Benvenuto Cellini and the Creation of Perseus
My name is Bernardino Mannellini. I am now working on my own trying to succeed as a sculptor here in Rome. I have found the job extremely difficult, but it was expected after my apprenticeship with the great sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini. He was not the most famous but was equally deserving as such great sculptors as Michel Agnolo Buonarroti. This is why I write to you today. Cellini produced one of the most beautiful works of this time in his masterpiece of Perseus. It was a remarkable feat whose story cannot go untold (Huntley 251).
Cellini and I had arrived in Florence from France for a short while. Although he was very successful in France under the encouragement of Majesty King Francis, Cellini wanted very much to revisit his birthplace of Florence. He quickly became known to the Duke and did a few works for him. First, the colossal bronze bust of his Excellency; secondly, a restoration of the Ganymede in marble which cost a great deal of difficulty; and thirdly, the Medusa head cast in bronze. Succeeding well with Medusa, Cellini wanted to start on a cast of Perseus holding the head of Medusa (Cellini 410).
Cellini made the wax model which came out beautifully, but I was questionable to whether it would come out in bronze as did the Medusa. Apparently the Duke agreed with me when Cellini went to speak to him of the project he was working on. His Excellency was struck by the beauty of the wax model but questioned how it would succeed in bronze with Perseus grasping the head of Medusa so high. The statue would stand ten and a half feet tall if completed with Perseus’s hand holding the head of Medusa high in front of him. It was clear why his Excellency was concerned for how Cellini would complete the bronze statue. I was standing aside from Cellini as he tried to assure the Duke that the statue would succeed. Cellini pleaded “My lord, I know how very little confidence you have in me; and I believe the reason of this is that your most illustrious Excellency lends too ready an ear to my calumniators, or else indeed that you do not understand my art.
The Statue of a kouros represents a Greek male. With one foot forward, the statue at the same time, represents movement and is able to stand on it own. This also gives the over life size figure, visible weight. In this early figure, geometric forms seem to predominate, and anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are presented with somewhat of exaggerated lines. Although the exaggerated lines show where these muscles belong, the detail is still missing. Looking up and down this nude body, at this miss proportioned and lacking of detail body, the hair is what grabs my attention. The hair is carved with detail not noticeable in the rest of the body. As well, although the fists are clinched and still bonded to the body, the legs and elbows are separated. The ability to move around and inspect the statue makes a big difference than if it was up against a wall, or just looking at its picture. The legs, which support the weight of the statue, have a visible strength which is seen in the knees. The head is what carried the most detail, the ears although to far back, are intricately designed. It is the ability to walk around the entire statue that allows me to see the different aspects and places where attention to detail was placed. However, he does not expand into three dimensional space; he has a closed-off, column-like appearance
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
3. BWV in D major. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote four Orchestral Suites. This piece is the second of the five movements that compose his Orchestral suite No. 3. The date it was composed remains unsure, as there is strong evidence that the writing of the piece was done during his years at Köthen, even though the piece is said to have been composed and premiered some years later in Leipzig sometime between 1727 and 1730 by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of his students and himself. Johann Sebastian wrote out the main violin and continuo parts, C.P.E. Bach did the same with the trumpet, oboe, and timpani parts, and Johann Ludwig Krebs, his student, finished with the second viola and violin parts. Regardless the authors of the piece, Johann Sebastian Bach ended up getting all the credit for the piece. Air stands out as one of his most famous and successful pieces of the Baroque period, as well as of his life. The beginning of the piece is one of the most recognizable melodies of the Baroque
Interestingly, he also refers to Donatello as a ‘craftsman’. The correlation between the artist or sculptor and craftsman is an important aspect in Italian Renaissance art. The craftsman was something more than just an artist. This person was talented and considered by others in Italian Renaissance society as exceptional or as Vasari’s title suggests, ‘the most excellent’. They were also tradespeople rather than just artists. This is because they created works for other people, which often meant they expressed other people’s ideas. Through an analysis of Vasari’s biography on Donatello, this essay will explore the importance of culture in Renaissance Italian society, an examination of Vasari’s biography of Donatello as a historical document and the ways in which Vasari portrays Donatello, which ultimately was significant for future Renaissance craftsmen. This paper will analyze the life of Donatello through Vasari’s The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects to show the importance of Donatello not only as an artist but also as a
Wallace’s article points out that Tommaso de’ Cavalieri was not only a Roman nobleman, but also friend to, and admirer of Michelangelo. The drawing of Cleopatra by Michelangelo was presented to Cavalieri in 1532; however, the drawing on the reverse side was discovered in 1988 during the removal of a thick backing sheet. It was no surprise that there was a drawing on the reverse side, scholars were already aware of this; however, the drawing on the reverse side was difficult to ascertain until the removal of the backing. The part of this discovery that was confusing; the drawing was not of the quality of other works by Michelangelo.
