Aashrita Mangu
Christine Yi
Elaine Hong
Tiffany Show
In Michelangelo’s Buonarroti, there is connection with man’s individual (rather than collective, as largely depicted in Medieval times) connection with spirituality, while also juxtaposing the classical, soft, serene, perfect, and proportional nature so characterized by the Renaissance -- that is, there is this secular aestheticism that seeps through the layer of religious asceticism.
In Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is another prime example of this religious and aesthetic mixture. The Mona Lisa itself illustrates a religious figure; however, the message and technique used to depict this woman is aesthetic – that is, the softness, shadows, texture, and expression (which have been pondered throughout history) are evidential assets of this unique secularism in lieu of religious piety and need.
This changing sense of religion as an adaptation to life, rather than a ruling of the Church and a dictator of lifestyle is something that can be used to foreshadow the rise of Protestantism and different religious sects, as well as other power struggles dictated by religion (including the Americas). Individualism was a theme of the Renaissance which is evident in all these artworks, with the use of individual connection to god, which passionately galvanized the personal interpretations of the Bible – the start of the splitting of the Church! Thus, such (and similar) numerous changes in art led to major transformations in politics, society, and philosophy.
In Michelangelo’s Buonarroti, there is connection with man’s individual (rather than collective, as largely depicted in Medieval times) connection with spirituality, while also juxtaposing the classical, soft, serene, perfect, and proportional nature so characterized by the Renaissance -- that is, there is this secular aestheticism that seeps through the layer of religious asceticism.
In Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is another prime example of this religious and aesthetic mixture. The Mona Lisa itself illustrates a religious figure; however, the message and technique used to depict this woman is aesthetic – that is, the softness, shadows, texture, and expression (which have been pondered throughout history) are evidential assets of this unique secularism in lieu of religious piety and need.
This changing sense of religion as an adaptation to life, rather than a ruling of the Church and a dictator of lifestyle is something that can be used to foreshadow the rise of Protestantism and different religious sects, as well as other power struggles dictated by religion (including the Americas). Individualism was a theme of the Renaissance which is evident in all these artworks, with the use of individual connection to god, which passionately galvanized the personal interpretations of the Bible – the start of the splitting of the Church! Thus, such (and similar) numerous changes in art led to major transformations in politics, society, and philosophy.
Good job on your Renaissance synthesis! Your diction very accurately embodies the spirit of the Renaissance times and the juxtaposition between the Renaissance era and the Medieval era is well established in the opening sentence. We also enjoyed your use of alliteration to highlight the key points of your synthesis - for example, the "soft, serene, perfect, and proportional nature so characterized by the Renaissance" effectively pops out at the reader. It would have been even better, however, if you had given a general description of Michelangelo's Buonarroti, as because it is a lesser-known piece of work than the Mona Lisa, we had to look up what you were referring to. In addition, we were confused by your statement that "The Mona Lisa itself illustrates a religious figure"; Mona Lisa was a painting of a Lisa del Giocondo who was a typical human being showing no overtly religious tendencies, and the Mona Lisa is in fact one of the few paintings that lacks an underlying religious message. It would have been great if you had further clarified what you meant by that statement. Other than that, great job on your synthesis! It was very thought-provoking and revealed the changing attitudes from strictly religious to individualism very well.
ReplyDelete- Freddy Tsao, Andy Kang, David Lee, Michael Amini