Friday, December 7, 2012
Renaissance
The Renaissance began in Italy for multiple reasons. One reason is that the Black Plague had drastically reduced the population in Europe and paved the way for new opportunity. Another reason is that the location of Italy allowed for access to the ocean to increase different cultural changes. Lastly because many activists such as Martin Luther sparked rebellion in the people and changed followed in church and government.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Michelangelo (The Last Judgement)
Michelangelo, in full Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (born March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died February 18, 1564, Rome, Papal States), Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. Although the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are probably the best known of his works today, the artist thought of himself primarily as a sculptor. His practice of several arts, however, was not unusual in his time, when all of them were thought of as based on design, or drawing. Michelangelo worked in marble sculpture all his life and in the other arts only during certain periods. The high regard for the Sistine ceiling is partly a reflection of the greater attention paid to painting in the 20th century and partly, too, because many of the artist’s works in other media remain unfinished.
The Last Judgment is a canonical fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo executed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The work took four years to complete and was done between 1536 and 1541 (preparation of the altar wall began in 1535.) Michelangelo began working on it some twenty years after having finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling.The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The souls of humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ surrounded by prominent saints including Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Peter, Lawrence, Bartholomew, Paul, Peter Simon, Sebastian, John the Baptist, and others.This painting qualifies as a Renaissance art piece because it depicts humans in great detail which was a new concept of the Renaissance era.Monday, November 26, 2012
The year is 1515 and I am a merchant in Florence, a booming economic city. The plague has wiped out most of the population and the efforts to rebuild the society are in motion for the survivors such as myself. The efforts to rebuild mean a high demand for merchants, bankers, and tradespeople throughout the city. As of late I've been very well-off and making so much money I don't know what to do with. With my increasing wealth I've been put in a new social status know around town as the middle-class. I'm not quite sure but education is becoming more important in the city, everyone is becoming literate and reading for recreation. Also, my friend who's a banker and doing very well, was telling me about this study that he called arithmetic that he was learning and my other friend who's a tradesman is learning several different languages that i had never even heard of before. This a very odd time with so much change and advancement I guess you could say it's very overwhelming for myself, but i do know that there's money to be made and I'm making lots of it so I can't complain to much.
A modern day example of Niccolo Machiavelli is Adolf Hitler. Hitler resembles Machiavelli because Hitler's demise came from his obsessive focus on war and controlling as much of the world that he could. I do not believe that it is better to be feared than loved. Any leader in history that ruled by fear was eventually brought out of power by revolting citizens or government officials. If you are loved instead then the people will support you and not try to overthrow your power.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Fujiwara Japan (Heian)
Fujiwara Japan
I
have just returned with pictures from my latest journey to Japan during the Heian period. During this time period Japan was ruled by the Fujiwara Family, who through the marrying of Fujiwara daughters to emperors gained
power over many parts of Japan. The
original founder of the Fujiwara Family was Nakatomi no Kamatari who was rewarded by Emporer Tenji with the honorific "Fujiwara",
which evolved as a surname for Kamatari and his descendants. However, decline in food production, growth of the population, and
competition for resources among the great families all led to the gradual
decline of Fujiwara power and gave rise to military disturbances in the mid-tenth
and eleventh centuries.
I got my camera and materials I needed
for the trip and went back into my time machine. I carefully set the dial to
821 to the location of Heian, Japan and off I went flying
back through time. There was the usual flash of light and the time machine came
to a sudden and I stepped out into the sights and sounds of ancient Japan. The first
thing that I saw and photographed was a statue of Buddha that was located in
the middle of the city. I also photographed a Buddhist temple and different sacred
grounds throughout the city. Buddhism was the main religion in Japan at this
time and was widely practiced by the citizens of Heian.
I walked
through the city for the next couple of hours taking pictures of different
things I found interesting. The economy in Japan was very poor during this time
period so many citizens lived in poverty. I photographed houses on the
outskirts of the city made of clay, wood, and or tile and shoddily constructed.
As I walked around longer I came across me in heavy metal body armor
brandishing razor-sharp swords snuggly strapped around their waists. After further
research I have identified these worriers as samurais who were soldiers that
worked under nobles to fight and protect land against enemies. Once I finished
photographing I got back in the time machine and set the dial to 4020 to return
home once again.
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=TwjmaEySNofSdM:&imgrefurl=http://landsofwisdom.com/%3Fp%3D3111&docid=YVBhUXG_XmAu3M&imgurl=http://landsofwisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Buddhist-temple-in-Japan.jpg&w=500&h=333&ei=qdiNUPmBFIaq8ATH64DwAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=308&dur=3231&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=186&ty=107&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=212&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:86
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=Eksj6E-92BunBM:&imgrefurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/2011/04/26/japans-feudal-period/&docid=aiTgyJeKlgWKYM&imgurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/files/2011/04/samurai-1y21nzq.jpg&w=490&h=338&ei=jtmNUPemNor89QS-uoCYBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=190&vpy=206&dur=1935&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=198&ty=120&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:89
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=Eksj6E-92BunBM:&imgrefurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/2011/04/26/japans-feudal-period/&docid=aiTgyJeKlgWKYM&imgurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/files/2011/04/samurai-1y21nzq.jpg&w=490&h=338&ei=jtmNUPemNor89QS-uoCYBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=190&vpy=206&dur=1935&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=198&ty=120&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:89
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