Florence Ballard

Florentine Giotto may be the most important Italian painter of the 14th century. His work points to the Renaissance style that developed about 100 years later. He showed a lot of talent at a very young age and is said to have been apprenticed to the great Florentine painter Cimabue. He was almost a completely self-taught artist. He would always be working on what he loved. His work pointed to the Renaissance style that developed a century later. “Although Giotto was widely considered a pioneer…

The land and sea routes on the Silk Road allowed for religions such as Buddhism and Christianity to spread throughout Asia and become established religions in places far from their origin. The Yungang Grottoes are Ancient Buddhist temples, located in Datong, China, formed from caves. These magnificent examples of ancient rock cut architecture portray the power of trade on the silk road perfectly because they are a shrine to Buddhism located thousands of miles away from the religion’s origin. The…

The Renaissance is a time period beginning in the thirteenth century C.E. that was defined by changing artistic style, which came to define the era. It was also a period of scientific discovery and growing knowledge. Leonardo DaVinci was one of the greatest artists in the Renaissance period and if we study his works, we can see he embodies both the new art style and incorporates new knowledge in his artwork (Harris) . These two hallmarks emerged in one of his most important paintings, The Last…

Greek and Roman influences led to the rebirth of learning and arts and humanistic world views known as the renaissance. Dante Alighieri was one of the most influential and important poets and writers of his time, the early renaissance. Born in 1265 Florence italy The italian poet was the child to Alighiero De Gelincine. Dante was a normal child learning at home how to become a politician, but then it all changed when the renaissance started. Dante then pursued a career as a writer. When Dante…

In “Duccio and Devotion to the Virgin’s Foot in Early Sienese Painting,” Joanna Canon studies the symbolic representation of the Virgin’s foot (or feet) in artworks from the late 13th century to the early 14th century, as well as its context, implication, and impact. Many cultures interpret that kissing the dominant personage’s foot is an act of submission. The Virgin, according to Christian tradition, is an intercessor. Therefore, in many altarpieces and paintings, her inviting foot under the…

Medici Family Influence From rags to riches is how the Medici family came to be. Many beautiful sculptures and art pieces came from the three hundred year reign of the Medici’s (BBC). Their time as Florence’s great leaders fluctuated from chaos, adjustment, to balance, and even back to chaos at times. The Medici era began with Giovani de Medici, born into poverty, but as a young adult he developed a strong and steady plan to make his family wealthy (BBC). He set up the first Medici bank in…

“Chivalry: It's the little boy that kisses my hand, the young man who holds the door open for me, and the old man who tips his hat to me. None of it is a reflection of me, but a reflection of them.” -Donna Lynn Hope. The perspective of chivalry is constantly changing and is interpreted differently by each set of eyes. Back in the Middle Ages chivalry was a code of laws for the knights. Today we see the code of chivalry as much differently than what have in the past; however, chivalry today still…

the contemplation of beauty, the inherently corrupt soul could transform its love for the physical and material into a purely spiritual love of God. Along with providing financial and spiritual support to many artists, the Medici family also made Florence the cultural center of the western world due to their support for the arts.…

the early 1400’s, when the leaders of the town—Florence—decided that it was time to replace the roof on the cathedral. For centuries, the hole had been there, and bad weather was beginning to ruin parts of the exposed cathedral. So, they decided to hold a bit of a competition among all the artisans of Florence, offering a prize of 200 gold florins, for the best design that really captured the attention of the leaders. Many artisans went to Florence to give the competition a try. One wanted the…

King Louis XIV of France ruled for around seventy years as king and demonstrated his royalty well in the art that he chose to have made and constructed after his self-esteemed likeness. The painting of King Louis by Hyacinthe Rigaud demonstrates well how the king wished to be portrayed. King Louis is drenched over in a very large and flowing cloak with a rich blue and mixture, which was a very luxurious color back due to the origin of how the color had to be obtained from the grinding up of sea…