Concept Blog Number 1

The Renaissance era was a time of cultural change from the 14^th century till about he 17^th century. The renaissance era profoundly affected European intellectual life. the Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt by intellectuals to study and improve the secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas from antiquity, and through novel approaches to thought. Early Renaissance, mostly in Italy, bridges the art period during the fifteenth century, between the Middle Ages and the High Renaissance in Italy. One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly realistic linear perspective. Many of the great paintings that came out of the renaissance era are still some of the most famous paintings ever. Many of the artist of that time are still looked up to, to this day.

     Some of the artists that were part of the renaissance were Leon Battista Alberti, Paolo Uccello, Andrea Mantegna, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci and Michelangelo di Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni. These artest painted some of the greatest most inspiring paintings of all time. They had a way of expressing themselves through their work. Most of the artist of this time changed the way that other artist painted and sculpted. They were very highly looked up to by so many people for so many years and still to this day when their names are mentioned you will only hear great things about them. They spoke through their work without words. They used emotion in their work to express what they were thinking and feeling. Many artist in todays times try and match much of the work that was produced during this time period, but it can never be matched because of the great artistic talent that many of the artist had during that time.

    

      The art that these artist produced did speek to many people and still do because they didn't have words but still spoke to them. The paintings spoke emotion and feeling. Paintings such as these two by famous painters Leonardo and Michelangelo speek great emotion. The two off to the left speaks to me because its of a young girl and she looks peaceful. She looks as though she is pondering life. It speaks to me because I am a young girl. I ponder life all the time and so it speaks to me on more of a personal level. Now about the painting on the right this one also speaks to me because its a picture of the last supper. I am very involved in my church and so this has more of a spiritual connection to me. When I look at this painting I look at every detail because I wonder what it would be like to go through a last supper like that. I picture what they would look like and so I look at what the painter though it would be like. It just brings emotion from deep down inside and I think thats exactly what the artist of this time period were aiming for.  

Last And Final Blog Post!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

The name Belle Epoque encompasses the realities of expansion, carefree attitudes, a faith in progress, and an affluence spreading down through society, together with a certain nostalgia. This nostalgia was an embellishing memory of reality coming out of the trauma of the First World War. The Belle Epoque period had much impact on people. The characteristics that stood out not only in the people but also in the art work still sticks with many of its views to this day. We can look back on that time a see a great change that took place. Change happened not only in the surroundings but also in the people. The time of the Belle Epoque was about 1850 to about the 19^th century. This was the time right around both world war 1 and 2. Lots of times durring this period things like people would be reflected in art work or in sculptures.

One of the biggest changes of this time was of the women. The women of this time period went through a dramatic change. Many people said it was a rebellious act and others said that it was just their way of expressing who they were and them growing up into a new time period. Wealthy Girls durring this time period often wore corsets and extravagant hats to be distinguished from the others. Over their tightly laced corsets they would wear a long heavy dress that covered most of their bodys. The corset was worn to show off every little curve of a women's body. Not much of their skin would show. Then over the dress they would wear a fur coat if it was cooler out. The accessories were also very important; women wore leather gloves, ankle boots and sometimes parasols. Some of the wealthiest women wore jewelry, perfume and makeup. Now the change that went under way was that girls started to feel uncomfortable being all laced up and not being able to breath in their corsets. Girls during this time often had long hair that they tied up and so girls were getting tired of always having to put up their hair day after day. So the girls started to change. They started to wear baggier dresses. And they cut most of their hair off. Their dresses would end at the knee and show most of their arms. They were exposing much more skin. Many people said they looked like boys but in fact they looked like girls that were comfortable. Women started to gain confidence in the way that they were and started to have more of a free spirit. Their clothes gave them not only room to breath literally but also in their attitudes.

Art and sculptures were something that was influenced by this time period also. At first the art was resemblance to the way that women looked. The art had curves and body to it. They were almost a stiff and refined look to them. Many of the paintings were simple but elegant. The architecture of things showed shape and curves. Just like the picture to the right just shows an elegant setting even the chairs have curve and body to them. As time went on though, these things tended to dye off and people started to care less about the curve in a person or painting and more in the way that they acted or their attitude was. The change was definitely clear from the people to the art during this time period.  

Last Concept Blog #3

    The Painters of the realism movement of the mid-19th centuries Ideas about the Realism art were to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes, and to form pieces of art that speek in the third person objective reality. Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a “true-to-life” manner. Artist of realists work wanted you to be able to put yourself into the shoes of the person in the painting and more of a real level. Realist painting has continued to come about in modern times also. In todays times you can find pieces of work that are like this. They are clear paintings that look real. That give you the opportunity to think what you will about the painting and put your own life adventures into them.

