Last Night in Italy

Hello everyone,
So we arrived back in Rome this afternoon by train from Venice. The train ride back wasnt bad, it was just interesting watching our line of students pulling our luggage from the train station to our hotel. But the trip to Italy has been great, for me its been my first time traveling overseas and to a country that speaks a different language.
Venice was great, the first day we arrived the water level was higher than normal so we got to experience walking on the planks because the ground in some areas had about a half of foot of water at least. One thing in particular I noticed about Venice was there are no cars, people either walk or take the water taxi. Both days it was a little cold but the sun was out so I couldn't complain.
I am looking forward to heading home and cutting back on the number of carbs I have ate in the past two weeks :) But to also get to see my family and to start feeling like its Christmas.
Tonight the whole group is going out to dinner to end our Italy trip on a good note, then its back to try to make everything fit in my suitcase :) Tomorrow we are looking at a 10 hour flight back to the U.S, stopping in Philadelphia to go through customs, and finally home to Columbus! -Ciao

Last Night in Florence

So tomorrow morning we will be heading to Venice and leaving Florence. Florence has been great, its nice to have stayed in a city for a longer time to get a chance to get familiar with the city. Overall its been rainy but not freezing cold, like we hear it is in Ohio. Today we went to see the David, which I had no clue how much detail would be in the model, you just dont see things like that today. We also were given time to go to any optional museums and a small group decided to go to a photography exhibit which was really neat. It had a range of photographers ranging in different subjects and topics. It was a different change of pace. Tomorrow we wake up bright and early to catch a train...with all our luggage so that should be fun :) So until Venice.....ciao!

A Day in Cortona

Today Kailee,Olivia, Melissa, and I survived our first day trip by ourselves to Cortona. Started the day off almost missing our train because when we arrived to the station we quickly realized our train had changed. Once we found out the change we quickly had to hurry to make it to our train which was just about to depart. Cortona is beautiful to say the least, its a small town high up on a Tuscany hill with an amazing view. Noone really spoke any english but I really enjoyed that part of it. We realized just how friendly and helpful the people of Cortona were. Although we didnt speak the same language they tried and so did we. For example we were catching the bus to head back to catch the train and we had no clue what time to expect the bus, which we had been waiting for a bit. We noticed a woman waiting for the bus and Kailee went over to her and asked her if she knew what time the bus came. The woman spoke no english and started to walk away, but then the woman stoped waved us over and pointed out the time for us on this sign. It was like this throughout the day from a taxi ride by an older man who again spoke little english but he helped us get our train tickets to come back later in the day, showed us where we needed to come to catch the train, and as we rode up to Cortona would stop and point out all the sites on our way up to the town. It truely has amazed me how welcoming and friendly the people of Cortona were today to us.

Cortona was also the town which had the piece of artwork in which I took a look at and wrote a paper during this past quarter. The piece was Fra Angelico's first annunciation he created. Getting to actually see the piece in person was a completly new experience, here I had been researching the painting and the artist and now it was here infront of me. Pictures on the internet do not even come close to what I actually saw today.

I feel very blessed to have experience today with 3 amazing people :)
Ciao! and hello to my family back home!

We made it!

Well we survived day 2 in Rome, and so far our days have been packed with site seeing. Its a whole new experience actually getting to visit these sites that we have talked about in class. Today we went to the Vatican, which was amazing to say the least, there was constantly something to look at. After the Vatican we headed to St Peter Basilica, it was crazy how enormous the structure was. Then all of us got a chance to climb to the top of the dome, by the time we reached the top all of us were out of breath but the view was worth it. Tomorrow we head to Assisi and then on to Florence...and until then ciao :)

Fra Angelico's Annunciation Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

*Academic Search Complete. Fra Angelico. Retrieved November 2, 2010 Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition.

In this source it gives a short abstract overview of the painter Fra Angelico. Simple and short it describes who he was, mentioning his artistic style and who he was influenced by. It describes in brief the transition Angelico experienced through his lifetime. This was one of the first readings I read about Fra Angelico, so it was a good starting point of what I would be learning as I wrote this paper, but did not have enough information needed.

*Dictionary of Art Online. Fra Angelico. Retrieved Novemeber 2, 2010 http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.34

In this source it gives an in-depth look into the background information of Fra Angelico. Along with an in-depth look into each piece of art Angelico created. In the source it also describes the location of Fra Angelico throughout his lifetime and where he created his works. The source also breaks down Angelico’s techniques he used and how he’s techniques used to create his works of art changed with time. Specifically this source goes into the description of the Annunciation. The source was an excellent resource for my paper and was very detail specific.

*Encyclopedia of World Biography. Fra Angelico. Retrieved November 5, 2010 from http://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Angelico-Fra.html

In the biography of Fra Angelico it talked about the early years of Angelico as he was preparing to take his vows to become a monk in the Order of Domincan Preachers with his brother. This article talks about the beginning stages of how his talent got started. Later in the source it mentions the projects Angelico worked on throughout his life. Lastly the biography proceeds with a small description of Angelico’s later years before his passing.

