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| Medieval Art |
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| More, sigh, medieval art |
While the art alone of the
Renaissance did not suggest radical social changes, it certainly depicted them indirectly. The art of the
Middle Ages had been two-dimensional, boring, and restricted to religious imagery. The infusion of classic Roman and Greek culture into a region dominated by Catholicism led to the belief that through combining the best ideas of all intellectuals could mankind flourish. Even popes immersed themselves in the new styles of antiquity. Increased tolerance of different ideas helped set the climate for such a radical upheaval like the one
Martin Luther would bring about. The anatomical observation paid by artists like
da Vinci and
Michelangelo, evident in
Vitruvian Man and
David, would pave the way to the great improvement in medicine that would come in the following centuries. Art was also improved through techniques such as
perspective,
chiarascuro, and
sfumato to be more realistic and appealing to the eye. Comparing the quality of Medieval and Renaissance art illustrates how much artists had improved. Sprouting from the Renaissance were
Baroque,
Mannerism, and most successive movements. Architecture during this period took on different forms throughout each region, but the Italian overhaul of a neo-Roman movement showed that it was not the
Dark Ages, but the time that preceded it, that was to be proud of.
However, the most profound change that the Renaissance brought about was the new perspective that men had on the world. Instead of despairing at the loss of the
Black Death,
Modern Europe was born, bringing with it optimism that has remained largely unfazed ever since.
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RENAISSANCE: God passing the divine spark to mankind in The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo, 1511
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Overall the Blog is very well written and very interesting to read. My only complaint is that the Architecture piece feels incomplete at the end. The balance between visuals and writings is dead on. The visuals do not distract from the content to be read. Excellent work Jacob
ReplyDeleteI really liked this blog. I think, like Piero said, you have enough photos to keep the readers engaged, but not so much that it dominates the blog. The only thing I'm not so sure about is the proof part, it seems rather concentrated in just one blog post. However, I also really liked the parts about all of the artists, since it seemed like the treatment you gave them was very complete.
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