A famous example of a sculpture from ancient Greece is the Venus de Milo, an armless marble statue of Aphrodite- the Greek deity of love and beauty and pleasure- sculpted during the Hellenistic period. This elegant figure of the goddess has enchanted art lovers for almost two centuries, especially by Botticelli. Through his painting of the Birth of Venus, we can see influential comparisons such as the body shape, and visual differentiations like the pose and physical features between the iconic Greek Aphrodite or in Roman culture, Venus. Botticelli transforms the sculpture into a more visually smoother appearing tempera painting. Venus is the central focal point, standing flawlessly nude and appearing very human-like just as Greeks tried …show more content…
This architectural design screams Gothic styled pillars and pointed arches, unlike the Romanesque, which was shaped more like flat and robust cones with less open spaces to see through them. The glorious rose window also stands out as a circular window often depicted in Gothic architecture. The center partakes an axle of a wheel, with tear drop shapes that form pedals of an illuminating flower or sun around it. However, the inside of the rose window is even more magnificent. The beautiful stained-glass windows reside below the vaulted ceilings which are supported by lissome piers. They stained glass makes up the rose windows and an inner wall of the apse and building and show tapestry-like pictures of Christian religion. They also let in an immense amount of light to the aisles. The illuming scene, color, and open space blend to inspire a sense of harmony between art and faith. Moreover, around the stained glass are statues and relics of the apostles which lean on the columns. With their flowing dresses, finely detailed faces and hair in loosened curls, they relay a sense of peace in all who gaze upon them. The overall architecture is more intricately designed than the Romanesque period and the colors are more brilliant. The late medieval time was an era of religion and advanced architecture influenced by the Romans. The Saint-Chappelle is just one representation out of several that vast in the beauty of the
Before the start of the Gothic revival the mediaeval style, since the last Gothic structure in 1509 of Henry VII ’s chapel, was seen as irrational and illogical and as one man described it as barbaric. This was one of the main causes that the mediaeval buildings of the 18th century fell into disrepair. During the Cromwellian period many Gothic buildings were classical in the interior and church interiors in the 17th century became increasingly boring and plain. Many statues, altars and windows were destroyed.
The statue titled, Torso of Venus, was a replica of the original work by Praxiteles. The Romans made the sculpture in 1st or 2nd century AD during the time of the Late Antiquity period; more specifically known as the Pre-Constantine period. Like the original, the statue was made out of marble. The Torso of Venus is a statue of the goddess Venus, known commonly as the goddess of love and beauty. It was said that she was born, or emerged, from the sea foam. Venus, or Aphrodite to the Greeks, was the embodiment of beauty, sexuality, love and fertility. I believe the Torso of Venus was the Roman version of “Aphrodite of Knidos”, which was one of the most famous works of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles of Athens in the 4th century BC.
Both Goddesses stand nude, slightly covering their genitalia; It’s as if Botticelli took on the modest look Praxiteles put forth. The only difference in the modesty shown is Venus’ long flowing locks some how managed to cover her slight indecent moment in time. Both men set forth a type of admiration for the women pictured in their pieces considering they gave them some kind of covering. When looking at the goddess’s facial expressions, we can see a very apparent deviance in their half smiles, as if they were caught. The Aphrodite represents a quite symmetrical body with even the softest features easily recognizable but, Botticelli was quite close to mimicking such. The Venus’ elongated neck with shoulders slightly sloped still can be compared to the soft features of Aphrodite. Aside from the standing contrapposto, the softness featured in both pieces is what simply draws them
It is determined the Antonine Woman as Venus is a woman of aristocratic status. The portrait is made of fine-grain marble, a medium only upper-class persons could afford. Also, only persons of wealth could afford to have such a protrait made. The woman is portrayed as Venus, a goddess who is connected to the imperial family, and members of a royal family would often have themselves depicted as a deity. (De Puma 26) We know she is being portrayed as Venus because of her bare breast and the upper-arm ring. The bare breast is a key to Venus because she is the goddess of sexuality and desirability. The upper arm ring can be an attribute of Venus as the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus) by Praxiletels displays the same jewelry on a nude body. (Fantham 175)
To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose colour varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue—and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements.
After walking inside and trying to first experience, the church, and all its beauty and ornateness, I began examining the floor plan and elevations of the cathedral. Grace Cathedral was build in a gothic style, which it represents in its architecture inside and out. There were three huge rose windows. One at the very top of the main entrance and one on either end of the transept. There wer...
