neurotic man. As well as Bernini he was a brilliant architect but also he was a brilliant engineer, he knew everything about structural details and materials. An exceptional example of his knowledge can be seen in the Basilica of St. Giovanni. Palazzo Barberini is an impeccable example of the mixture of both architectural styles portrayed by two sets of stairs lead to the piano nobile, a large squared staircase by Bernini to the left and a smaller oval staircase by Borromini to the
Now we could finally spend some time looking at the amazing monuments that Rome is known for. We decided to first go to palazzo Barberini. As you walked through the enormous gates that were fascinating to look at because they all had and amazing gold statue on the top and engraved into it were pictures and stories. The first thing you noticed was the symmetry. everything was even
At precisely 10:30 A.M. I got a call from a Mr. Machiano saying while renovating a palazzo his men found the bones of a human. When I got to the scene one of his employees showed me to the bones. The clothes were still on the carcass. I asked Mr. Machiano how the body was discovered, "My men were knocking down the walls and one of them found a skeleton with its clothes on, and that’s when I called you." I asked whom he bought the palace from. "A man I would say in his early eighties, named
The objective of this essay is to provide an explanation of Leonardo da Vinci’s life and work as an artist in context with his time spent in Milan. Following an initial introduction to Leonardo’s formative years in Florence (and his apprenticeship to the sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio, 1435-88), I will attempt to explain the significance of his presence in Milan with detailed descriptions of his work there. Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) was also an artist and architect, but is perhaps better
My summer in Europe I spent six weeks in Florence, studying renaissance art and art history. After this, I traveled across Europe for three weeks and experienced the many beautiful countries and cultures that exist on this continent. Studying renaissance art in Florence, the place of it's birth, was literally a moving experience. To see works that I thought only existed in books and also to live in the same city that housed the masters, was amazing. I took a drawing class as well in Florence
Michelangelo’s David is one of the most well-known statues of the Renaissance, and even of all time. It is known to be one of the best example of Renaissance art. It stands tall at 17 feet, and was originally commissioned for a tribune of statues on the Florence Cathedral. Because of the story it depicts, that in which David overcomes a massive giant, it has become a symbol for Florence, representing its independence and how, even with its size, is still a mighty and strong city. The man depicted
termed terribilità, a feature characteristic of many of Michelangelo’s figures and of his own personality. David, Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture, became the symbol of Florence and originally was place in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Florentine town hall. With this statue, Michelangelo proved to his contemporaries that he not only surpassed all modern artists, but also the Greeks and Romans, by infusing formal beauty with powerful expressiveness and meaning. Michelangelo’s
Now You See It...Now You Don't Illusionistic Ceiling Painting of the Seventeenth Century Introduction: Webster's dictionary defines illusion as a “perception of something objective existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature”. In Europe during the seventeenth century, or the Baroque era, certain artistic implementations of spatial illusion were established. The influence of perception was deteriorating and being questioned. Artists of the time reacted suitably
For this writing assignment we had to choose 2 different paintings form either different regions and different time periods, I choose “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli and “Judith Beheading Holofernes” by Michelangelo Caravaggio. Both of the artists lived similar yet very different lives which influenced their works greatly. Sandro Botticelli the artist behind “The Birth of Venus” was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance born in Florence during the mid 1400s, about 1450. Botticelli
Introduction As the earliest and most comprehensive Roman depiction of a "Nilotic landscape," the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina does not merely function as an expansive view of the Nile River. Second century B.C. artwork found on the floor of a public grotto-nymphaeum in the Temple of Fortuna at Palestrina, a town east of Ancient Rome, encapsulates endless genre-esque scenes of labeled figures, buildings, and the animal kingdom meandering through the Nile into the Mediterranean Sea. This birds-eye portrayal
by Michelangelo from 1501-1504. It was originally intended for one of the buttresses of the cathedral in Florence and was designed to be effective at a distance of forty feet. However, after it was finished, the Signoria placed it in front of the Palazzo della Signoria as a symbol of the Florentine Republic. The statue of David is incredible. It is a lot bigger than I expected and the detail of the man was impeccable. Michelangelo’s attention to fine detail, like the veins, fingernails, and outlines