as get a deeper understanding for the style of the time era.
Stephanie Arciva
Much like many of my peers, I recognized the popular paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo and Leonardo. A complete side note I wanted to mention was that throughout the whole video I was waiting for them to mention Donatello! Idk if anyone is familiar with the ninja turtles. Interestingly enough, these ninja turtles were named after Renaissance artists. Originally Donatello was going to be named Bernini, whom of which was also mentioned in the video. The sculpture Bernini created that was shown in the video exemplified such intricate artist skill. I was so captivated with the texture of the sculpture and the drapery, as well as the profound scenery going on in the sculpture. He was not only such an influential figure in Baroque art but I can imagine has influenced art in today’s world. What I found interesting in my investigation of these artists is that many of them were not simply painters or sculptures, but had art in various areas. Many of them were even known to be engineers! Its great to know that such influential figures can relate to many people from various disciplines.
Hi Stephanie
I am also familiar with the ninja turtles and noticed how they are named after the Renaissance artists! Like you, I was also captivated with Bernini’s sculpture. It’s amazing how back in that time period, amazing works of art were able to be sculpted from something so raw and natural. It’s amazing to see the sculpture in a picture, and I wouldn’t even be able to imagine what it would be like if I were to see it in person! I agree with you that it is astonishing that many of these artists weren’t skilled in one art, but many. Possibly this shows that artists back then were possibly a little more skilled than the ones today. Nonetheless, art today and in the past is amazing. And without the influence of art from the past, such as during the Renaissance, art would not be like how it is today.
–Andy Bui
Hannah Adams Posting
I love Renaissance art because of the great realism of so many of the pieces. For me, they are among the first pieces that I think of when I think of classic art. What I found interesting is that Renaissance painters are still influencing people today. I interviewed an artist named Pateranga this week at the SOA Galleries. His work dealt heavily with light and shadow and he said he was inspired by an old master named Caravaggio. I looked this artist up to see if he was a painter in the Renaissance and indeed he was a painter at the very end of the 17th century. His style is considered more Baroque. His pieces were beautifully done and with most one can see the amazing definition in the muscles of the people depicted because of his unique use of light. Just fascinating to see a style emerge that can influence us so many centuries later.
For this week’s Art talk video, I knew absolutely nothing about either the Renaissance or Baroque era. When we looked at the Renaissance era I found myself familiar with the Mona Lisa and its artist Leonardo da Vinci, however not the story that comes behind it. I found the art of both eras to be very beautiful especially the art that came with the Baroque era. I went on and did a little research and found that the Baroque Era, is know as a time or artistic style that is “exaggerated and easily interpreted to create drama, tension and exuberance.” Aside from the beautifully crafted, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Bernini, a piece from the Baroque era, that really stood out to me was the Apollo and Daphne sculpture, also crafted by Bernini. Much more beautiful than the sculpture itself, is the myth behind it where basically for revenge, Cupid struck Apollo with an unattainable love of Daphne. Daphne, who wants nothing to do with Apollo, runs away and just as she is about to be captured she asks her father to turn her into a tree. Bernini captures that very moment in the piece, where as Apollo is about to capture Daphne, her transformation is already beginning. Her toes are now roots and her body is midway through becoming a tree bark.
Araceli Lozano
Hey Selena,
I definitely have to agree i love the stories behind the art. Also i was not to familiar with renaissance art so i also did a bit of research on it. It is a beautiful era.
This week we are discussing art involved in the Renaissance and Baroque era. Zucman briefly went over the influential artist that were involved in this era giving us the freedom to do research on the artist that we found most interesting. The end of the middle ages marked a new era that shifted in ideas and attitudes such as politics, social, economic, and religious. While doing research I noticed that a lot of the art was based and centered on religion. Some of my favorite things that I came across while I was doing my research was the inside of the churches. The churches looked well furnished with paintings, statues, and etc. One of the oil paintings that I really enjoyed was Jean Fouquet’s Madonna and child. Somethings that I liked about the painting, Madonna and child is the contrast between the colors. Madonna and the child are cool colors and in the background the angels are red and blue, I found that to be aesthetically pleasing. Compared to the other art pieces that are from the Renaissance and Baroque era, Madonna and Child stand out for me. A lot of the art associated with the Renaissance and Baroque era looks “expensive” and “serious,” but with Jean Fouquet’s Madonna and Child the painting looks geometric and playful. Another thing that I noticed about the art from this era is that children actually look like children, compared to previous era children were often depicted as miniature adults. Overall, I really enjoy learning about the Renaissance and Baroque era.
Samuel De La Cruz
The art shown in this video from the Renaissance and Baroque era is very beautiful and hard to recreate with such pristine detail. There is a lot of famous artists from the Renaissance era that have influenced art through the centuries. In my opinion, Michelangelo’s art was the greatest in his time and it included Saint Peters, the Sistine Chapel, and the statue of David to name a few of his most famous art works. Bernini was influenced by Michelangelo when he also created a statue of David one-hundred years after Michelangelo. Bernini also had great works of art like the Ecstasy which depicted a statue of an angel piercing a statue of Mother Teresa in the heart. Another artist that stood out to me was Raphael and I really liked his painting of “Madonna of the Meadow”. This painting showed a mother in the meadows playing with two children; the detail in the painting is very impressive and beautiful. There was also Leonardo that was a genius of his time as he was an artist, scientist, architect, and inventor to name a few of his talents. Leonardo lead a revolution when it came to inventing new things and he was also well known for painting the Mona Lisa. I really enjoyed this video and the insights it had to offer about the Renaissance and Baroque era.
John Savage
Hi Samuel,
My favorite artist was also Michelangelo because I too found his work to be absolutely jaw dropping. The amount of detail put into each one of his pieces is just crazy and adds that element of realism that just puts it over the top. My favorite piece by Michelangelo is definitely the Sistine Chapel piece because of its scale and beauty. It is also amazing that even hundreds of years later that Bernini was still inspired to do his own rendition on Michelangelo’s David statue because of its amazing quality and attendance to detail.
Amy Song
I think the Renaissance art and Baroque art periods are very well known. Many people know about Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci. One period of art that Professor Zucman mentioned in the video was Mannerism. I haven’t heard of Mannerism before so I googled it and found that this was an art period between the Renaissance and the Baroque period. I was surprised to find that it was a very short time period. The website I read wrote that it was only about 70 years. It was interesting to see that Michelangelo was included in the list of Mannerism painters because I had always considered Michelangelo to be a Renaissance painter. I thought the works of art from these time periods are amazing. I especially liked the sculptures. It was amazing to see how detailed they were and how realistic they were. Looking at the different paintings from each of the three periods, I enjoyed Baroque art the most. I really liked the dramatic paintings and I thought they were fun to look at.
