linear perspective

The painting I found for this assignment is The Mysitic marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
When I first looked at this painting I knew that it was a little off. At first i thought it was the stool in the front because of the way it was positioned. Looking farther back in the painting you can find what looks so off. If you follow the lines from the wall and bookshelf they all have the same vanishing point; all except for the fireplace. It stick out of the wall in a funny position and its vanishing point is away from the other one and its obvious why it looked so wrong. Overall the painter did a pretty good job of keeping everything else in linear perspective. I guess they cant all be perfect. Using linear perspective makes a huge difference in art when I was younger we were just taught it and I figured it was just something everyone knew. I never stopped to think that someone had to come up with this concept. To us it seems so easy and part of common knowlege but it is obvious that has not always been the case.

Even thought it was our first math class the class about arches has been my favorite. It is so amazing that using a simple way to build something could make it stand for so long. I cant imagine the buildings at home lasting as long as the buildings still left in Rome. I was interested to learn the secret of ancient Rome. When you look at the Coliseum there are arches all the way around it. Before coming here I thought that they did it because they liked the way I looked, I didn’t know it was to make it strong. These arches have withstood the test of time, they are much stronger and sturdier supports than other means of building such as columns.When columns are used the stress is put on one point. Over time the pressure takes its toll and the building starts to crumble. The reason arches work so well is because of the way they distribute the weight of the buildings. The keystone is essential to making the arch work, it is at the very top and takes the stress of the building and distributes it evenly down the arch, they share the work equally. The illustration below shows how this works.

Arches are the reason so many things around Rome are still standing. Romans did not invent the arch however; the idea was brought to them by the Etruscans. What the Romans did do was perfect the arch and incorporate it into the beauty of the structure. It started to become a central feature in Roman architecture, used in monuments, buildings and bridges. There are many different types of arches that can be used. The most simple of the arches is the barrel vault. During the gothic period the vaulted arches were popular, they helped support the heavy stone structures that were weakened by large windows.The vaulted is the best arch. A dome is the ultimate vaulted ceiling; the ring distributes all the weight.
Whenever someone comes to Rome I think they should pay attention to how many arches there really are in the old buildings. The aqueducts are a very good example also. Seeing how well the idea of the arch works makes me wonder why it is not done more at home. I think that more building should incorporate arches into their main support structure. Having a math class here has been more helpful than I thought it would be. It has helped me understand the reason behind the buildings. I have been very surprised how advanced their building style was. Math has given a better insight, not one everyone gets when they go to Rome so for that I have really appreciated the class.

Ciao Roma!

During this trip I realized how much we are constantly on the go at home and don’t take the time out to appreciate some things, but I also realized how lucky I am to have the family I do. Some people were surprised how family oriented everything is here but that is how my family is at home. If you don’t have family then you don’t have anything. Everyone in my family always takes time out to spend it with each other and we are very close. Being here has made me realize that not everyone has that and I shouldn’t take it for granted. One thing my family does tend to forget is that they need to take time for themselves and relax. I wish my parents would just take some time off of their busy schedules and get away for a little while. I hope that when my parents have everything they need paid for that they will do some traveling. I want them to experience what I have experienced. Coming to another country and living in another culture is a priceless experience.
Coming to Rome has really made me a more independent and confident person. I feel like I can do anything now. This has really made me realize that if I want something that I need to go for it and not worry. I was nervous to come here but I pushed myself and it was worth it. I have been wanting to go into the Air Force for a very long time and I am making a serious consideration of leaving next year instead of waiting until after school. I do plan on finishing my degree in the Air Force but I feel that my time to go in is now. After being here I am not afraid to go after what I want. I could go on and on about how many things have affected me in these two short months. This will definitely push me to travel to places I never thought I could go. Between talking about all the great times we have had here and planning on what we are doing when we get back I realized how much this experience has given me. Not only have gained a new sense of independence but I have made great friends; ones that are hard to find and impossible to forget.