The first Roman emperor, Augustus brought a huge change to Roman life and art in 27 B.C.E. The statue, Head of an Old Man, created between 25 B.C.E to 10 C. E displays the artistic change in physical form which reflects the social and political change of that time. The old man’s short hair, furrowed brow, wrinkled face, and deep bags under his eyes showed a portrait of hard life and hard work unlike the previous portraits of young well-muscled men in their prime. The Head of an Old Man reflected Augustus’s emphasis on moral reforms and hard work during his rule.
The night Michelangelo Buonarroti was born, “Mercury and Venus were in the house of Jove,” says Vasari. This means that, according to a lucky star, Michelangelo could be expected to produce extraordinary works of both art and intellect. How true this turned out to be! Whether it was fate or coincidence, few haven’t heard of this world renowned and avant-garde talent. From painting to architecture and sculpture, it seems like there is nothing Michelangelo couldn’t master. Michelangelo is said to have considered himself a sculptor, but why was it then that he produced his sculpture with such a unique and striking depiction of the human body? Why did Michelangelo create such masculine forms, and was it self expression that provoked this intense artistry? There are many factors that can influence an artists creative process, but with Michelangelo the most prominent were most likely his religion, society, travels, and self perception.
Upon traveling to Rome, Goethe was stuck by the sculpture, Medusa Rondanini, while at an exhibit in Palazzo Rondanini. The sculptor depicts Perseus in a heroic stance holding Medusa’s head. His fascination with the tensions revealed in a cast of the Medusa Rondanini can be seen in the “Tod und Leben” . The paint shows the death of those trying to hold on to their humanistic nature, similarly, it is the ‘contest between life and death, between pain and rapture, exercises, like some great problem’ that draws Goethe’s attention when he views the
The “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius” was one of the lucky bronze pieces from Ancient Rome. It was lucky because the Ancient Romans often melted their bronze creations to make new ones. While this helped supply artists with material for new statues, the melting of statues has left modern cultures without knowledge of possibly hundreds of Ancient Rome’s finest pieces. Thankfully this statue survived is now at the Museo Capitolino in Rome, where it is an inside exhibit to keep safe from the harsh elements and pollution.
Here, we will be looking at a rendition of the high marble statue of Augustus Caesar known as “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Originating from 1st Century A.D., it is said that there is a possibility that the original sculpture could have been of greek descent. Upon a general overview of the sculpture, one can see that Augustus fulfils a millitarial role of some kind. From his very stance to the garments portrayed on him, Augustus is draped in a decorative cuirass and a tunic, accompanied by a figure of Cupid clutching on to his right calf. After taking the general themes of the work into account, one can then began to start unraveling the many symbolic elements embedded into the sculpture that allude to godly themes. Starting from the crown of his head, the very chiselment and structure of his face gives the work a youthful element to it, even though some say that Augustus was around 40 years old. A recurring theme within Greek and Roman culture is the matter of godliness and immortality amongst idolized figures themselves. This idea is usually depicted by displaying powerful human being in a younger light. This
The Baroque music period was a time for great composers. Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel were two of the most talented musicians that lived during the 1600-1750s. Handel’s breath-taking, beautiful water music and Bach’s intriguing Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2: Prelude and Fugue in C Major became well-known musical compositions. These two pieces of music are great examples that showcase their many incredible talents.
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Pi survived because he was faithful. One of the factors that made him survive was by praying. He had a daily ritual, to pray five times a day, which is a ritual in Islam. He considered this just as important as survival preparations. “My heart stopped and then beat triple speed. I turned. "Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu!" I saw a sight that will stay with me for the rest of my days. Richard Parker had risen and emerged. He was not fifteen feet from me. Oh, the size of him! The hyena's end had come, and mine.” This quote is one of Pi’s prayers. Pi was close to death at that point, but because of the power of his prayer, the tiger has not attacked him. This is significant because it supports the idea that faith can protect us, and through praying, nothing is impossible. Pi thinks of God and Richard Parker every time as they are the reason for Pi to live on. Faith kept Pi from giving up.
Clinical psychology is a complex field that parallels the complexity of human behavior and emotion (Plante, 2010). Just as people are defined by more than blood and tissue, emotions and ideas, or their relationships to others, the field of clinical psychology is an integrative effort to understand the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors in making each of us “tick.”(Plante, 2010). Like other fields, the roots of clinical psychology are viewed as simplistic and narrowly conceived (Plante, 2010). Hundreds