Yonathan Sahle
Hi Amy,
It is interesting you mentioned the era of Mannerism, because I too haven’t heard of it until this video. Yes some of this art is interesting and it is amazing how detailed the artists can get with their sculptures. The sculptures were so detailed that they looked realistic its amazing to see them and I wonder how long it took Michelangelo to make them. It must take a lot of focus and talent to achieve those pieces of art that he accomplished. The dramatic paintings also were pretty interesting and moving to look at. The dramatic paintings are the ones that I felt were more interesting to look at. I think that many dramatic paintings have a very deep message to them that are in the minds and emotions of the artist. That time was when emotion was really portrayed through art.
Hello Amy
That is pretty interesting to find this out as well. When people look back art many people dont really mention the Mannerism. I think may over look this time period but i can be wrong maybe its just me that doesnt hear about this time period of art. I briefly looked up this time period and seen the art and as the Renaissance painting and sculpture look amazing.
Hey Amy,
I agree with what you said as well. I had absolutely no clue that the Mannerism era even existed. It’s interesting to learn about that because even if its span was quite short, it still had an influence on artists. The sculpting was very sensational and very detailed that it brings out the realism in it. I had heard of this era but I’s great to know of the impact that it had on many works and it probably has had a great impact on works today as well.
John Savage
I really enjoyed the video because it showed my favorite historical era. My favorite period for art and history is most definitely the Renaissance era. The art that came out of that period is just astonishing. The amount of detail and realism is jaw dropping and the pieces are just beautiful. The artists like Michelangelo and DaVinci during this period made such impactful pieces that shaped history and the way we see art as well. All though all these artists made amazing pieces my favorite artist was Michelangelo because he was the most talented in all areas in my opinion. His work on the Sistine Chapel and the statue of David are just so detailed and amazing to see.
In this video, Professor Zucman went over the influential artists that were involved in the Renaissance era by giving us details of their work. The style of the art is very much alike when comparing the work done by the different artists for example Michaelangelo and Bernini. After doing research i learned that one of da Vinci’s contemporaries and perhaps his challenger for the title of greatest Renaissance artist was Michelangelo. Born 13 years after da Vinci, Michelangelo followed in his footsteps as a Renaissance man. He was an accomplished artist, poet, architect, and engineer. His best-known work is probably the sculpture David, which was completed in the opening years of the 16th century. I did more research and found out that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were names after the top 4 most important artists of the Renaissance Era who were; Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. To be honest this kind of art doesnt really spark my interest, other art has interested me more, but I gotta say finding out where the Ninja Turtles got their names from was cool.
Hey Yonathan,
I wasn’t aware of how similar the styles were especially Michelangelo and Bernini and I think its funny how the class would always choose Michelangelo’s when he showed them the four David sculptures but they chose the Bernini David if they had to choose one to date. I did a bit of research on Michelangelo and I agree that him and Da Vinci are the two most known and greatest artist of the Renaissance period. I really like Michelangelo’s work especially his work as an architect. I thought it was funny how you mentioned that the Ninja Turtles were named after the top 4 artists of the Renaissance Era because I was just talking about that with my sister since she is a big Ninja Turtles fan.
Andy Bui
I feel that Renaissance art is very recognizable among people today. This isn’t surprising because it was so influential and popular that you can still see it around today. One place that I’ve seen it in modern entertainment is in the game Assassin’s Creed. A few of the games in the series takes place during the Renaissance, and when playing the game, various pieces of artwork such as the Mona Lisa and sculptures similar to David were depicted and used as secondary objectives. This shows that Renaissance art has a big influence on people and society today. I think that Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is an amazing sight. There is so much attention to detail like in the chiseled lines, and the amazing lighting from the skylight. I would love to see this piece in person to get the full experience. It’s amazing to know that all of this was carved from marble!
Hi Andy. I was actually thinking about Assassin’s Creed when Leonardo and the Renaissance was mentioned in the video (this isn’t a post about video games). I agree that the Renaissance is very recognizable and influential today, to the point where we incorporate into our means of entertainment because it’s still very fascinating as well as aesthetically pleasing. I also agree with you that Ecstasy of St. Teresa is amazing. When I learned about it in Design History, I was thoroughly impressed with the hidden window being used to cast upon the sculpture to make it even more vibrant and holy. I love its detail, and even the paragraph behind it. When we learned about it and read the paragraph, I saw every word exemplified in the piece, which I think is difficult to do with any translation from word to sculpture/painting, etc.
–Nick Lemmerman
Hello Andy,
I agree. I am also not surprised at how influential the Renaissance period was even back then. A lot of the things we see today are all influenced and evolved from ideas that were very much liked back then. I also found that music, specifically orchestral music, is also influenced by its previous periods. I would love to go see amazing sights as well.
Brian Sath
Growing up, I always heard about the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, however, I never learned about the Baroque. Along with that, the famous artists of the Renaissance included Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo. I had never learned about Bernini, however, from this video, he seems to be my favorite from the time period. My favorite art piece by Bernini is actually the Saint Teresa. I thought that he went outside the box since there was no electrical light, however, with the golden glow, it made the artwork so much better. It is so amazing that he was about to turn marble into such an amazing art piece with intricate details. Obviously, the Mona Lisa is a very popular piece and Raphael painted his girlfriend naked. I believe that in today’s society, we often view these art pieces as something sexual, however, back in the Renaissance, it looked like they highlighted their admiration for the human body. Overall, I thought it was an interesting time period that had many different types of artwork that are simply viewed as extravagant even until today. Bernini, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo truly were better than a lot of other people during their time period, especially when Bernini was compared to Peter Paul.
This video was cool, professor Zucman went over the Renaissance era and the famous influential artist during those periods. It was interesting to listen to because the Renaissance Era is for sure my favorite, if feel as though art during this era was definitely took the most serious and was more powerful. The art during this period was just astonishing, the copious amount of detail made the art so powerful it almost looked like a real life scenery staring at you in the face. My favorite piece that this video briefly went over was the stature of David, simply because OMG, it looks amazing, the amount of detail, the posture of the statue, the facial expression of the statue, all is o realistic and shows so much emotion and deeper meaning. It feels that any moment the statue can start walking toward you.