     Just as the words realists visual arts imply, artist wanted their work to look real and to speek to people on more of a real personal level. Realism sets as a goal not to imitating past artistic achievements but the truthful and accurate depiction of the models that nature and contemporary life offer to the artist. Allan R. Banks is a very talented realist painter. For me personally just by looking at many of his pieces I find peace and calmness. Both of his paintings, Children with Lop-eared Rabbit and Turning Leaves both spoke to me. When I look at the one with the two children I see happiness between them both. I see innocence. They are together because of a peaceful rabbit. And when I look at the other one of the little girl called Turning Leaves, it also gives me this calmness feeling. You just see the innocence of the little girl and how she doesn't look sad or happy. She is just at peace with the world and herself. When looking at this painting I put myself in the shoes of the child. I remembered by child hood and how at that time I was the same way. When life was easy and peaceful all the time.

     Lot of the paintings that portray realists views, tend to not have huge titles. They have general titles so that it gives the viewer the option to think and feel what is really going on in the picture. Starr Abbott is another realists panter. One of her pieces really speaks to me. Its called “A Summer Romance”. As the title implies it's about a summer romance. But say you didn't know what the title was, would you still be able to see and feel that it was about true love? Many times in todays society people don't take the time to sit down and look at art. But with pieces of work like this one, by Starr, you can instantly feel the love of the two people in this painting. As a viewer you put yourself in the painting weither you are a male of female you can put yourself into it and feel something. I felt the happiness that they were feeling. It made me think about my past relationships and how I felt through them. It brought emotions to me of happiness and joy. It helped me to remember all the good times I used to have.

    It's a strange feeling when all you have to do is look at a painting and feel emotions start to come to the surface. When I look at realists work, I feel those emotions. I feel emotions of happiness, sadness, peacefulness, calmness. It brings all those things to the surface for me because they are so real, and they are so catching to the eye. Thats exactly what those artest wanted. Is for people to bring those emotions out of people.  

Art Encounter # 2

The Romantic eras were often known for their music. The music was not considered Romantic just because it was written in the nineteenth century though. The beginning of that century found plenty of composers who were still writing Classical-sounding music. And by the end of the century, composers were turning away from Romanticism and searching for new idioms. Music of this era was often said to have expressed emotion without having any words said. The composers never had to put lyrics to their songs to get their point across. They often wanted the listener to come up with their own story of what the song was portraying.

This youtube video expresses some of the greatest composers of the romantic era. Many of the pieces of music played in this video are pieces of work that many people recognize in todays times. This is because not only did the composers of that time have an impact on people then, but they also are still making impacts on people today. The music just has a way of reaching every age for every generation. The composers of this video are people just like us but have passion for music and a creative ability to express that passion through a piece of music even without words. Composers such as Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Giacomo Paganini, Felix Mendelssohn, Elgar, Frederic Chopin, Rossini, and Peter Tchaikovsky have such a talent to be able to play such musical pieces that have been carried from genoration to genoration.

In the video the also use the words fantastic, amazing, best work, unique, and absolutely wonderful to describe the music but I dont even think that these words give these pieces justice. They are more incredible then words can express. When I listen to music such as these I can just sit back close my eyes, and feel so many different emotions. Some of them make me want to cry, while others make me want to laugh and feel joyful. Just listening to these quick pieces of the work in the video, they were able to make me feel these emotions. Music has always been an important part of my life, but there are just some pieces of music that make you feel more emotions then others.

I think the ideas and themes of music in the romantic era were just to express the emotion within oneself. The composers were expressing their emotions when creating their work and now I think they wanted you to express your emotions. The themes jump about around from being sad and touching, to happy and enlightening. Most of the work seems to be up beat and exciting and so I think that is the idea and theme of the music of that era. I think it was just supposed to make you happy and enjoy life. There are many people that go into make pieces of work that are able to express such emotion. In order to make pieces such as these in the video its often needed to have an orchestra so it gives more impact. Because of the composers and the orchestra its posible to pull such great music out.

Concept Blog Number 2

       The modern period has been a period of significant development in the fields of science, politics, warfare, and technology. The modern era discribes the historical timeline after the middle ages. Modern history is often broken into two parts the the early modern period, and the late modern period. The early modern period lasted from c. AD 1500 to around c. AD 1800 and is the time of the renaissance, and age of discovery periods. Now in the late modern period, this combination of events such as, the age of reason, the enlightenment, the romantic, and the victorian era totally changed thinking and thought of modern lives. One of the main effects in modern thinking was the enlightenment. Many aspects of the Enlightenment have influenced the belief of modern life. Enlightenment means belief in the power of human reason and by innovation in politics, religion, and education. The enlightenment developed during the age of reason. Its said that the understanding in the social world can help us improve the living conditions in the world. By looking at the three main aspects of the enlightenment, politics, religion, and education, we can get a better understanding for the modern period.  

Politics aren't just in effect for us today. They have been in effect for ages. During the Enlightenment period, new theories about what the human was and is, and about the definition of reality and the way it was perceived, along with the discovery of other societies in the Americas, and the changing needs of political societies all came about. The politics of the enlightenment period help us to better understand the needs of a human, how to form states, and what the best a state could be. These concepts also formed the distinction between government and state.