Lacoon and his sons

A statue that has really stood out in my mind was the marble statue of Lacoon and his sons. After seeing so many sculptures they start to look similar and become a big blur. Only the great ones have really stood out in my mind when I look back and this is definitely one of them. There is so much emotion, and it is unlike any other statue. This statue is a must see and one of my very favorites. This statue can be found at the Vatican museum near the statue of Apollo.
I wanted to start from the beginning of this sculptures fame but the most I could find about the discovery of this statue was that it was discovered in 1506 and it was found around the Esquiline Hill. I did find one fictional story that I found interesting and thought I would share it, I summarized it in the paragraph below.
“One day in 1506, Signer Fredis was walking in his vineyard on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. He had men working the day before to find water but had no luck. While deciding if it was a lost cause he put a stick into the pit to see how deep the soil was. He pushed it into the ground up to the handle with ease; therefore he thought that there must be something hollow underneath. Wanting to discover it himself he got to work and started digging alone. When he made the hole big enough to fit through he grabbed a lantern and came to a vaulted room. After that he wandered through five rooms finding nothing until he came to the sixth. There he found the statue of Lacoon and his sons.”
From the writings Pliny the Elder there were three sculptors of the statue. (Pliny died in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.) The three sculptors he mentioned from the Island of Rhodes were Hagesandros, Athandoros, and Polydoros. He said it was in the palace of Titus and was preferred to the others depictions in bronze and paint. After the discovery of the statue it was recognized from Pliny’s description. Pope Julius II bought the statue for the Vatican and placed it in the Belvedere Garden. There the statue was cleaned and further studied. Parts missing from the statues were attached in the position they thought was correct. The right arm of Lacoon that was missing was made extending upwards. Later they found that the position of the actual arm was bent instead of extended. They know this now because the arm was later found in 1957 in a builders yard in Rome.
The statue was most likely commissioned for the home of a wealthy Roman. The suggested dates of the statue range from 160 BC to 20 BC. Inscriptions were found that date Athendoros and Hagesandros to around 42 BC makes 42 to 20 BC the most likely dates for its creation. The story behind the statue is the story of the Trojan horse. Lacoon was a Trojan priest, the priest of Apollo, and warned the other people not to accept the large wooden horse from the Greeks. He even inserted a spear into the horses side to see if it was empty. To prevent the Greeks from being discovered Poseiden and Athena sent two serpents to kill Lacoon and his sons. The people took this as an omen to receive the horse so they would not be punished as well.
When you look at this statue you can see the agony and pain in the faces of the three figures. Lacoon is straining his body trying to get away with his head tilted upwards as the serpent bites his side.. The two boys look to him in fear, one has already been bitten by the serpent, both entwined in the serpents grip. So much emotion and fear found in one pose. They are all being overpowered in their helpless struggle.

Fountains of Bernini

My favorite fountain on our Bernini tour was the fountain in the Piazza Barberini. The name of the fountain is Fontana del Tritone or as we would call it the fountain of Triton. This fountain was made in 1642. On the top of the fountain is Triton, the minor god of the sea in ancient Roman and Greek legends. Triton shown as a merman sits on top of a giant oyster shell blowing into a conch shell where the water spills out. The water used to shoot out much higher than it does today but over time the shell has worn down making the arch of water smaller. Holding Triton up on the shells are four dolphins with their tails all twisting together. The rounded pool of water below is meant to represent the ocean. In between two of the dolphins is the crest of Pope Urban VII who commisioned this work, also found is the symbol of the Barberini family; the bees.The Pope wanted this fountain to be a reminder of the water brought to the people by the Acqua Felice aqueduct he commisioned. This was the last work commisioned by Pope Urban VII.