Sculptures have been one of my favorite art forms and i think most of the great artist lived during the Renaissance era. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is probably the best one I have seen. The main reason sculpture is my favorite is the the fact that artist have to hand carve it and its very detail. To do a big art piece you have to visually see the end result in your head so when you are working on it you know what part has to be carve out. Once you have the main content you then have to detail it to make it look presentable. Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa you can see the how smooth the carvings are done, well from what i can see from the pictures Ive looked up. Then the lighting from above make the whole piece come together. As for the meaning it has been said that its the contact between earth and heaven, between matter and spirit. I can see why people can say this since its an angel coming down from heaven to earth to possible take this woman to a better place(heaven).
Jonathan Girgis, 1:00 pm-
It is amazing to me how many great works of art were made during the Renaissance/Baroque era. One thing that stood out for me is the amount of detail and symbolism, for instance, the paintings had. The goal was not just to paint/sculpt something realistic and representational of the character or event, but also to try to heighten and extend beyond what is obvious and straightforward. This is especially true of Bernini’s work. I actually like his art, like “David,” compared to the other “David” by Michelangelo. The kind of imagery used along with the strong attention to detail the artists had is mind boggling. The hours of work and effort they put in to these art pieces must’ve have been almost alien. It’s really not surprising that until today we can instantly recognize and admire the paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque period.
Daniel Schmitz
Hey Jonathan,
I was also surprised by the sheer number of great works that were made during the Renaissance. When people think of “art”, one of the most popular first thoughts is of the Mona Lisa and other extremely famous Renaissance era art. Baroque was all about making things big and impressive, something that the sculpture “David” encapsulated quite well. The original by Michelangelo was large and in charge, but Bernini seemed to take that to a whole new level. He included more “human” characteristics that made the sculpture rougher, whereas Michelangelo’s was like a Greek god. Maybe as the Renaissance progressed, the more Baroque art became.
I love this era of artwork and was by far my favorite art history course I have taken. I am a painter myself and I am always really inspired any time I look at artwork from the Baroque period. I look up to these artist and especially Peter Paul Rubens. His use of light are dark that define this period of paintings are amazing. I think that it is really interesting though how artists like me are still learning from these great artists and how their styles and techniques influence art that we see today. I enjoyed seeing the difference in style from the previous period to the Renaissance era. The people depicted went from basic and flat to round and detailed. More attention was put on shadows and highlights and the human body to be more realistic. I can always learn more and more about this period and style and I think thats what I love the most about it
The Renaissance era is by far my favorite era for its breath talking beauty and detail. Growing up Catholic, I was first introduced to Renaissance paintings such as “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci and “Assumption of the Virgin” by Titan as a young child in religion class. I was also exposed to the magnificent paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo which still takes my breath away overtime I see photos of it. I hope to be able to visit myself one day in person along with all the other beautiful paintings I’ve seen throughout my childhood. While modern art today is sometimes focused on representation and analysis through abstract works, Renaissance art focuses on realism and is extremely detailed which captures every once of beauty possible and shows it all to the world—which is one of the reasons why I love it.
Hi Linda!
The pieces that you’ve mentioned are definitely the ones that I’m a little more familiar about since I grew up in a Catholic country. These paintings never cease to amaze its audiences and the style of the era is very unique. The art does focus on realism, yet each artist finds ways to emphasize more beauty in each detail.
I agree that visiting the Sistine Chapel is a definite must and would love to go one day.
Tommy Duong
I was really interested into Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. For Bernini to be able to think outside of the box and use gold to manipulate with light is such amazing. Also, looking at the photo of the sculpture, the way he was able to make the cloth look as if it was life like. He was an amazing artist especially in his time when things are being experimented because of the enlightenment period. I enjoy looking Bernini’s work and the amount of detail he placed into his art. Also I would like to mention that the gold that is hanging behind the sculpture makes it as if god’s ray was shining on the beauty of the master piece.
Raylyn Diep
I definitely agree with you, Tommy! I also found that Bernini’s artworks were absolutely amazing. I especially loved the detail he put in when he sculpted Saint Teresa in one of his art pieces. He even elevated the already amazing piece by giving it amazing lighting using the skylight and gold. I would never have thought of the gold as god’s rays shining on the beauty of the masterpiece. Now that I think about it, it truly does look as if it’s god’s rays.
After watching this video I really decided to look more into Michelangelo because I never knew much about him other than the fact that I grew up looking at most of his pieces in church and in school. Since I attended a Catholic private school my entire childhood I viewed many of his pieces but never took the time to analyze the significance and work that was behind his pieces. I think his first piece I clearly remember was his painting of “The Last Judgement” made in 1541. The reason why I remember that piece so vividly was because of how over whelming it was to look at as a small child. The meaning of the painting was to show the day when all human souls would come to their last and final judgement and this would decide their fate, good or bad. I admire most the fact that this piece was extremely detailed and I can’t even imagine the amount of time and dedication this took. That’s probably one of the things I admire most about any artists and their pieces, the time and love they pour into their pieces.
If not minding it, I always enjoyed learning about Renaissance art in my history classes growing up. I always loved the fact that today, we see Renaissance art as very classic and timeless art, but at the time of their creation, the art was very progressive. Because the art had a lot more realism-based subjects and ideas and strayed from a religious standpoint, it became a lot more about people and things that were actually happening. I loved this concept a lot just because it was very progressive, and gave way to so many more possibilities.
Natalie Santana
If I had to choose my favorite era, it would be the Renaissance. Leonardo and Michelangelo are the first sculptors that come to mind when I think of the Renaissance. I decided to do a little more research on Michelangelo because I’m so intrigued by his work. I did not know how similar Bernini’s sculptures were to Michelangelo’s. Michelangelo was the first artist to be recognized during his lifetime. “Together with Leonardo, the two stood out as strong and mighty-personalities with two irreconcilably opposed attitudes to art , yet with a bond of deep understanding between them.” I think its so cool that he learned at a very young age that school or working his family’s financial business was not his thing, but art was. At age 13 his dad agreed to send him to the painter Ghirlandaio to be trained as an apprentice. At age 13 I had no idea what I wanted to pursue. I really enjoy learning more about these amazing artist. I have always heard of them but I never really knew about them in detail and it’s interesting to learn more information about them.
