Tuesday, September 21, 2010: A Hymn to God the Father, John Donne

A piece of literature that we did not touch in class that I have chosen is a poem authored by John Donne. The poem we read in class was, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The poem I am deciding to analyze is A Hymn to God the Father. This poem was published in the Baroque Era, and the reader is able to witness this by the strong alliance that Donne expresses with God. This was a time where the physical and the spiritual worlds are expressed through one another. This is also a time where man is infatuated with the belief and the creation of God. With knowing God as being the omnipresent and absolute being the ways of life are managed in his light. This poem by Donne expresses loads of emotion as if he is begging and pleading for an answer as he is unsure of what may happen to him in the later stages of life, and also those following death. As critiqued by Elite Skills Classics, they explain that Donne seeks this answer for forgiveness as he knows he will sin his entire life, but is remaining question is will all of his sins be forgiven before he dies and this is stated in lines 13 and 14, “I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun” (13); “My last thread, I shall perish on the shore” (14). Also the reference to the shore refers to his fear and obligates to point between life and death, earth and heaven, and considered between is either, Hell, or a life of nothingness. This poem shows the values of power/authority of this time, as God is the all-reigning being. He is shown as the absolutist.

His poem also makes a indication back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This is stated in line2, “Which was my sin, though it were done before?” (2), where he makes a reference back to the original sin of Adam and Eve, and its conservation done by himself. With this poem, again Donne is able to reflect on traits such as, power/authority, physical/spiritual, emotion, and also sense of self as he makes a a private and personal relationship with a higher being, and with these characteristics, it can be proven that this poem is of the Baroque Era.

Word Count: 388

Wednesday, September 15, 2010: Oath of the Horatii, by Jacques Louis David

Today in class we struck a milestone in the manner to interdisplinary thought in the area of Humanities and eastern study. We did exactly what it is going to take to construct a feasible essay and one that can engage in a credible argument. This topic will deal with taking a piece of literature, breaking it down into characteristics and traits and compare it to relative pieces of an era. A piece that we used in class was the Oath of the Horatii, by Jacques Louis David. This painting offers many different ideas to the viewer: one that is upfront and direct, and others that are more sublime and indirect.

This piece is as excellent example of a work of art from the 18^th Century, particularly one of the Neo-Classical era. Traits of the 18^th Century comprise of power/authority, emotion, and order, which are all symbols that this work of art displays. As Dr. Crowther told us, when first observing a work of art, examine exactly what you see before you look in-depth into the piece.

Following the words of Tom, first things first, let’s take a GOOD look. Stating this you can immediately see that the artwork has, three soldiers, a man holding swords and women to the farthest right, who look as though they are tired or weeping. With this knowledge I am able to relate the trait of emotion to the piece. Heading back toward the left, study the three soldiers, well first observe the attire, and considering the era this painting was created, people of this time did not wear this apparel. They had the appeal of the Roman soldier. This clearly reflects on the period, Neo-Classical, or reviving the Greco-Roman artistry.

Additionally, another trait lively represented in the piece, is order. You can see, as David has seemed to split the canvas into thirds, horizontally and vertically. Lowest you can see the women, next the men in the center, and lastly the arches at the top, which are significant in the profound the order the Greeks demonstrate with their building of columns with their formulas, and the Roman arch included.

Lastly, the representation of power is thoroughly shown by the outfits of the men, the sons, by wearing the average Roman soldiers’ battle wear. We all know the power that the Roman nation harnessed at one time in history. The columns as even today, these structures still stand even after centuries of weathering.

Also, one can look at the stance the soldiers stand in where their legs resemble a triangle, which is proven to be geometrically the strongest element in architecture.

