I chose to blog about The Drawings of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance, The Power of Art: Caravaggio and La Primavera. I chose The Drawings of Michelangelo because I am interested in the artwork that he creates. Before taking this course I was not very familiar with art but Michelangelo was one of the artists I have heard about and enjoy learning about his art. I chose Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance for a similar reason of Michelangelo, I have heard of da Vinci before and was interested to learn more about him. I also watched the Da Vinci Code and was interested to learn how similar the movie is to his artwork and if the story was accurate. I chose The Power of Art: Caravaggio because it seemed like an interesting topic. This video talks about Michelangelo and also talks about cities in Italy such as Naples. Being from the Italian culture I enjoy learning about it. And lastely I chose La Primavera because it had an Italian name and as I stated above I enjoy learning about history of Italy.
During The Drawings of Michelangelo I learned more about the British museum and the importance of that museum in art history. It was also interesting to learn that there are approxomitely 90 original drawings from Michelangelo displayed there. Today those drawerings are only allowed to be viewed by serious art students but historically no one was allowed to to view them. The dome was a major piece that was designed but never created by Michelangelo. And the most interesting thing I learned about from this video was about the Sistine Chapel that was created by Michelangelo in the 1500's. The planning and carryings out was the greatest commission. The video Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance was a very interesting video. I learned about da Vinci was born April 15th and was left handed. He was an amazing sculptor the created chariots, latters, catapolts and many different machines used for battle. It was also interesting to learn about the Gratto and how influential it was for art history. It was also interesting to learn about how da Vinci's brother was elected as pope. And finally it was interesting to learn about how because da Vinci was left handed it caused much contraversy and problems during that time. The Power of Art: Caravaggio was about Michelangelo Merisi da Carvaggio on the run. He was wanted dead or alive for murder. He portrayed images such as David holding the head of Galiath and he believed by painting these pieces would save his life. He was found in Naples and beaten half to death. And finally La Primavera is about living, breathing creation displayed in California. This video was very interesting to watch because humans were created in still portraits. This piece is one of the most debated and contraversial pieces in art. It was also interesting that expersts believe that you should look up at paintings and they should not be displayed at eye level.
All of these video's are similar in certain ways but are also different. All of these video are somehow related to information presented within the two chapters we read this week. The Drawings of Michelangelo have been discussed many times throughout the semester and the creations that he has developed are main focuses for many different types of artwork. Leonardo da Vinci was also discussed several times throughout the semster because his artowrk is also very influential and represents many different types of art. The Power of Art was not discussed in as much detail as the other 2 artists have been but he is still influential to art and art history. And finally La Primavera was briefly discussed within the textbook and it was important because it is such a conterversial topic within art.
I really enjoyed watching these films. Although it was alot to watch alot of the imformation I learned was useful and is important to know. It was also cool to learn about La Primavera, I enjoyed seeing how people can portray and piece so flawlessly. As stated above I have learned about Michelangelo and da Vinci before but it is interesting to learn more than the just basics about them. I enjoy both of their artworks although they are different. As stated in previous weeks I am more of a visual learner and by watching these video's I can add depth of the readings for the week. Also by watching the video's and seeing images I am able to visualy retain certain information. Although it was time consuming watching these video's I found it ever influential and helpfule understanding topics we are learning about.