Daniel Schmitz
It’s a shame we skipped over the Medieval ages, they’re one of my favorites (not because of the art, though)!
After watching this video, I read up on the Baroque era a little bit on wikipedia, because before this I had no idea what it was and had only previously heard about “Baroque” through music, which I also had no idea about. Apparently, as I understand it, the Baroque style was all about obvious, large, epic pieces of art.
Michelangelo’s “David” in the early Renaissance seems similar to the sculptures the Greeks made (that we learned about last week), except larger. It looked perfect, like it could be a Greek god of some sort. Then when Bernini recreated “David”, he made it more robust and “human”, showing wrinkles and age that Michelangelo’s did not express.
From the few examples covered in the video, it seems like the later in the Renaissance you get, the more grand and extreme the paintings get. Maybe the further the Renaissance progressed, the more Baroque everything became.
Raylyn Diep
As the video proceeded to talk about and show the artworks made during the Renaissance and Baroque period, I noticed that many of these pieces are actually the more famous and well known ones. The one piece that I recognized the most was the one named “The Swing”. I remember the time I saw that painting, I thought that the woman in the painting looked so angelic and beautiful. I noticed that these artworks were very detailed especially the one called “Ecstasy”. The amazing detail and precision that went into every detail really brought the sculpture to life especially the detail sculpted on Saint Teresa. All the pieces in the Baroque period did seem really exaggerated and open. Going back to the piece called “The Swing”, I would not have noticed the man in the lower left corner trying to look up the woman’s skirt as she was swinging on the swing. Overall, both of these time periods showed the most familiar and amazing artworks.
Art and sculpture from the Renaissance Period is beautiful in a timeless sense. I have always believed that Renaissance art captures a style of perspective highlighting humankind’s natural form, with a positive “glow” surrounding the foreground. They mainly depict human bodies in various poses, but instead of using realism, the pieces look especially grand and thought-provoking. For example, Lorenzo Bernini’s “Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” sculpture is extremely timeless and dramatic in its portrayal of divine interaction. This is another aspect of Renaissance art which elevates it into a higher level of timeless beauty. Most sculptures, even ones of non-religious figures, have a divinity aspect to them. The central character is always placed on a pedestal with an attention-grabbing pose, often in a way that would almost solicit worship from viewers during the Renaissance. They are usually naked as well, showcasing human beauty and removing the cultural markers of period clothing. This is important because it allows people to appreciate the artwork just as easily 400 years later, never becoming out of date like more period-specific pieces. The statue of David could just as easily have been made in Ancient Greece or Rome, and this is the timeless aesthetic Renaissance artists were trying to create.
Hi Evan,
I didn’t even put two and two together that most of the sculptures tend to have the same theme. But after you mentioned that the central character is always placed on a pedestal with some type of pose, I went back a looked at a few that Zucman mentioned and you seem to be correct. Good observation! I knew that they were all usually naked but I didn’t think of it as removing cultural markers but I think it does help people relate to the art better and appreciate it even more.
Kaya Quarles
The Mona Lisa is evidently the most famous work of art in the world and despite the fact that I’ve seen pictures of how it really is like to see the painting at the Louvre is still crazy to me. However, I definitely would still love to see it.
Art during the Renaissance definitely has dramatic flares to it. I’ve looked up more of Bernini’s sculptures and the details are incredible. A lot (if not, all) of them exude very strong emotions. His own interpretation of the statue of David illustrates a different kind of style despite being almost the same sculpture.
All the works shown from the Renaissance era are definitely timeless and can never be under appreciated. One piece I would like to see in person is the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo.
Hi Patrica Avendano,
I agree with you that the most famous work of art in the world. Even though, I do not know much about art, but I recognized the the Mona Lisa. In High school, I remembered that our teacher uses Mona Lisa as a model for us to draw. Also, I first learned about Mona Lisa is when I went to the library. At the library, students can guess the name of art and one of them was Mona Lisa. I also amazed at the Bernini’s sculptures and the details. I also want to see the Sistine Celine by Michelangelo. I went to the museum in LA in middle school, I get to see a lot of art pieces.
Hi Patricia! The Mona Lisa is actually one of my favorite pieces in art! I agree with your assertions that the art that was created during the Renaissance era is very timeless because we still talk about the pieces today In addition, I think it is very fun to learn about these pieces because there is always different points of views to look at the art. Thanks for sharing your assertions!
I love this art class because I get to explore art eras that i would not have really thought about. Though everyone knows about Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo,and so on, I for one never really researched them I only knew the most famous of their art pieces. But after the short video i did more research on the renaissance era and the artwork is so beautiful. One in particular really caught my eye. The Pieta by michelangelo is amazing. It is a sculpture of the virgin mary cradling the dead body of christ. It is very clear that michelangelo was strongly influenced by religion. Up to date this has to be my favorite era. The colors used in the paintings, the realism feel of the portraits, and the religion’s influence make the era stand out to me.
Hi Araceli
It is true that a lot of people already know or heard of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, especially since they are mentioned in movies and television shows. After reading your comment I looked up The Pieta and I agree this piece of art is amazing. It has great details and looks very realistic.
Hello Araceli,
I agree that Michelangelo was strong influenced by religion. A huge majority of his pieces were actually commissioned by churches to be presented within their walls. What better way to advertise for your church than having an original Michelangelo piece within? I wonder, if religion were not the driving force for art during the Renaissance period, what kinds of art would have been produced? Would we still see the exploration of the human form? Would artists have still gone to extremes to learn the most accurate proportions of the “perfect” human form?
Araceli Lozano ^^^
I remember learning about the Baroque and Renaissance in my Design History class last Fall–unfortunately I forgot a lot of it even though I enjoyed the class and the topic. Anywho, let’s try and remember some stuff (งツ)ว. I enjoy both the Renaissance and the Baroque for their excessiveness and extravagance. We learned about Ecstasy of St. Teresa and how incredibly detailed it was, from the intricate and realistic carvings in the stone and the hidden window which let in sunlight to highlight and cast shadows upon the sculpture–I loved it. I also recall that it was around these eras in art that paintings began to be more realistic, although I may be totally incorrect on that. I remember learning about how incredibly detailed a lot of the paintings were, so much so that it was a little disturbing and uncanny. We looked at paintings that were very realistic, but also very dark and creepy in nature: incredible detail, but the contents of the painting were dark and violent, with lots of shadows.
