Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Titian Essay Example for Free

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Titian Essay His statement argues that the latest and unfinished works of the artist should be reassessed with more appreciation than the works completed during his mature period, as they enable the viewer to understand the trace of the under painting and the original intention of the artist, not necessarily because of the virtue of incompleteness and ultimo that they spellbound the viewer. Pliny the Elder’s statement seems to be valid explaining artists’ old-age style, especially for the ones who had a long career like Michelangelo and Titian. The old-age style is not necessarily limited to the aesthetic style, which the artists from the same period perhaps shared in common, but it also refers to the latest phase of the artistic career of the artists who were active for a long time. Therefore, each old-age style of them is obviously differentiated in terms of their perception, ideal, and background. However, Pliny’s statement is not thoroughly suitable, but sound feasible for reassessing their art historical values. He warns on the contradiction of giving the works the biased credits for only being latest and unfinished, which would be false impression on the contrary. Michelangelo and Titian, whose time frames partially overlap to each other, certainly built up the established fames based on the long artistic career incomparable to their contemporaries. The old-age style literally refers to the style of the artist in his old age, but we should not limit the meaning of this temporal phase as the word ‘old’ explicitly connotes. Apparently, the term gives a sense and expectation that those work will be somewhat less refined, polished, vital, perhaps aesthetically regress compared to the ‘mature’ style of the artist that established an honor to add the suffix ‘-schi’ to the end of their names. Although the works they created are static and permanent objects, their artistic styles that dominated the period are in flux. The old-age styles of the high Renaissance artists predict the forthcoming of the Maniera and Baroque generation, and demonstrate the senile sublime, freely emancipated from aesthetic vanity, emotionally touching, and revealing much enhanced psychological depth. The latest works of Michelangelo, the two frescoes at the Pollini chapel in Rome he worked for almost a decade, close the long painting career of him. Although these works were completed officially, they imply non-finito aspect enhanced by the medium, which began to be noticeable since the Last Judgment. The Conversion of Saul, executed first about two decades before his death, became the center of controversy immediately and got negative reception from the contemporaries. What Michelangelo depicted is far from the classical physical beauty and the artist engaged with his own perception to the episode. The vision of Christ is exclusively shown to the anti-Christian Saul, as he becomes temporarily blind and gains insight instead. The artist explicitly illustrated the very internal experience of Saul and placed it above the earthly space parallel to the troops who fear the unknown voice from the sky. A newly suggested diagonal along with light and darkness enhance the dramatic tension from the left top to the foreground center connected by the beam of the God. The compact figures shown in each zone are the continuation of Michelangelo’s terribilita. In the latter fresco, Crucifixion of Saint Peter begins to show the bold diagonal, which gives almost a proto Baroque aspect. Saint Peter with the upside down cross and the void surrounding him occupy the central picture plane. Although there is no strong suggestion of the light source other than sunset, the surrounding figures, especially their features, are in shade and less individualized. As they focus the center scene like mere spectators, the overall composition of the painting engages the viewer’s attention to be concentrated to the center as well. The heroic torso of Peter fights against the gravity by lifting himself up and delivers the pain caused by the four nails on each feet and hands. He throws a daring gaze to the outward, invites the viewers into the pictorial space. The shallow space, as if the figures would spill into our space, no more retains the high Renaissance balance and harmony, as well as the figures somber and gracelessness suggests the end of its era with the negation to the fixed beauty. The contrast of light and dark of Michelangelo is not as radical as the later phase of Leonardo foreshadowing the tenebroso of the next century but enough to inform that he as well acknowledge to the limit of the high Renaissance style and gradually shift to the new style. As these works are Michelangelo’s last effort in the art of painting finished about a decade before his death, they deserve Pliny the Elder’s statement as the example fits into the artist’s old-age style. Not necessarily the artist weakened physically, but crucial as the works suggest that the artist perhaps had reached the pinnacle of his mature style, being free from the obligation to maintain his signature style. Pieta, the last work of Titian, which was left unfinished due to the death of the artist in 1576, perhaps is more feasible for Pliny the Elder’s statement as the example which is unfinished, and delivers the ‘sorrow for the hand that perished at its work’ due to the physical deterioration of the artist. Titian’s mature style based on the Tuscan monumentality and Venetian colorito tradition enabled him to achieve international success from the early career. Titian’s figures, which were very palpable and articulated with sfumato begin to possess terribilita as he moves towards the later period, the tension and fear overwhelm in the pictorial space. His works executed in the last decade of his life, such as Flaying of Marsyas and Pieta, explicitly demonstrate the radical change in the artistic style. Despite the tragic subject, Titian narrates the scene without any pity. His brushstroke handling different textures are somewhat minimized, rather showing rough and hazy painterliness, and the conventional palette suggests the radical changed in its tonality, which is no longer vivid