This fountain was made from travertine, a natural rock. His inspiration for this fountain came from passage of "Metamorphasis". This fountain was something that would have been in a garden but Bernini brought it into the public like no one had done before. I think my favorite part about this fountain are the dolphins. As soon as I heard "look at the dolphins on the bottom" I was confused, to me they look more like fish. I am not too sure why the dolphins look the way they do in this fountian but regarless they are still beautiful.

ROME AWAY FROM ROME: my walking tour

When I thought about the theme of my tour I wanted to do something I would enjoy myself; a tour I would take my friends and family on. My idea was to get away from the traditional sites of Rome with huge crowds of people that you need to elbow your way through. I chose to do a place in Rome that is so different that you do not even feel like you are anywhere close to the city. When we went to the zoo I fell in love with what we seen on the way; little did I know there was so much more. After going through my tour I felt so relaxed and refreshed. I hope that anyone that goes on this tour will enjoy it just as much as my group. This is a side of Rome that many people never get to experience because you never see much of it when you look at travel brochures or pictures.

To start my tour from Termini, take the metro line A to the Spanga stop. When you get off at Spanga just before you exit out of the metro station there will be signs to your right that say Villa Borghese. Follow the signs and go up the escalators until you are outside. Once outside you have arrived in Villa Borghese. Walk straight until you come to a dirt path on the left, this path leads up to Piazzale dei Martiri. Here you will find several busts of various people. Either way you look from here you see the street lined with trees and benches. If you take a right down the street (Viale delle Magnolie) and cross over to the other sidewalk and on the left will be Vialle Taragona. Down the hill to Via della Fontana Rotunda there is a large fountain that looks like a big blue pool. Everyone sits on the hillside reading and some put their feet in the fountain and lay in the sun taking in the beautiful day. After spending some time here across the fountain head towards the main road and take a right, you will pass a statue of Victor Hugo(famous writer). Cross the street toward the flowers and four lion fountains, still going the same way up the street. Turn left onto Vialle Pietro Canonica, take a right onto the first street; Vialle della Casina di Raffaello. Here you will see a small monument with a green dome that has a pine cone on top and columns all the way around. It has animals all over the inside of the dome and is very beautiful when you see the detail of it. Taking a left onto Vialle dei Pupazzi, Piazza di Sienna is on the right. Piazza di Sienna was built as an equestrian competition arena which is still used today.Looking to the left there is a very large statue. When you get closer to this statue you realize it looks like three different pieces of art in one. On top of the red stone statue is a bronze statue of a man on a horse and on the side is a marble relief sculpture of people. Continuing straight on the Vialle dei Pupazzi you will end up at Piazzale dei Cavalli Marine. In the middle is a beautiful fountain with seahorses underneath. Take a left here and another left onto Pietro Canonica. The museum of Pietro Canonica a Villa Borghese is on the right hand side. It looks like a castle and has some statues in front, it is the museum of Canonica the sculptor painter and musician. The admission to this museum is free, another plus for being away from busy Rome.

After the museum Piazza di Sienna will now be on the right, straight across from it will be an entrance to a gated park. If you follow the dirt path that runs parallel with the road you will run into Viale del Lago. Looking down you can see a beautiful pond with what looks like a Greek temple in the background. This part was my personal favorite. There are statues to look at on the way and once you get there it is nice to just relax and watch all the ducks swim by. On one side of the pond they rent out boats for a very reasonable price. I chose to end my tour at the most beautiful and relaxing place I have found in Rome. Floating out into the middle of a pond on a boat and hearing birds chirping definitely feels hours away from the city. While there are many more things to see in this area I wanted to keep it to a minimum so it felt relaxing instead of crazy; who wants to spend leisure time running around like crazy?

