Republic of Florence

Tiziano Vecellio, better known as Titian, painted Venus and Adonis in about 1554; during a period known as the High Renaissance. Venus and Adonis is a workshop copy of one of Titian’s earlier paintings of the same name, created as a part of a six-piece series commissioned by King Phillip II of Spain. Titian called the paintings in this series ‘poesie’, or poems, because each illustrates a mythological story inspired by ‘Metamorphoses’ by the Roman poet Ovid. Titian’s other works in this series…

Fascism and Nazism are two political ideologies that gained a wide support in the first part of the 20th century. The chronology is as follows: fascism was introduced to the Italians by Benito Mussolini in the period between 1919 and 1945 while Nazism appeared in 1933 and faced a rapid decay with the end of the WW2 in 1945. Ideologically, Nazism and fascism diverged to a big extent and were promoted under different slogans. The founder of the fascist ideology—the Italian dictator Benito…

Humanism came as a revolution breaking out through a pattern of social change, the concept came into being after the rational upbringing within the mindset of the society. The inception was witnessed in the Renaissance age that rooted into the European trends, this initiation was associated from a simple attitude of redefying the existing dominance of the prevalent believes; Humanism brings up the power of authority from such believes into the perception of an individual. Renaissance witnessed…

In this essay I will discuss how the power of drama and theatre affected the Renaissance. I intend to go through the changes of the theatre at this time, and how these changes came about. I will examine whether the power structure shifted during the Renaissance and I question as to who held the power to make changes in theatre. I will use the examples of Sir Thomas More and Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe to illustrate the changes that occurred in theatre during the Renaissance period.…

Lorenzo the Magnificent ("La Primavera 1"). The painting is also called the Primavera which means "spring" in Italian (renaissanceart.org 1). It is believed to have been painted between 1477-1482, and it is currently displayed at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy ("La Primavera"…

Galileo Galilei once said, “Passion is the genesis of genius”. I think of Galileo Galilei as an example of the relationship between Culture and Personal Passion. Through his personal history, the force of his ideas and his impetus he became one of the most inspiring people for the humankind. Our current conception of the universe's order, the bases of the modern notion of nature and Jupiter's four moons are some of his discoveries, findings that by the way, continue resonating. Today, we…

important issues in certain areas, such as: economics and politics in society. Niccolo Machiavelli, the famous statesman from Florence, has definitely been a great influence in the U.S Foreign policy. He was also a well known philosopher and the creator of a timeless masterpiece “The Prince”. “The Prince” was written by Niccolo after he was removed from his post in Florence. His doctrine was that by giving the king a set of instructions to have great power he would get him back at his position.…

The Funerary Monument of Flavius Agricola is a Roman marble piece by Antonine that is now on display in the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The sculpture was first found in 1626 under the floor of the Vatican when Bernini’s famous altar was being put up. After the monument was found, it was added to the collection of Cardinal Bernini. In the sculpture, Flavius Agricola is laid out in a semi relaxed position on what appears to be the lid of a coffin that has had a high back and a high side at his…

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous painted interior spaces in the world, and one of the most famous works of Michelangelo which depicts key scenes from the book of genesis. This breathtaking painting came into world fame in about 1508-1512. This The chapel, situated in Vatican city of Italy, was built in 1479 under the direction of Pope Sixtus IV, and is renowned for its Renaissance art, especially the ceiling painted by Michelangelo. In 1508, Michelangelo was asked by Pope Julius…

William Harvey was and still is a very important individual in the advancements of science in the renaissance period, who is credited today as being on of the most influential English physicians in history. He is mostly known for his research into the circulatory system and the first person to correctly describe how blood was transported throughout the body by the heart. Harvey was one of the few physicians who was never afraid to go beyond what science had expected at his time for pushing…