I chose the video about Michelangelo as my first video. I have seen a few of his drawings but didn't know so many existed as he is better known for his sculptures and the Sistine Chapel. I wanted to know more about his drawings. I didn't know he taught himself to sculpt...wow....and just look at the masterpieces he created. The video related to our readings through discussion of his sculpture David and the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The video showed a poem he had written describing his distaste for the project and the book tells us he hated painting and there is a verse from the poem on page 371. I didn't know he was such a prolific architect as well. He designed the interior of the Medici families tomb, including the furniture, and also created the framework of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling to better show his different scenes. I certainly learned alot about the final works we know so well after watching this video. I am amazed to see the sketches and beginnings of such masterpieces. His knowledge of the human body is incredible...even when quickly sketched by him. What a genius.
I was interested in Albrecht Durer when I read his profile in our book on page 177 so I chose the video about him to learn more. I was very drawn to his woodcut Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on page 176. How can someone have the talent to create such a delicate and intricate woodcut? I was very happy to see many of his other prints in the video. I learned he is considered the first landscape artist in Europe and that he got his inspiration from traveling to Italy, where he spent alot of his time. Both the video and our readings describe how he would create his works with a combination of Northern features and Southern features. He would include naturalistic figures as well as idealized beauty in his paintings. He made most of his money from the sale of his prints but was also appointed the court painter of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. The book and video mentioned his arranged marriage and the video showed drawings he had made of her. I really enjoyed the video because I was able to see how his artwork changed throughout his years. He was talented in so many different aspects of art and his work trully revolutionized Renaissance art, which means "rebirth" and was a revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture.
I didn't know anything about Valazquez and therefore wanted to watch this video to learn about him. I am glad I did! He was a Spanish painter during the Baroque era. He was the appointed court painter of King Philip IV of Spain and who was also, according to the video, his only friend. He painted many portraits of the Royal Family but had his own unique style...somewhat Baroque with his use of light and space but also very independent of any other art movement. He wasn't interested in creating pleasing works of art but rather "real" works. He was able to capture the true spirit of his subjects. His most famous works were of the court jesters with whom he spent much of his time. These pieces are called the Baffoon Portraits and they captured the opposites of Baroque, the beauty and opposite of Baroque, the flaws. He painted the person just as he was, with his flaws apparent, but was able to give his subjects a transport from their daily lives to rise above their afflictions. He was able to capture the "human" in his renderings. Both the book and the video gave alot of detail of his most famous piece Las Meninas, which is a painting so involved but yet so organized due to his genius in the organization of his paintings. I really like Valazquez' work and can't believe I didn't know anything about him until the book and this video.
I chose Leonardo Da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance as my last video. Although he was a painter, most famous for The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, I am amazed by how many other things he undertook. His drive to understand everything around him was unstoppable. The inventions of things we use today like the submarine and airplane were just a bit too early to be executed then. He was so well-rounded but after watching the video I don't think he ever gave his intellect enough credit. As with every video we have seen a particularly like to see the not-so-famous works of art. I didn't know that there weren't many of his paintings remaining, nor did I know he left most of them unfinished. I had never heard that he was looked over twice by the King to become the new court painter, losing the position first to Botticelli and then Michelangelo. He was forefront in a particular technique of combining different parts from different people to create one true beauty, the perfect man. Perfection and beauty were embodied in the Renaissance Period and Leonardo found a way to acheive this. I liked this video but it seemed to say to me that Da Vinci may have led a sad life which is something I never would have figured given he was so talented.
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