The Catholic church

The Catholic church is universal in many ways but Rome has had a large influence on it. For one catholic means universal. When I think about it being universal I think about how many countries and people so different from eachother who share the same beliefs. It is so amazing how wide spread it is everywhere. I also think about the pope, he is recognized everywhere as a leader of the church. He himself is universal because he speaks many different languages. While the religion is everywhere you can see how Rome has physically influenced the catholic churches. Angels are used because of the pagen belief of cupid. St. Peter's is very much influenced by the Roman style of building. I belive Rome is also a big part of the church in other ways. The idea of a Pope started here. Eventually the Pope became a major power that could heavily influence what was going on. If you look around Rome there is as surprising amount of artwork comissioned by the Pope. Overall the Catholic church is universal with a few uniquely Roman touches

The dome in Florence

For this midterm I immediately knew what I wanted to write about; the dome in Florence. When I learned about the dome in art history last year it really interested me. The dome was meant to be at the time, the largest in the world. This would have been a symbol of power for Florence. However, the original architects couldn’t finish it. It was meant to be bigger than the Pantheon but ended up being an embarrassment to Florence. For years it remained unfinished leaving a hole in the middle of the city’s church. The Medici family decided to find someone who could finish it, this would help gain them power. The person they picked for the job was Filippo Brunelleschi.
Brunelleschi studied the Pantheon trying to recover architectural knowledge that had been lost. He finally came up with a brilliant plan that would allow him to build the great dome of Florence. He was very secretive about his plans to build, even today there has been trouble understanding exactly how it was built. This build was such a great feat because he could not use any support while building it. The dome was finished and was finally the great symbol of Florence. Today the dome is still a beautiful place to go and very amazing to look at.
When I attended church I got my first look at the artwork on the inside of the dome. Even though my neck was hurting I couldn’t stop starting straight up at it. The very large fresco was started by Vesari in 1572 and then finished by Frederico Zuccaro. It depicts the last judgment. The fresco shows all the stages of the judgment from the angels to the depths of hell. The parts at the bottom of the dome representing hell show the pain and the torture of those who are getting tossed into it. Above hell we see the people getting judged and angels flying around. Even before researching the fresco I figured that it was something about heaven and hell. I thought it was the most interesting painting I have ever seen in a church. The dome itself is a beautiful piece of artwork and once I seen what was on the inside I only appreciated it more. I feel very fortunate to have been able to see it first hand and get the real experience.

Music

After learning about music in math class I was a little confused but also very interested. First of all I never knew how big a role math played in the aspects of music. It is used from the instrument to the composition. Also how there were such subtle changes in the three pieces we listened to that if I did not know they were supposed to be different I would not have heard the slight variations. I think I will listen more carefully to classical music to try and catch the small changes; however I don't feel like I know enough for it to completely change the way I listen to music. It did give me a greater appreciation, I think, than I would have had if we had not learned about music in class. I kept thiking how much thought went into each not and how they fit together so perfect as a whole piece. That was a new experience I am glad I had now that I was able to see a little farther into the world of music. Overall I had a good time at the concert.

Via Giulia

Before we learned about Via Giulia I never realized how many streets we went down that just did not make sense. The streets that curve around to lead into a dead-end and the funny placement of the sidestreets. Living in America, a country that is so new I never took into consideration that a long time ago they were not very concerned about making their streets perfect. If a map of a city in the U.S.was compared to Rome the differece would be very apparent.Via Giula was a nice place to go, I was surprised how many churches were on that one street. There was a church we passed with skulls all over it. The more I looked the more I noticed that the outside was a little disturbing for a church. I thought that that was probably a medieval church. I liked how unlike many of the streets in Rome Via Giulia was wide giving us more room to walk when cars went by. The arch was one of my favorite parts; I liked how it was supposed to be this great bridge built by Michelangelo but it never was finished. I think that Via Giulia was a good plan and a step in the right direction for city planning.

