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Art during the Renaissance Period

March 5th, 2013 / / categories: Renaissance Art /

Mona LisaIf there is one aspect in life that some people could not possibly understand in just one glance, it would have to be art. Art has different meanings and one of these is the fact that it is an example of a human activity that expresses emotions, feelings, and results made possible by the maker’s skillful hands and mind. It can be in the world of fashion, entertainment, or even in industrial aspect. Research showed that one of the most incredible artistic periods in history is the art during the Renaissance Period.

Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberte – what do these names remind you of? Indeed, they remind us of paintings, sculptures, and other works of art that are marvelous enough to wow everyone who sets their eyes on their masterpieces. Basically, the Renaissance period is an era in the European history in 1400 when traditions, cultures, and beliefs were mainly projected in every art work. It is even dubbed to be the period of the rebirth of ancient traditions; hence, Renaissance art is more of faith, human form, and romance. During the Renaissance period, works of art were made possible by sophisticated techniques like oil canvasses on oak panel, paintings on stained glass and shields, and many others. Also, the paintings in this era were more of Christ’s story from the conception of his mother to his death at the cross up to the day that he was moved down from the cross. The art emphasized in this period is a combination of realism as a lot of its characters and look real and alive.

Take for example Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love or Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Michaelangelo’s painting, which started in the High Renaissance period in the years 1475-1525, depicts faith and the painting look surreal with the artists giving sophistication and attention to every minute detail. Because of the artists’ emphasis on the human body, the art during the Renaissance period was also deemed to be giving more focus to the human body or the human anatomy. Michaelangelo was considered to be one of the best painters during this period. Because of this, he was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the Sistine chapel ceiling and was hired as the artist for St. Peter’s Basilica in which he made the masterpiece called the Pieta.

If we take a look at the type of art that we have today, we can clearly see the difference that it offers in terms of its creation and style. Modern art introduces freshness, creativity, and excitement whereas art during the Renaissance period introduced grace, attention to detail, and realism.

 

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The Art of Home Decoration

January 14th, 2013 / / categories: Learn to Appreciate, Modern Arts /

Home is the only place where people can be their own selves; where people can find the true home of their heart. By this means, making our home the most beautiful place to live in is really an important thing to do. There are lots of ways that we can do in order to make our home the best place to stay. There are now various art and ways to make our home more suiting and a convenient place to relax and be just you.

Decorating your home does not mean that you have to make the most expensive stuffs in decorating; making a simpler one is much preferable. In that case, learning the best ways to decorate our place is the most important thing to do. Doing it simple yet a little different is already an ideal choice. There is lots of lifestyle magazines that you can choose to read and learn some easy tips in home decorations. Aside from that, online blogs and other lifestyle websites can also give you tips to consider when making some changes in your place.

Here are some of the perfect tips that we can give you when it comes to perfect home decoration.

  1. Make use of elegant carpets. As we all know, carpets are among the simple things which would give a good enhancement to anyone’s home. Getting your own Blued Ridge carpet will even give you the perfect choice. Thus, the only thing to do is to pick for the color which will fully suit the overall mood of your home as well.
  2. Make your walls clean from prints. Choosing a good color of paint is already enough in enhancing your home’s look. Never make use of other prints like wall murals which will give you an irritating look. Remember, doing it simple is much beautiful.
  3. Make use of good lighting bulbs. Aside from those home accessories, selecting a good light for your home is already important in order to create a good ambiance. Dim lights are among the perfect choice especially when you wanted to make your home a little bit calm and romantic to stay.
  4. Make use of simple window coverings. Never choose those over-colored window coverings especially when you are making use of glass windows. Make use of light colored and simple designed coverings as well.

You can consider some of these tips in making the best art in decorating your home.

 

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Chinese Han Period and its Arts

November 23rd, 2012 / / categories: Ancient Art /

The Han dynasty endowed China with great prosperity. Pacific or miltary expeditions tok place in Turkestan, Bactriana,Sogdiana,and even among the parths,who acted as connecting agents with the Roman provinces.

