Lasting Ideas From The Renaissance Assignment
In addition to the information presented this week regarding the reasons for the creation of artifacts in each era (the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance), recall information about motives for creating artifacts presented earlier in the course as you answer these questions:
- Identify an artifact that represents the characteristics of each era. You should identify a total of three artifacts. Insert an image or include a link to your artifact.
- What do you believe was the purpose for the creation of each of the artifacts you selected? Justify your response using what you now know about the culture and values of each era.
- Why do you believe the creators felt the need to express themselves using these artifacts?
When responding to your peers, reflect on what you have learned in this theme. What differences do you notice between the artifacts from each era? Where do you think those differences stemmed from? Do you think contemporary human creative expression can or should work to elevate humanity?
INCLUDE RESPONSES.
CLASSMATE #1 DISCUSSION POST (COURTNEY TOMES)
Ancient World
Lysistrata is a comical play written around 411 BCE to showcase the disagreement with the Peloponnesian war. The play is written about the democracy in Athens, and how women could be powerful if they stood together for their better good. However, during that time-period this idea was comical and “ridiculous”. I believe the playwright, Aristophanes, created this piece to express his personal concerns and feelings about the war, however portrayed it in a comical sense to gain attention and attraction to his piece.
Middle Ages
Everyman is a play from the Middle Ages (1530) created to teach and portray Christian morals. This morality play was created with intentions of displaying “Everyman’s” encounter with death before the final judgement” (The British Library, 2019). Throughout the play, the character tries to collect material goods and meet people to help him during his journey, only to realize it is all meaningless, and only he can get himself into Heaven. Due to religious restrictions on art in the Middle Ages, this play perfectly represents the messages and themes of Middle Aged literature.
Renaissance
In 1490, Leonardo da Vinci created the Vitruvian Man. This creation brings back the initial value of Humanities that I mentioned in my very first discussion post, “everything connects with everything”. The proportion and geometric principals were used to make a “connection between man and nature” (Totally History, 2019). Da Vinci was originally inspired by the work of Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect, and used that inspiration to connect art with math. This piece was extremely relevant to the impact on the Renaissance, since this was the time where scientific thought and understanding of humanism exploded.
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References:
Ancient-literature.com. (2019). Lysistrata – Aristophanes – Ancient Greece – Classical Literature. [online] Available at: https://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_aristoph…
The British Library. (2019). Everyman, a morality play. [online] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/everyman-a-mora…
Totally History. (2019). Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci – Facts & History of the Drawing. [online] Available at: http://totallyhistory.com/vitruvian-man