^ Nick Lemmerman
The art talk for this week is Renaissance and Baroque (15th through 16th century. The video is interesting. The famous paintings during the Renaissance Precursors is the Amolfini portrait 1434 wedding portrait armed. More famous that than the 1434 is Madonna and Child had a sort of a gothic feeling. The Middle Ages arm religion was very dominant and certainly in the Renaissance religion wheels. Moving to the High Renaissance, the famous painting of Mona Lisa. Out of all the art, I recognized the Mona Lisa and Vitruvian Man. We get to see Lafornarina from time to time. Another similar artist is Michelangelo such as Sistine Chapel and sculpture of David. After Renaissance is mannerism and North and the Germany England, but will move to the Baroque. During the Baroque, Gian Lorenzo Bernini is aware of Michelangelo and sculpt David. The perspective between Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Michelangelo. Bernini sculpture of the Ecstasy has a lot of meaning. It was interesting to know all the artist and the different sculptures.
Aleah Lomeli
The Renassiance time period fascinates me because of the detail that each artist’s sculptures portrays. What caught my eye is the emotion and meaning behind each of the artwork. Also, I never really paid attention to sculptures but what I learned is that all these sculptures are made about artists that I am well aware of such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. My favorite piece that I viewed was during the Renaissance Precursors, Jean Fouquet’s artwork Madonna and Child 1450 because of the connection between the mother and her child yet their faces show complete seriousness. Also, Bernini’s artwork, Ecstasy, showed a powerful message. At first I thought it presented a more sexual image but it really presents an angel coming down from heaven. Overall, the Renaissance and Baroque time period was really interesting.
Hi Aleah,
I agree with you on how amazing the detail in these artworks are. It just makes me wonder how much time they put in into these sculptures. I can’t imagine how steady their hands have to be in order to create the facial features of the person in the sculptures. I also found it very interesting on how the Renaissance lasted all the way into the Marie Antoinette period. To me, I just thought it was strictly only Leonardo Da Vinci time era.
Hey Aleah,
The Renaissance time period is indeed fascinating. I’ve never really paid attention to the sculptures up until now. The way the sculptures were made back then can hardly be replicated nowadays. All the detail that was put into each and every sculpture always makes me think how much time and patience was put into their pieces. It makes me appreciate the art they created even more than before.
Christian Gallo
This time period is interesting and is probably the one I know more because of movies. In the movies they mention a few of these artist. When I was watching the video, I had already heard of some of the artist and their work, of course I do not know much about them but I have heard of them more than any other artist from the previous video. Michelangelo is an amazing artist and has many skills.
Hi Christian,
I really encourage you to look into these artist and really view their work. Just a simple google search will bring up tons of information. I myself has heard of many of the artist mentioned but continued to research them and i was amazed by how beautiful their artwork was.
Nhi Truong
I like how we are going through the history of art because we are able to see how art is evolving throughout time. We first started off with the cave art, which were grand and simple, to these detailed, intricate paintings and sculptures in the Renaissance Era. Most of the artists I knew came from the Renaissance Era, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo. In my opinion, the most impressive sculptures out of the ones shown was Bernini’s sculpture on Saint Teresa. It is truly amazing how he made such a grand sculpture alone, but also on how much detail he puts into it. These artists during this time put so much detail into their work. When I saw the picture of the Mona Lisa amidst the tourist, I thought the painting was very small. Because pictures of the painting only show the Mona Lisa, I imagined this large painting. All in all, the Renaissance was a time of amazing detail and amazing artistic capabilities.
Hey Nhi,
I thought it is really interesting too that we’re learning the history of art. It really shows how art have evolved overtime and how it actually affects the type of art and modern architechture that we see today. Through the history of art, we did see many beautiful pieces and sculptures. Going through the Baroque era, I noticed the attention to facial and body language has increased greatly to emphasize the emotion, drama and tension of the art piece. You also mentioned the Mona Lisa being really small in person, which is really true and crazy to me. I’ve always thought the Mona Lisa would be regular to large size from all the close-up pictures that I’ve seen, but to create a piece that small with that much detail captured in it, really is one of the reason why it is such a treasured piece of art.
Tina Tran
The Renaissance and Baroque periods are two of my favorite art periods. During this time, artists truly expanded on their knowledge of art. They used science to help them understand the human body, and how to depict it on paper. The artists of the Renaissance (and the sub-categories within) were truly the front runners in creation of naturalistic art. Their art was influenced the majority of the time by churches. The importance that churches put on art commissions truly allowed artists to grow and experiment with funds they otherwise may not have been able to come across. My favorite part of the Baroque period was the Rococo. The frivolousness of the works is truly fascinating. Even paintings depicting hunting parties were painted in such a fancy, ornate, delicate way, that one does not even recognize that they are looking at a hunting party. There is a famous rococo painting that also depicts a picnic. It is almost like an Easter egg hunt trying to find everything in the painting. The amazing part of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, is that all of the different art movements within were responding to the last. Each movement was either in support or objection to the prior. This dialogue between the movements is extraordinary to follow, when one studies the connections. It is also incredible how many surviving works we have today. How is the Sistine Chapel still in excellent condition? How do we have both David statues? The artist of the time either knew they were creating works to last many lifetimes, or they were unknowingly creating the enduring works we have today. Either way, what a wonderful way to study the past.
Hi Shalane!
I actually wasn’t familiar with the Baroque time period prior to this video, so it was really interesting to learn about it. I think it was also helpful that you mentioned that the Renaissance was the first time naturalistic art became evident, and the fact that it was highly influenced by churches. After reading your post, I decided to look up Rococo, and I was intrigued. Again, I haven’t heard or seen Rococo before. It looks amazing! It’s so intricate and a bit overwhelming. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at from a distance. I think it’s also funny how you compared it to an easter egg hunt, I’d have to agree with you. You also made a good point about works lasting for so long. I mentioned that too in a previous art discussion blog about the Trajan typeface font.
Hi Shalene! Just like Monica above, I wasn’t familiar with the Baroque era. After doing some research, I found out just how much influence religion had over art during this time period. It can be greatly seen in Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. I liked how in your comment you said artists expanded on their knowledge of art with the help of science to help them understand the human body and depict it on paper!