*The Museums of Florence. The Convent of Saint Marco. Retrieved November 5, 2010 from http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/museum_of_san_marco.html.

This website describes what artwork is in The Convent of Saint Marco, where one of the Annunciation’s is displayed. Along with list the numerous artists showcased with their works. The main website page gives a list of museums in Florence and gives an overview of the history and specific art displays housed in each museum. I thought that this website was really helpful, especially if you want to research information on other museums in Florence. It would be particularly helpful to a traveler coming through Florence because along with the historic art information, it also gives information on the landscape surrounding Florence.

*Tracking the Entire World. Fra Angelico. Retrieved November 5, 2010. http://www.nndb.com/people/692/000084440/.

On this website it gave more personal information about who Fra Angelico was and how he represented himself. I had not found an article or source that really described Fra Angelico besides being a religious man. So I found it interesting to learn more about who he was as a person and not just an artist. Along with the source gave a descriptive overview of Angelico from his life and works of art.

High Renaissance vs Mannerism

Art during the high renaissance era was the rebirth of classical tradition which moved into Michelangelo’s mannerism where the artist was more focused on the form of the human body. Noticeably there was an increase in detail from making the muscles clearly defined on the body. Michelangelo had a fascination with the male body. This fascination was clearly shown through his works of art where the form of the male body was shown. Michelangelo's style even when displaying a woman’s figure, was a noticeably male form influence, like in the Sistine Chapel. In additions many of the positions of the figures were awkward and in the sense would be uncomfortable. Which seems to draw the attention of spectators more into the piece.

In the Madonna of the Long Neck, the title describes the work of art. Although there is still this naturalistic perspective about the piece, the body proportions are obviously exaggerated, from the long neck, hands, torso, and even the baby. The piece still uses linear perspective like artists in the renaissance used, making the audience feel as if they could step into the work. High renaissance was a foundation for a more expressive style of art like mannerism.

Renaissance era vs U.S today

I think there are some similarities but more differences in comparing art during the Renaissance era and art today in the U.S. Renaissance art was a start to heading to more modern artwork with the use of illusionism and linear perspective. This shift in art is a huge influence on art today. Yet art today is so technologically advance. Today we have digital art that has been modified or edited by a computer/software program. Most art today is not just created by the artist itself but through technology advances has changed the approach. It use to take years for renaissance artist to actually finish their works of art, one reason being it took greater amount of time to import certain supplies needed. Today it can either be created on the computer at a fast pace or if actually using paints the supplies can be quickly shipped.

I feel also that art today is a lot broader in the messages artist try to portray. In the U.S we have the idea of free speech, yet during the Renaissance era artist were able to go against society’s principles but it wasn’t supported as it is today. I also believe that artist in Renaissance were more respected than in our society today and maybe that’s because people today can easily attain the resources rather than the renaissance artists.

Seneca Essay

http://www.stoics.com/seneca_epistles_book_3.html#%E2%80%98XCVI1

The first letter I choose was On Facing Hardship, in this letter it mentions that with all the complaining about bad circumstances, there is really only one bad part of this whole equation which is you complaining. He mentions that affairs come by order and not by chance. In life you will have the ups and downs that’s apart of living. This attitude on facing hardships is similar in the dichotomy of control, you can’t control everything bad in your life, things are going to happen to you and you will just need to accept it. Focus on the things in life you can control with the help of setting goals.

http://www.stoics.com/seneca_epistles_book_2.html

In the second letter I choose On the Diseases of the Soul, in this letter Seneca mentions there is a difference between the disease of the mind and its passions. The diseases are “harden and chronic vices, such as greed and ambition”, while passions are “objectionable impulses of the spirit, sudden and vehement.” With the diseases of the mind like greed and ambition can be an impulse from not letting go of incident in the past, for example whether you think someone has more than you. But with fatalism you have to let go of the past to be able to move on with the future. Only at that time will you be “undisturbed by fears, unspoiled by pleasures, we shall be neither afraid of death nor the Gods, it means not craving wickedness or excess; it means possessing supreme power over oneself.”

1 b Answer

Hey everyone,
So as I got looking at the list of historic sites on the world heritage site I choose 1st one to be the Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. The Last Supper artwork was created by Leonardo di Vinci, whose work was "herald to a new era of art." This piece of artwork is known worldwide and has continued to be an inspiration for many artist. The second place is Venice and its lagoon. Venice is spread across the lagoon on 118 islands. The architect of the buildings are one of a kind, with many of the buildings containing works of art.
Andrea

Hello

My name is Andrea Weekly and I am currently a junior this year. My major is business administration with a concentration in management. I have never traveled across seas, and this opportunity with Otterbein was one I couldn't pass. I'm excited to be learning more about the cultural and then to finally be able to visit the places we have talked about during the quarter. I think this class will be a definite learning experience for me. See you in class!
Andrea