Buddhism, which so deeply transformed Chinese art,was established by Emperor Ming ti in the year 67 A.d Under the hans, art was almost completely inspired by Confucianism and Taoism, the numberless legends of which supplied subjects that have been perpetyated to our own time.

The specimens of that period are still very primitive, but the vases have beautiful shapes, often borroeed from bronzes.

Nearly all the Han potteries we possess also come tombs, for it was then customary to bury with the dead the reprsentation in woos, straw or clay,of the persons, animals, and objects that surrounded them during their lives. This habit certainly developed the ancient Chinese ceramics art, but we do not know the chief centred of fictile industry at that time.Chinese books only mention among them Chang-nan in the province of Chiang-Hsi,as the place where the potteries of Emperor Wu Ti(140-86 B.C.)were situated.The same place was destined to be later rendered illustrious by the famous centre of Ching-te-chen.

In the han potteries the clay is generally either red or slate-grey,and it’s hardness varies from that of crockery up to that of sandstone.When not enamelled,these potteries are coated with white clay and painted with unfired colours which are generally red or black.But they are mostly enamelled,and the enamel ehich is of a greyish yellow colour proto its thickness.When the lengthy sojourn in the tombs has not completely wasted away that enamel,time imparts a fine irised tone to it and covers it all over with minute cracks.

The decoration of the objects was obtained in different ways:either by using hollow moulds which gave somewhat imperfect relief,or by stamping or carving.All these decorations, often borrowed fromn contemporary bronze vases,were applied on the object before the enamelling. They represent bird, dragons, fishes, hunting scenes, waves, lozenge or quatrefoil ornaments,etc.

The custom of marking earthenware dates back to the Han dynasty: the marks were then engraved. it is useful to ascertain whether they were engraved before or after baking, for marks have subsequently been added on some of those very ancient pieces.

This guest post was written by Mr. Su from Sunrise Art, who is specialized in antique Chinese porcelain study.

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Teaching Children How to Appreciate Art

November 6th, 2012 / / categories: Learn to Appreciate /

For parents or even teachers who are not naturally born artists, teaching children how to appreciate art can be very frustrating. However, guided by these steps, even the non-artists will gain confidence in teaching art appreciation and qould be able to make the learning process as easy as eating peanuts.

Teaching the Fundamentals

In order to be successful in teaching art appreciation, one must begin by developing the necessary set of skills to learn the basics of arts such as shapes, lines, colors, and perspectives. A teacher or a parentmust also employ useful resources such as books in order to guide the children in their way towards appreciating art. One perfect resource would be the modern-day classic book of Mona Brookes, “Drawing with Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners.” The author starts her instructional book by presenting photos of the basic art grammar such as curved lines, straight lines, angled lines, dots, and circles. Learning how to contruct these bits and pieces that make up an entire artwork will help you in you task. You might learn how to draw you own artwork yourself as well.

Developing the Skills

Upon identifying and learning the fundamental of art, it is ideal to introduce to the kids various artworks made by real and prominent artists. In such way, students will also be able to appreciate history along with the learning process and this will develop a certain urge within them to emulate the famous artists.

Familiarizing the Children with Famous Artworks

In this part, an educator must reproduce works of renowned artists to sow seeds of familiarity among the students. This is a vital precursor to genuine appreciation of art. Never underestimate the powerful effect of mere ornamentation of masterpieces in the house. The educator should also engage the students in out-of-the-school activities such as exposure trips to various art galleries, exhibits, and museums. Always associate art to your everyday life so as to make art highly applicable even to the most trivial things sich as watching television shows.

Understanding the Lives of the Artists

Finally, after developing all the necessary skills, it is also equally important as everything else to expose the children tothe life of the actual artists, the masterpieces they made, and their context of art and culture. This will help the students understand how it is to be an artist and what art truly means, despite how subjective and relative art is in reality.