Melissa Rios
This week we covered the Renaissance and Baroque era. I along with my classmates, recognized some artist such as Leonardo and Michelangelo. Therefore, we are also familiar with their work such as the Mona Lisa, Vitruvian Man and David. However, I thought that the most interesting art was Raphel’s painting of his wife, La Fornarina. I thought this painting was extremely interesting because 296 years later, Jean-Augusta-Dominique-Ingres painted the very same painting. However, her painting included Raphael painting Fornarina and she was included physically in it by sitting on Raphael’s lap. Add 175 years and you get the painting called Untitled #205 by Cindy Sherman. Cindy painted La Fornarina, but this time is was her version of La Fornarina. I thought these paintings were amazing, in the sense that other artist took the time to recreate art. They could have put all that time and dedication into another piece of art, but instead they choose to reimagine the art and repaint it themselves. And I think that says a lot about an artist.
Laura Lockett
The renaissance area seems extremely powerful and like Professor Zucman said it was a really dominant time period. It is art that is recreated and reformed in our art today. It is used in many forms in the art world today. Here we are many years later still interested in the work that was created during this period. It is unbelievable to believe that this art has such an strong effect that it is still relevant today. How amazing is that? To think that something that was done during our time period will continue to shift the style of later generations to come.
Hi Laura,
I definitely agree with you how the renaissance period had a lot of influence in art. I agree with your assertions on how art is reflected in the world we live today. And I think its remarkable how the past passed on future generations of art. Imagine the world in the future and how the strides we make in art and technology today will result in the future. Thanks for sharing Laura!
Hi Laura,
I find it crazy to think that what we are doing now will go on to influence people like how the Renaissance has influenced many that have come after it. I’ll often hear people say that “they just don’t make good (movies, music, etc.) anymore,” and I find that to be entirely false. I love trying to guess what from our time will go on to become classics. I already find myself being inspired by things I watch and read from now. I look forward to seeing what from our time went on to inspire the work of others. It’s nice to see that someone recognizes that this will happen, as it often times feels like many don’t realize that what we do now may shape generations to come.
Andrew Nguyen
The Renaissance period made great strides in art history and many famous artists were recognized from this era. Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinici are the biggest art influencers during this era. Michelangelo he had many famous pieces such as the “David” sculpture and Da Vinci’s iconic ‘Mona Lisa’. After this great period came the Baroque era which could be described as more personable and dramatic pieces of artwork when compared from the Renaissance era. For example, during the Baroque era there were great pieces from Bernini’s where Mother Teresa was crossed with an arrow. Overall, I really enjoyed this week’s art video because these artists were people I have become familiar with.
Tina Tran
Hello! I’ve read some of the comments from other students above and like most people, I have no idea what the Baroque era is, surprise surprise. I did do my research afterwards, I actually read that it is an period that art style have evolved to show exaggerated motions and facial detail that would create drama and tension within a sculpture, painting and music. This artistic style was actually encouraged by Catholic Churches to draw in people by reaching our and communicating to them directly through emotions. In the video, a lot of the art is viewed as such beautiful pieces and their attention to detail was what drew people to admire the piece. The same reason was taken by the church when “The Last Super” and the sculpture of David was created. Baroque artists created pieces in this style to express emotion, power and control that would last through centuries.
Hey Tina,
I’m glad you decided to research the Baroque era because I too have no idea what that was prior to this video. As stated in my own reply, I had a feeling that a lot of the art during this age would be based around realism but I never knew that baroque was known for the details in expression and how the catholic churches used it as a way to encourage catholicism. Thats interesting! I think so many people were moved by these paintings and sculptures because it allowed them to bring religion, myth and and folklore to life and in way make it seem more realistic. It allowed them to have a reason for believing these things because they were portrayed in such a manner. I feel like this age is why religion is still so powerful in today’s world.
There were quite a few things mentioned in the video that was something I have seen/heard of before, such as the Mona Lisa, the statue of Michelangelo, and the Louvre Museum. So, I was intrigued by the Baroque segment because I was not familiar with the term “Baroque.” Upon research, it says that it exaggerates motion & interpreted detail to produce drama and tension. The art piece that stood out to me the most in the video was from The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa made by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is displayed in the Cornaro Chapel Santa Maria della Vittoria, located in Rome. I admire Bernini’s decision to use the skylight to illuminate the sculpture as opposed to using electricity. As said in the video, there was no electrical light, that all there was was a skylight above the sculpture. I also think it was interesting that Professor Zucman mentioned in the video that this is not suppose to be sexualized, because I decided to watch a Khan video and they mentioned that it was “a kind of sexual symbolism.” The Khan video also compared the angels the heavens, and Teresa as the Earth. I think it is interesting because many people interpret art in so many ways.
Christopher Yuen
When thinking of the Renaissance, what comes to mind is most definitely art. I believe during the renaissance, the most revolutionary and well known creations were made and the most progression in art had occurred. I especially feel like during this time period, a lot more people were more open to art and wanted to indulge in that culture. I really like Bernini’s work during the Renaissance. I feel like he really brought out the story and details with his art and it showcases his own individuality. I was never too much of a religious person but seeing how much it inspires these artists to create beautiful works is truly inspiring. I love the renaissance age simply for the fact that a majority of the paintings and sculptures have a very detailed and realistic style. To paint and sculpt images that represent mythical or heavenly beings further enforces their beliefs in the religion and I feel like it takes a tremendous amount of skill. Although there was a standard for how renaissance art was most typically depicted, I think artists like Bernini really pushed that boundary and paved way for more experimental art.
When I was in 7th grade, I had a class called Medieval World History. This was the class that introduced to me what the Renaissance was, which is essentially the “rebirth” of Europe after the middle ages. Within this period, there was also a Renaissance art, which I am familiar with; like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The School of Athens by Raphael. However, I am not familiar with the Baroque era (or at least I have no memory of ever learning about it), so I did a little research.
The Baroque era was a period during the 1600s in which the artistic style was “exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music,” as the New World Encyclopedia defines it. One of the pieces of art that caught my attention was The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Lorenzo Bernini. It is a sculpture made out of marble, stucco, and gilt bronze. Bernini depicts in the sculpture what seems to be an episode of “religious ecstasy” of a nun called Teresa of Avila. Looking through the examples of art during these eras was actually interesting, I learned some new things.
Juan Vasquez
I had previously heard and seen images of the works done by Leonardo and Michelangelo before having seen this video. I even had mentioned them in last week’s discussion as being artists I admired for their use of scientific knowledge to also create their work. When thinking of the renaissance these two artists definitely come to mind with their different works. I had seen most of their work in the past and find them to be amazing in detail, which made them as iconic as they are today. I had not heard of Bernini’s work though and it is a nice surprise to see an unknown artist’s work that is truly exquisite. The thought of sculpting all the curves and edges in his Ecstasy sculpture is unbelievable. I did not really know much about the Baroque time period until today thanks to this video.