or individualized; these intense styles almost foreshadow the later style of Rubens and Rembrandt. The Pieta also conveys the same dramatic tension, not as much as overwhelming like the former work but represent the subdued grief and agony. Against the background architecture, marble nave with pediment, and two statues looking out of the pictorial space, four figures are arranged in almost like statues sculpted for a pediment. Moses and figures form a bold diagonal, balanced with a putto holding torchlight on the other side, yet conventional composition of Titian. Among the figures in a grief over the death of Christ, only Magdalena is stand out as a true protagonist whereas others are static and silent in subdued grief; she evokes the vivid drama into the painting with her explicit expression about to cry out and theatrical pose. However, the most striking changes in the latest Titian’s are the tonality and brushstrokes, which are totally different from the old-age style of Michelangelo in terms of its artistic style and later appear in the latest style of Rembrandt. Perhaps it is due to the old-age that caused the bold and hazy brush strokes and change in his palette. Nevertheless, Titian was able to sublime his physical defect into the artistic style that is more grandeur, and filled with dramatic tension. If Pliny’s ideal is the art in flux, these latest and unfinished works of old-aged masters should be praised more than the previous works in their oeuvre although the mature works reached the artistic pinnacle of the style of the time and the latest works with innovation suggested the foreshadowing of the later style. The artist’s work is a response to the style of the current and the great artists who we remember as old masters and whose styles never remained static. Their works suggest innovation, and the styles were in flux; they learned, influenced, and built their own styles. Especially Michelangelo and Titian had a long artistic career that enabled them to reach the pinnacle and experience limit of the high Renaissance style. We see the grace and virtue of the old-aged master, who lacks the strength to leave the refined brush strokes or represent the subtle tonality, but whose work is free from all the obligations of the long-time practiced convention.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Catching Them Early :: essays papers

Catching Them Early Richmond, California, is a predominately low-income city across the bay from San Francisco. In some of its hard-pressed neighborhoods, children are at high risk of gang involvement, drug abuse, and violence and teen pregnancy. But instead of relying only on law enforcement agencies to keep children safe, the people of Richmond have taken matters into their own hands. Community agencies and schools are working together to break the cycle of poverty and violence. "Catching Them Early" profiles the extraordinary efforts of Richmond's Lincoln Elementary School to ensure a bright future for its children. Ninety-nine percent of the kids attending Lincoln qualify for federal meal subsidies; many have family members in a gang. So the school makes special efforts, including the hiring of outreach workers, to provide the kind of support kids need to stay in class and do well. Teenagers in Richmond find support at Families Unites, an unusual community health organization that has made crime prevention part of its mission. Families Unites and its caseworkers like outreach worker Gonzalo Rucobo, who was himself once a gang member, help kids stay out of gangs and avoid conflicts that can lead to violence. "Catching Them Early" observes one teenager's struggle to remove himself from gang violence without alienating his old friends. "Two of my friends," he says, "have got shot down, [and] they were not banging' anymore. I'm just trying to stay out of trouble. I don't say I'm lucky until probably ten years from now. You never know who's going to come up behind you." "Catching Them Early" also explores how Richmond is responding to the growing tendency of teenage girls to become involved in violence and crime. Richmond targets teen mothers, providing them with training in child rearing and help in anticipating the difficulties they will encounter, and makes a special effort through programs like Head Start to make sure that young children get the support they need to become successful students. "Richmond is inspiring," says series writer/producer Roger Grief, "because it's a community under pressure that is challenging its youth crime problem without relying solely on cops, courts, and corrections.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Edwards’ Sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Essay

When first reading Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,† shocked readers how it started right in about the wrath of God and Hell. His diction and images create a tone of alarming immediacy – act now for your own good. â€Å"The bow of God’s wrath is bent†, the arrow ready to pierce the heart of a sinner. Edwards uses this frightening image to compare the power of God to the people. His point is that he wants to persuade sinners to repent. Edwards seems to feel a harsh tone is needed in this to get the point across that they need God to lead them out of the dreadful pit. Edwards’ word choices present a contradiction, saying that people who have a relationship with God can still go to Hell because there is only God’s hand holding us up from Hell. The word â€Å"obligation† implies that the arrow could pierce a sinner’s heart right now, during his sermon. Also, â€Å"everlasting destructionà ¢â‚¬  has a big impact, telling people that they can have life if they follow God, or be swallowed up by Hell. Edwards is didactic and harsh with the information he tries to convey to the congregation, scaring them he hopes, into salvation. He uses these tools to help the tone on the importance of knowing God and how people’s lives can be changed. He does this out of love, trying to tell them how it really is and wanting them to choose the right way. This frightening, bullying tone is a far cry from the 21st century sermons which emphasize God’s love for mankind as in the well known verse John 3:16.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning...