Religion is another important thing to look at, from the enlightenment period, to better understand the modern era. The enlightenment period often effected christianity. Depending on how much it was effected, there would occur two schools, rational supernaturalism and Deism. The Rational supernaturalist understood the unique role of revelation and differentiated between what could and what could not be rationally established, but they were convinced that revelation could still be defended by reason. And on the other hand you had the Deism which denied the necessity of revelation, by maintaining that after creating the universe, God does not interfere in its day-to-day runnings.

Last but not least education is important to look at, from the enlightenment time, to better understand why they did what they did in the modern era. The educational system played an important role in the transmission of ideas and ideals of the enlightenment. In Europe the education system was still being developed. During the enlightenment and French Revolution the education system really took off. Before the enlightenment the education system was not yet influenced by the scientific revolution.

By looking at the politics, religion, and education of the enlightenment era we can now see why people did what they did during the modern periods. The didn't have all the politics and laws that they had to abide by, the did not have religion playing a role into what they believed, and the certainly did not have the right education playing a role in what they knew. I think that the enlightenment was a good thing to happen because it gave us a better understanding for why people did what they did and why things became what they did.

First Art Encounter

There is one artest that stands out to me in a couple of different ways. This artest has not only been a fantastic sculpture maker of his time but also was a fantastic architect and painter. He worked as an Italian artist but worked primarily in Rome. He was born in 1598 on December 7^th and dies 81 years later on 1680 on November 28^th. This artest also worked with the architect, Francesco Borromini and the painter and architect, Pietro de Cortona. Who am I talking about? Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Bernini was born to a Mannerist sculptor. His father, Pietro Bernini, is originally from Florence. His mother was Angelica Galante, a Neapolitan. His father was involved in many high profit projects in Rome and at the age of seven Gian Lorenzo Bernini fallowed his father to Rome. His young skill was soon discovered by many important people in Rome such as, painter Annibale Carracci and by Pope Paul V. Then he gained the important patronage of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the papal nephew.

Young Bernini rapidly rose to prominence as a sculptor under the patronage of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Making sculpter after sculpter. In 1665 he was at the hight of his fame and power. Why was Gian Lorenzo Bernini one of the best of his time? Because he created art that spoke to people in a different way. He created pieces of art from extravagant sculptures, and paintings, to buildings, and fountains. His work spoke to people in a emotional, spiritual, and impacting maner.

One of Bernini's sculptures was the life-sized marble sculpture named Apollo and Daphne. Bernini started this sculpter when he was at the age of twenty-four and executed between 1622 and 1625. This is an unprecedented masterpiece for Cardinal Scipione Borghese depicting the chaste nymph Daphne being turned into a laurel tree, pursued in vain by Apollo god of light. Engraved on the cartouche on the base, says: Those who love to pursue fleeting forms of pleasure, in the end find only leaves and bitter berries in their hands. Not only were his pieces of work extravagant, but just by engraving something so little as the saying on this sculpter, makes it even more impacting to the viewer. It gives a little more meaning into why he built it and what he was trying to get across. This piece has always been housed in the same Cardinal's villa, but originally stood on a lower and narrower base set against the wall near the stairs.

He was 26 when he had his first architectural projects which was the Facade and refurbishment of the church of Santa Bibiana in 1624 to 1626. He also did the bronze columned canopy over the high alter of St. Peter's Baldachin in 1624 to 1633. Because of these two extravagant pieces, before he was complete, Urban VII put him in charge of all the on going architectural works at St Peter's.

Most of Bernini's work expresse emotion and feeling. People can relate to things like that because like Bernini's work, many times in a persons life they are faced with things that will be emotional and will express feeling. When they are faced with extravagant work like Bernini's they realize that emotion that its expressing and it brings out the emotions that they are feeling inside. Many times when people see the work of Bernini they may start crying, laughing, or stand at a silence because they realize they are relating to the art and the emotions that its expressing.

Something Little To Get To Know Me

Hi, I'm Gianina SanGiovanni.  I have lived in Cottonwood my whole life, but my whole family is originally from New Jersey. I still continue to visit them when I get a chance because, not only do I love visiting all of my family, but I also love visiting the state and going into New York and to the beach.  I live with my parents and three younger brothers: Nic, Jon-Marco and Zach.  I am 18 years old and graduated high school in 2010. I am attending Yavapai college for a couple of years before I transfer out to a four year university. I want to become an elementary school teacher because I love, love, love working with kids. I currently work at Verde Valley Christian Church with childrens ministry things, such as planning lessons and teaching a Monday night class for the kids. When I am not at work or at school I am playing with one of my many animals and I love to be outside. I like to hike and do anything outdoors.  I also love to dance, sing and shop.  Well, that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading to learn a little bit about me. :)