Leisure

In Itlay their leisure time is in the middle of the day. All the stores close down and people go home. They sit down together at home, relax and have family time. Stores closing down in the middle of the day has been hard to get used to; it seems so inconvient. I know its not strange for them because it is waht they are used to . In the U.S. I feel that our leisure time is after a full day of work and on the weekends. I prefer getting work over with all at once and going home for the rest of the day instead of taking a long break and going back to work. I'm not very sure what people do for leisure outside of Rome but I do see that they sit at cafes with their friends, walk their dogs, or just relax in a park or piazza. When I have free time I like to see my friends and do things outside. Where I live people usually do things outdoors as leisure activities or have picnics. Overall the biggest difference in leisrue is what time we do it and the way we plan ours out.

Medieval Art

The medieval artwork I chose is from Santa Maria Trastvere. It is on the outsitde of the church over the entrance. It is a mosaic from the 12th century. As soon as I seen it I knew that it had to be from the medieval period. The figures are not very realistic looking and not in proportion with eachother. Mary who is holding Jesus in the middle is larger than the rest of the figures to show her importance. I have also noticed that much of the artwork from this time were mosaics with much gold used in them. The inside of the church was covered in medieval artwork. I think that the shift of the way things were depicted is so interesting. Before this time everything looked very realistic. I think that the meaning was the most important part for medieval artwork because it was for lessons and faith. I learned that the reason the eyes on the people usually look so big is because it is supposed to represent their eyes being open wide to god and seing the right way in life.

Piazza

When we walked into the Piazza Novana it was full of people. It was a big open space in between all of these buildings. In the middle were statues and fountains. The piazzas here can be a get away from the busy city. When you look around people are sitting outside of cafes having casual conversation with eachother. I guess a piazza would be our equivalent of a town square; a meeting place for a town. There is much to do, but it also a relaxing atmosphere. Everywhere we looked around there were small shops to go into and locals and tourists alike. In the smaller piazzas away from major landmarks, they are much quiter and fewer tourists. It is a very nice place to sit down and have gelato.

Flowers!

Even though we could only find one place that sold flowers in Campo Dei Fiori we found a pretty wide selection. When we bought all the flowers I was pretty curious to see if they would all comply with the Fibonnaci numbers. Our flowers lost a few petals on the way so hopefully the numbers we counted are all right! Math is far from my favorite subject but this made it fun and interesting. I actually wanted to learn more about this and it surprised me. The flowers we bought contained: a red rose-13 petals, a mum-144, sunflower-32, yellow lily-6( even thought this is not one of the number there were three petals with spots and three plain ones.), daisy-34, and a gardenia-21.

Imperial statue

This statue from the Palantine hill is from the Imperial period. Honestly the only reason I knew what time this was from was the caption underneath it. I was hoping to find something clearly different from the Republican era. We talked about how the idea of angels was taken from cupid and how they usually did not have beards. I was looking for these qualities among others but most statues were not whole any more. The statue I chose has no head or arms so it was hard to tell what made this an Imperial statue. This statue is of Aphrodite, the detail makes it look more like a republican statue. I would guess that this was for personal use in a home because I see no religous purpose for it. Regardless it was a beautiful statue will very much detail on the clothing.

Religion

Being in Italy I have seen how much religion has influenced many things. We have been into countless churches and seen old buildings that were repurposed for religious uses. It is crazy to think how one religion affected so many people and the way they live. The culture completely changed. Learning about the history here we get to see what things were like before and after the wide spread of the christian faith. I believe that the promise of a future in heaven was the reason this religion spread to vastly. Like we discussed in class; the poor people did not benefit in the after life in pagean beliefs. Only the rich and rulers would have an after life, so the poor people could only benefit. I believe the promise for a future in heaven helps people lead a good life here because compared to an eternal life in heaven the time we have here is very small. The religion being rooted in the past helps hold on to tradition. The past present and future are all necessary parts of religion. We need the past to learn about the start of our religion and the lessons it has to teach us. We have the present to live our lives for God. The future is our reward for leading a good life.