My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning In the two poems there is a lot of ‘dramatic monologue’ where the writer is showing his personal his personal feelings in the poem. It is also classified when a single person is talking and asking questions with no reply like in ‘The Last Duchess’ the Duke is talking to the servant about his past wife but all the servant is interested in is whether the Duke will marry the Count’s daughter. My Last Duchess is about a duke who wants to marry the Count’s daughter. The Count does not know the duke very much this is why he sends his servant round to visit the Duke and his property. When the poem starts the servant is already at the Duke’s house. The Duke very kindly†¦show more content†¦The Duke obviously got mad by this because he goes on to say ‘I gave one command and then all smiles stopped together’ which states he killed her. Porphyria’s Lover is about an anonymous guy who is having an affair with Porphyria. Porphyria’s anonymous lover is very annoyed that Porphyria does not declare her love for him and leave her partner for him, but as the stormy night grew Porphyria started to admit her love for him. Porphyria’s lover said ‘Happy and proud, at last I knew Porphyria worshipped me, at this moment she is mine no one can stop that now’ Porphyria’s lover is debating what to do to keep this moment special. Porphyria’s lover now knows what to do he says ‘Perfectly pure and good, I found a thing to do, and all her hair in one long yellow string wound three times her little throat around, and strangled her’ he is saying that he killed her. Porphyria’s lover ends the poem by saying ‘And yet God has not said a word’ he thinks he’s done no wrong at all. Porphyria’s lover thinks he has done no wrong because God has said nothing and he wanted to sabre the moment, but he has just strangled his true love. He is obviously a possessive pig who just thinks about himself all the time. Life in the nineteenth century for women was dreadful, as Robert Browning has shown us in his two magnificent poems. Women were the property of men and did not have a say in anything, their fathers decided who theyShow MoreRelatedPorphyrias Lover And My Last Duchess By Robert Browning1510 Words   |  7 PagesRobert Browning is a romantic and victorian poet who writes from a speaker’s perspective while a listener is listening to what the speaker reveals about him or herself. Oscar Wilde, author of The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde, once exclaimed, â€Å"In art, Browning can make action and psychology one!† A healthy and fully expressed relationship is the bond between two people, consisting of trust, honesty, and respect (Denham et al. 397). Within â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"My Last Duchess,† Robert BrowningRead MoreA Comparison of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning1188 Words   |  5 PagesA Comparison of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning The two poems ‘Porphyria’s lover’ and ‘my last duchess’ by Robert Browning shows a dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologue is a story that is told by one person; which means you only get one point of view; in the two poems they are based on the narrator’s crisis, his feelings and his way of thinking; and you have to believe it because that is the only view your going to encounter. In dramaticRead MoreComparing My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover by Robert Browning716 Words   |  3 PagesComparing My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover by Robert Browning These poems by Robert Browning were written in the Victorian era. The Victorians from the outlook seemed to live on high standards and rules, but underneath they craved for scandal and gossip. 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