The Medieval period, which occurred in the years 401 until 1500, is a time in European history that fostered the development and widespread use of various architectural styles. Many structures built during this time still survive to this day, including St. Michael’s Church in Germany and Chartres Cathedral in France. Two of the most common and famous types of architecture during this period were the Romanesque and Gothic styles. Romanesque architecture borrows many of the same innovative engineering techniques the Romans used to build the structures of their vast and powerful empire, such as the rounded arch. Jackson writes, “In the eyes and judgment of the great masters of the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries Roman architecture was
As time kept passing, more and more magnificent sculptures were made by numerous artists. One of the most memorable sculpture was Aphrodite of Knidos, goddess of love and beauty. Back in the Late Classical Period, the civilians were only used to seeing ideal male nude bodies, but Praxiteles decided to make a different approach and sculpted the first female nude. Because he obviously had never seen a goddess before, he used his imagination and sculpted bathing Aphrodite as humanlike possible. He did not make it look idealistic, but instead made it beautiful with flaws.
The small, crudely carved statuette of an obese woman contrasts heavily with the graceful classical forms of sculpture such as Aphrodite of Cnidos, Praxiteles, 350 BCE. Although it would be difficult to associate the word beautiful with this statuette, there can be no doubt that it reflects the female form. The statuette has also been known as “la poire” or “the pear” due to its size and shape and more recently was donned the Woman from Willendorf. The removal of the title Venus served to take away the figurine’s status as a goddess and lower it to the human level, therefore allowing more consideration of the figurine’s purpose (Witcombe, sec. 3. The adage of the adage.
I chose two cathedrals for my post, the Durham Cathedral and the Chartres Cathedral. The Durham Cathedral, my example of Romanesque architecture, was built from local sandstone in 1087-1133 CE (the east wing was replaced in 1242) and is currently located in Nothern England. The Gothic style structure, the Chartres Cathedral (also known as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame), was mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220 CE due to a fire causing it to be rebuilt. Assembled utilizing limestone, this colossal structure is currently located in France and is known for it’s strikingly beautiful stained-glass windows. These structures share a few similarities, like their ribbed groin vaults (the crossing segments on the ceiling of the hallways), the high-placed windows as well as their huge circular window that were added to provide light and a
The Venus of Willendorf and the Venus de Milo are two ancient day venus sculptures representing two different views on beauty. The Venus of Willendorf is a small 4.5 inch limestone figure of a Goddess which is believed to be used as a fertility symbol, while the Venus de Milo is a tall ancient Greek statue of a Goddess which is said to represent love and beauty. The Venus of Willendorf’s body structure is very different than that of Venus de Milo. The venus of Willendorf appears to be a short lady with a large emphasis on her reproductive organs, breasts and stomach area whereas the Venus de Milo appears to be very tall with smaller breasts, and a really athletic build. She appears to have abs and looks as if she has not had children before, while the Venus of Willendorf looks like she has had children due to her huge breasts and stretched out belly button. The Venus
Thesis: Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction offers St. John the Baptist more flexibility in design and style. Still, their likeness and variations extend far beyond the realm of their design.
This cathedral was built during the Medieval Period for the worshipers of God. To this day pilgrims come to see the pure, Gothic cathedral. The massive cathedral seems to loom overhead as if a symbol of God watching over the worshippers that visit. The earlier church burned in 1194, it was rebuilt and has gained a much more appreciated and admirable character distinction, statuary, and stained glass. The distinct character of the thirteenth century was captured, through the “Age of Faith” period. The architecture is Gothic which was very popular in the 1200s. Gothic architects created a frame of support with columns and arches so that the walls no longer need to support the ceilings, but are freed up to hold windows. The Gothic structure allows for plenty of windows. Chartres has a significant collection of medieval stained glass, with over 150 early thirteenth century windows. The windows allowed sunlight to enter the dark, Gothic cathedral in order to highlight the story of Christ through the stained glass windows told throughout history to pilgrims alike. These windows create a spiritual and promising place for thought and prayer. Stained glass was used to help teach the stories of Christ to people that were illiterate during the medieval times. While most worshippers of that day were illiterate, comprehending the symbolism of the story of Christ in each of the windows was vital and gave meaning towards adversity during the medieval ages, as they struggled through their dark and dreary lives, which were filled with hopefulness, while viewing the story through the stained glass windows. The windows are also...
The earlier designs of medieval architecture had features like pointed arches in the nave, window and doorways, small clusters of columns, pillars, small windows and thick walls. This was during the Romanesque period and a lot of the early Romanesque architecture had influence from the byzantine period, which was the previous time period of architecture.
The influence of Romanesque architecture towards Gothic is very prevalent when studying the two side-by-side. For example,