Da Vinci

The invention from Da Vinci I chose was the flying ship. I am sure that everyone already knows how that turned out; not well. The invention never actually worked. Leonardo Da Vinci believed when he drew up these plans it could actually work. It would take a two hundred pound man to operate it. He figured that the man would put out two hundred pounds of force from his arms, legs and head each. The man would push the levers and the pulleys attached would move the wings of the boat up and down like a bird.
Da Vinci looked to birds to design many of his inventions. His materials however were too heavy to make it work; like the example with the parachute. I thought it was really interesting how he studied the flight of birds. I think I would have tried to design flying machines the same way, if birds can do it then why can't we do the same. Da Vince was definately a genius with many good ideas and some odd ones too. He was very brave to try out all of his ideas.

copy or original?

The sculpture I chose is a Roman original. I know this because it is a sculpture of a Roman emperor. The bust is of Commodus the son of Marcus Aurelius; he is depicted as Hercules. The reason he is depicted as Hercules was to make him appear powerful. He also claimed to be a relation to Hercules. While the sculpture has no parts taken from a Greek one, the idea behind it is Greek. Hercules was a Greek hero. This sculpture includes a lion skin on his head, a club, and apples in his hand. These things all represent the Greek legend Hercules. I never realized how much the Romans took from the Greeks until going to the museum. After learning about how they took parts of other sculptures I was surprised to find that mine was acutally an original. It seemed like every other one was half of a Greek statue fused onto a Roman one or an identical copy of a Greek sculpture.

My appreciation of history

I do not think that I appreciate history more since I have been here. This isn't because I don't like it at all, it's because it has always been my favorite subject. I do not really think it would be possible to appreciate it more; however, now it has a whole new meaning to me. I believe history is very important, we can learn from mistakes they made. We can also learn from their advances and triumphs.

Now I am actually going to the places I have learned about. We have gone to see works of art that I never thought I would be face to face with. Being here has made history more real to me. While biking on the Apian way were were riding on cobblestones people walked on long ago. Also there were tons of ruins we could stop and look at. I am very happy I am able to deepen my knowlege about things so ancient. I will always appreciate and learn from history.

How it feels being around all these old buildings

It is very surreal walking around Rome seeing all of the old buildings and architecture. The Coliseum was when it really hit me where we were walking. I never really thought about how old the buildings really are. At home I considered a home built in the 1800’s to be ancient. Then there I was standing inside of something built before Christ was born. All I could think about is the people that had walked in the same exact footsteps. People who I had read about in history books; famous rulers and artists. Looking out into the center of the Coliseum I tried to imagine what it was like; 75,000 people gathering together to watch what was happening in the arena. It is hard to grasp how different life was and that there were that many people in one place all getting there without cars or any motorized transportation.
The hardest thing being around these buildings and ruins is to try and imagine what it was like when they were first built. I never really realized that the buildings had marble on them and the words were not simply carved in but gold letters were inlayed. Looking at reconstructions of the buildings and how they were laid out gave me a much better picture in my head. Being in Rome makes me realize these are not just buildings they are pieces of living history that carry the stories from long ago.

How I think these 8 weeks are gonna change me

When I thought about the Rome experience I knew that I would come out as a different person. I wondered in what ways I would change. As I arrived in the busy airport I knew that I would become a more independent person. Being pushed out of my comfort zone will force me to learn new things and become a confident person. I was always a very timid person and over the years I have gotten better but I know this will give the extra boost I need. Already we have had to talk to people who do not speak much English; at first it was intimidating but they appreciate the effort. Already I feel like I am putting myself out there by trying to order in Italian. I also believe that being away from home will take away any crutch I could lean on and make me do it myself.
Another way I feel this will affect me as a person is in my career path. My major is government/ foreign affairs at Walsh. Other cultures and there government have always interested me and now instead of learning from a book I am getting some firsthand experience. I think that after being here I will choose to focus on the foreign affairs classes more. On the other hand I could realize I want to focus on domestic government. I am open to whatever path this experience opens me up to.