Kaya Quarles
The Renaissance is a very popular era because of the realism of the pieces. It is interesting to think that the paintings of the Renaissance still have an impact on artwork today. I really appreciate Michelangelo’s pieces Saint Peters and the statue of David. After Michelangelo created this statue, Bernini went and recreated the piece. I went on google and looked at their pieces side by side and I seem to like Bernini’s piece more. His depiction of David seems more realistic and hard. Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is also a very nice piece of work. All of the sculptures have such amazing detail that it must have taken them such a long time to finish. The lighting also enhances the piece very nicely. I think it would be a great opportunity to be able to see any of these sculptures in real life just to see the scaling of everything!
This week we are discussing the Renaissance and Baroque period of art history. Back in April 2014, I had the privilege of visiting the Louvre Museum with my Spanish/French club in high school. In the museum I got too see many famous and iconic paintings and of course, I was able to see the Mona Lisa painting. Other than the barricades surround the painting, it was very hard for me to get up close due to the crowd of people. Once I finally got up to the front for a minute or two, I was fascinated because I was actually looking at a piece of art from 1503! It blew my mind that it was 2014 and there I was in front of something from centuries ago. Anyway, these art periods are some of my favorites because there is so much attention to detail and I adore the paintings of real people. The people in the artwork at this time came in all shapes and sizes (especially the women) and that is very different from today’s culture and influences. There are so many paintings from these periods that you may think of when talking about art and I know I do. Other paintings I enjoy from this era are “The Birth of Venus” and “The Last Supper.” I’ve seen these paintings countless times through life so this is one of the reasons why I like them.
Marcelo Ceballos Jr. – 1 PM
Hey Demi!
That is so great that you actually got to experience these works of art in person. It is a shame that you were only able to view it for a few minutes though. It really is mind blowing that art and other things can be around so long and have such an effect on people and communities over such a long time. Hope you get to see even more art in the future!
Joy Uba 1pm
Hi Demi!
That’s awesome that you got to see beautiful paintings and sculptures! In this time period, these artworks are also my favorite because of the details and how realistic they are. I really like seeing sculptures and other type of artworks that are realistic. I tend to be more amazed by them because it’s like real people. Also, this fascinates me because these sculptures were made years ago! Like… where did they get the materials to do this and how?
Marcelo Ceballos Jr – 1 PM
I have had a recent appreciation for the renaissance outside of art class which took place in evolutionary biology class. It had not really occurred to me just how important and revolutionary this time was. Before the Renaissance occurred there was pretty much no progress in any field, everything stayed the same and nothing new came out to make people wonder and think. I am really glad I did not grow up during that time because it would be so boring. Watching this weeks video made me appreciate the Renaissance even more because I never really understood the art and what was changing about it over time. Before I thought it was just people painting people, but now I see that it really is in a category all of its own because of how well the artists were able to capture the human form. Over time they got even more detailed and realistic which is beautiful to see because it does an even better job capturing the essence of people. It is a shame that some art is so popular, you cannot really experience it as well as possible because of the crowds and the need to get everyone through. I hope that I can one day see and experience this art in a relaxed and reflective manner.
I was most interested by the comment Professor Zucman made about how there is a conversation to be had about what it means to view a painting that is famous. As a person who watches a lot of movies and likes to read, I often find myself coming across works that have been heralded as classics before my time. Because of built up expectations, we may often find ourselves thinking along the line of “this isn’t THAT great” when engaging with a work of art. It can be hard to understand why something was received with such high praise without the context of the time that the artist(s) were living in and what technology they had to work with. What I like about these videos and the timeline is that they give us some information to learn more about this context and what other art of the period looked like. Knowing that, I feel like it becomes easier to appreciate why something like a painting may have been heralded as being “that great.” Work from the Renaissance Era wasn’t just great because it looked pretty, but also because of the shift in ways of thinking that they represented.
Hi Carlos! I agree what you mentioned about the reality of observing a piece of art that is already well known, as it may be easy to either go with the hype rather than interpret it on your own, or it could fall short of one’s expectations. Works that were considered great during a time period, and continue to be hailed as masterpieces were not just considered so because the public thought they were beautiful, or well made, but because like you said they represented a current way of thinking. It is important to judge art not just by the technical skill it took to create a piece, but by how it tied in to society at the time, and why it it received so much of a response from the public.
Lukas Fuentes
It is interesting to see the overlap of what I am learning in both this class and my Greek Mythology class. I was not familiar with the Baroque, so I did some further research into it. I found another sculpture created by Bernini called, “The Rape of Proserpina”. This sculpture caught my attention because I am about to learn about the Greek equivalent of this Roman tale known as the Rape of Persephone (Persephone is known to the Romans as Proserpina). This sculpture depicts Pluto (AKA: Hades) raping his Proserpina. I think this sculpture is incredibly well done. The feature that makes it most notable, in my humble opinion, is that Bernini was able to sculpt it such that Proserpina’s skin was yielding to the grip of Pluto, giving the sculpture an amazingly realistic look. It was mentioned in a previous week’s video how pervasive Greek and Roman Cultures are in art throughout history, so it was interesting to see that once again being applied in this week’s video.
Renaissance is always followed by the word change. Before this time period there was hardly anything happening, but once the renaissance hit there was a change in art and created an entirely new pace in history. This time period emphasized on realism more specifically on the human body. These weren’t any type of simple drawings like stick figures, it had ever last inch of detailed on the sculptures. One incredible painting was Michelangelo’s painting on David, it’s just so detailed and amazing I truly want to see it in person. With Michelangelo’s inspiration, Bernini also made a sculpture of David and that too was an incredible art piece, but not as good as Michelangelo’s. Datable wise, I think Bernini’s David seems more masculine and tough that makes him seem more datable vs. Michelangelo’s seems more beautiful and soft. I really liked Leonardo’s art works as well. His paintings just catches my eyes and Im really interested if there is really hidden messages behind his paintings, also the history behind his paintings. This time period is just amazing, I have to say it’s one of my favorites.