Word Count: 436

Monday, September 13, 2010: Rembrandt

As a part of the baroque period a very world-renowned artist today however dead for many years is Rembrandt. He has bestowed the world with many a plenty of paintings. Within the Baroque Era the world was beginning to make a move in scientific discovery. We have seen paintings in class such as the Geographer, by Vermeer as the study of earth is being magnified, as it is a new medium. Different in the two, is Vermeer diagnoses the world, on a macroscopic field, while Rembrandt decides to move microscopically. This particular painting to be dissected by myself ironically is "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp", by Rembrandt himself. He was a Dutch painter as was Vermeer and unique about their addition to the Baroque era is the sort of had a free brush/mind when it came to what they wanted to paint.

This painting would definitely fit in this era for characteristics of this time consist of sense of the self, physical/spiritual, and order. By judging this work of art it shows spiritual vs. the physical world as science is making a leaping bound in this time with the help of those such as Galileo. It gives the human an understanding as to what we consist of and where it comes from, and that's an important reality in the realm of science. This relates, as the spiritual world is one to be questioned at this time as people were left to sort between the theories of creationism vs. evolution, always to be a critical fork in the road.

In addition to separation of the world and the otherworldly, another unique trait of this time is that of order. That’s relatively easy to design, as study is of a human. As the human body is clearly one of the most complex organic structures to dwell upon earth it requires an intense amount of order to enable all of the complex ability it retains such as movement, exchange, synthesis, and no other organism other than viral AIDS is more comparable in complexity. The viewer can clearly see the interior of the arm, including the vessels, muscles, ligament, tendons, and bone, all the way to the fingertips. These all root to a common control the brain, which is the knowledge center, therefore implying the nature of knowledge and the will to actually have, free-will, which is said the openness to paint for these Dutch painters.

Lastly an important characteristic of this time is the sense of self. Relating to the ever-studied wonder of the human being. The nature of the human being and mechanisms used to be a functioning human. This man laying down being flayed and dissected is a direct method of discovering the self because without the inside, there is no completeness to our outside. With these reasons, this painting exemplifies the necessary reasons as to why this painting existed in the Baroque time. This relates to the last paragraph of free thought and free will, notions of the self.

Word Count: 500

Monday, September 6, 2010: Music of the Baroque Era

Music of the Baroque Era, displays several reasons as to why it is in a realm of its own. The meaning of Baroque is stated to be an irregularly shaped pearl, which leads to different distinguishing ideas. However what has definitively shaped this era is its overall complexity, expression of being over the top. It has a very ornate and grandiose expression. These are all characteristics that have been described in class. They are confirmed further when I went to the performance on Sunday, August, 29, 2010, including Professor Purdy, Music of the Baroque Era.
A musician that I followed from the recital was Quentin Kuyper. He played the Baroque recorder, and one of the more interesting instruments, the rackett. So special about this instrument was its design, and the method of having to play. Different from the paintings of this time, the exterior wasn’t the most provocative, it had a uniqueness to it, but its interworking is amazing. Kuyper told us that aside from instruments that came latter to the baroque era like the bassoon that potentially replaced it playing flats and sharps were so much easier than on the rackett. His finger placement looked so awkward and just seems so descriptive as something as simple as sharping a note would take such an uncomfortable finger position.

The design and ability of the rackett really relates to several pieces of this era. One work of art that I can immediately reference is the Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, in the Cornaro Chapel, by Gianlorenzo Bernini. When you initially you see it and recognize it uniform color, but like the rackett that inside which appears to be a plain wooden cylinder with holes drilled, however it contains a more intricate design. In this wooden cylinder is a single brass tube, that is ten times longer that than the instrument alone coiled within and has holes drilled within to perform its necessary tune. These holes must be drilled within appropriately otherwise the expected sound will not be produced. Similar, this sculpture promoted with deep recesses in the carved robe St. Teresa is wearing. It looks simple but when you completely investigate it you see its supreme complexity such as Saint Teresa’s face, which is said to be orgasmic and highly defined. If you thought that the rackett was a simple instrument, remember it’s a part of the Baroque Period, nothing is that simple.

Word Count: 401