Hey Adrian,
After watching the video I decided to look up more information on the famous artist that were mentioned. I found a lot of their really beautiful artwork. I think Michelangelo’s work stood out to me the most. I mentioned in my post that I didn’t really know much about these guys and what they’re really known for. I also didn’t know that the statue of David was such an iconic work of art. So I looked it up too and found some cool pictures and learned more about. Some of the stuff I read about the statue coincides with what you were saying about realism and detail. I read that you can actually see the veins on the statue of David. I too hope to see it in person some day and I also am a fan of Michelangelo’s work.
Hey Adrian,
After watching the video I decided to look up more information on the famous artist that were mentioned. I found a lot of their really beautiful artwork. I think Michelangelo’s work stood out to me the most. I mentioned in my post that I didn’t really know much about these guys and what they’re really known for. I also didn’t know that the statue of David was such an iconic work of art. So I looked it up too and found some cool pictures and learned more about. Some of the stuff I read about the statue coincides with what you were saying about realism and detail. I read that you can actually see the veins on the statue of David. I too hope to see it in person some day and I also am a fan of Michelangelo’s work.
Briana Garcia (1pm)
Looking into the Renaissance and Baroque periods, I found it interesting how both of these artistic styles are known for their more realistic features, yet are primarily characterized by different styles such as Baroque’s more exaggerated use of emotions. These two particular styles are perhaps some of the most famous artistic periods and have some of the most well-known pieces such as Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel done during the Renaissance era, or Bernini’s depiction of Saint Teresa which is a Baroque piece. The different styles can be appreciated in the example given by the comparison of Bernini’s David, which is an example of Baroque, and Michelangelo’s David which is Renaissance, and the difference between expressions and detailing between the two. I personally find the detailing and somewhat more realistic features of the Baroque era to be particularly appealing, as they give more insight into human emotion.
Briana Garcia (1pm)
The coolest thing about this video for me was being able to get information about people and things I may have seen or heard about before but never really knew much about. For example, I now know a little more about Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael and what they’re known for and not just that they’re famous artists whom the Ninja Turtles were named after. That goes to show how much knowledge about art I’m lacking. But I did research and found some really cool things they’ve done. The artwork that stood out to me the most was the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. It’s so beautiful and detailed. Also, I didn’t know that Michelangelo was the one who sculpted David; in fact, I didn’t even know it was considered a famous sculpture. I just remember seeing it in an episode of Spongebob. I now know that the statue is 13’5″ tall, can be found in the Accademia Museum in Florence and that is made out of marble. I hope to visit Europe one day and get the opportunity to see some of their art in person. I think that would be the experience of a life time. I love looking at detailed paintings and sculptures and architecture. I wish I took more time to learn about it before this class. I didn’t realize how interesting it can be to learn about art history. I would have loved to do an artist conversation with one of these artists.
Maritess Inieto
Hi Briana!
I agree with you. I never really knew who’s work went with which piece. All of the pieces and names were familiar, but I never really knew who did what. And I also knew that it was all within that time period, but I still had to try to match artwork with artists. And I did not even make the connection between the ninja turtles and these artists while watching this video! That was a good catch! I didn’t know Michelangelo was the one who created the first David Sculpture as well! I recall seeing it in a bunch of TV shows, and in an episode of Spongebob. It’s nice that we share that little bit of information from our childhood and we are now learning about it in college. I did not know that the statue of David was so tall. Being 5’1, someone who is 5’6 is already tall, nonetheless, a sculpture that is 13’5 tall! Although I am not the biggest fan of art from the Ressainance time period, I bet going to Europe and seeing them in person would be a mind boggling thing. I hope you get the opportunity to see it in person one day! I also didn’t realize how interesting art history would be as well. Art really allows you to time travel and see what life was like in the past. It is a different form of analyzing history and I really do appreciate it.
We seek inspiration from those around us. Just as how the paintings of a single portrait of a lady went a long way, our interpretations also contribute to how we could recreate an idea. How we feel about the art, also varies upon the question being asked. A single subject, can be interpreted in so many different ways or combinations. Ideas change constantly, but nothing seems like a better idea than to take a subject and do whatever you want to in order show others how you interpret it.
I think when it comes to art, minimal, abstract art would have to be my favorite. Renaissance and renaissance precursors are not exactly my favorite, but I do appreciate how much detail is added to each work of art. Artwork during this time really focused on realism and really depicted what people looked like during that period of time. Personally to me, paintings from the Renaissance period are a little bit on the scarier side because of how detailed they are. For example, Mona Lisa looking so suspicious really makes you wonder, what is going on in this painting… Some people say she holds a secret which is why she has the look, but personally, it is just a little creepy… Rafael and his work “rippling across time” was very intriguing because it was different renditions of one piece. One piece inspired the next, which inspired the next. Michelangelo’s work had such great detail to it. The statue of David really depicted every groove of the human body from the ankle bone to the pieces of hair. Dernini’s work was just as detailed was just as detailed when it came to the body of David, but the face and hair were definitely not as detailed as Michelangelo’s. I liked the alter piece from Cornoro Chapel because this piece really played with the shadow and light. The Happy Lovers piece was very lovely looking. I love how the soft pink played with the greens in the background.
Maritess Inieto^^^
Joy Uba 1pm
I find this video really interesting. I love seeing beautiful sculptures that were created hundreds of years ago. The Statue of David is such a beautiful piece especially knowing that this was created years ago with the lack of equipment unlike today. Today, artists have access to different utensils and equipment that can easily help them create their artwork. The sculpture Michelangelo created in 1504 is a popular sculpture during that time and even today. It is so realistic and accurately carved the body parts.
Renaissance Art has great styles of pieces because of its realism in them. It’s amazing how this they still influence artists up until this day. When an ordinary person like me thinks of Renaissance art, I think of classic art pieces. It just has its own form to it that makes it unique and that’s what makes an inspiration to other artists and why they want to continue those types of pieces. It is kind of like the base of many art works that today still follow in those footsteps and will continue even after we’re gone from the world.
Its amazing how many thing people can accomplish in life. Michelangelo not only was he an artist but he was also painter, sculptor, architect, and a poet. His most famous work was the Pieta and The David were two of his most famous works of art. David was 14 feet tall and was considered one of the smartest men because of his amazing projects. The Pieta was by far his best work of art because of the detailed in the project. People were amazed to see even the smallest details in the work such as the veins pooping out. These artist have interesting work because thier work can be interpreted into many different ideas. Regardless of the meaning his works are very detailed and thought out plans.