Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and St. Francis of Assisi

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Today we had art and history (one class) and then Italian (as usual). We have an Italian quiz on Thursday, so keep your fingers crossed that I do alright! I feel like I'm understanding it in class and I've been studying it really hard and I've even been practicing, but there's just a LOT of info to remember! In the art & history class we covered a TON today. A few main points were, how at the beginning of the renissance, everything began to have a certain harmony about it. Our professor described the buildings as "musical." At first I thought this was odd, until he explained that he meant that they were proportioned and had their own perspective which was different from anything previous. We learned that the Duomo was intentionally made smaller because Brunelleshi wanted to respect the previous creators of the Pantheon in Rome. However, in my opinion, the duomo is MUCH prettier then the Pantheon! Anyways, we were given a quiz on iconography just so that the professor could see what we already know! I think I was one of the only people able to identify the painting of Mary, St. Anne, and Jesus!! Yay! I guess having St. Anne as a Patron Saint paid off lol! We also talked about how Da Vinci realized that man's arms are exactly the length of his body. I think we've all see that picture at one time or another where there are two men, one inside of a circle and the other inside of a square, both placed directly on top of eachother. Well, he pointed out, that there is no way, that we could be made in such a perfect way if we WEREN'T made by God. I mean, not that I ever questioned it, but I thought that was an interesting way of looking at it. He also pointed out, that there is only ONE geometrical shape that appears in nature. That is the circle. We see it in the sun and in the moon, with the beginning and ending of every day. Is it not appropriate then, to point out that the sun and moon must have also been made by Him? That was just something I had never thought of before. The men of the renissance were mathematical men, and made their buldings out of those two shapes of which man is shown in: the circle and the square. The arch for example is half of a cirlce, most designs on the cathedrals are squares or circles, and they all are perfectly proportioned! Quite amazing when you think about the fact that they didn't have all of the technology that we have today, and that everything was hand made! Oh, and another point was made about how Michelangelo was such a confident man at times, but then strangely insecure at other times in his life. And his friend punched him in the face. This made Michelangelo feel ugly and insecure. But then, when we looked into it further, this was a small turning point for him. Michelangelo then learned from that punch and from the cruelness of others (such as Da Vinci) and it made him not only a better artist, but a better man. It taught him humility, patience, and forgiveness. If only we all could recognize the "punches" in our everyday life and use them to become better people. That's another thing to just think about. Other then classes today, I just did homework (mainly reading about St. Francis of Assisi, which is kind of boring...it reads like a history book...hopefully it gets more interesting) and got the chance to talk to Mason from home!! It was good to hear from him, even though he's out in Nebraska! Today was good! And hopefully, tomorrow won't be as rainy as today!! We have to go on another tour of the city, so I want nice weather!! 😊 I'll write more later!! Buonanotte (Goodnight)!

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Comments

[Mom]

Blobbing you back
The Art History Class sounds great! I am sure you will do just fine on the Italian Test. Is the whole test written in Italian? Way to go St. Ann. I wish I could see all the wonderful art they have in Italy. I am sorry I haven't commented yet, but I just finished the BBAll/Cheer Banquet stuff and now I am moving from one office location to another on 151th and Nall. Did you talk to Mason on the phone or webcam? Was he surprised to hear from you? Ok go study your St. Francis. I will catch up with you this weekend! We Love and Miss you Girl. Go get cultered! Love, Mom

[adam1066]

hey momma! thanks for "blobbing."
The art side of Art History is probably my favorite at this point. Isn't that funny since I HATED Art Appreciation last semester? The quiz for Italian was all in Italian, yes. The first part was like a spelling test. He read a paragraph and we had to write it out. Then there were questions about the paragraph (so that was a comprehension section). Then, there was conjugating verbs and a conversation section and a singular and plural section. I think that's all that there was. As for the new office, you're movin on up huh? Now you're leawood right? Haha. And I just talked with Mase on facebook, but he's been talking to me a lot lately which is nice. I think I talk to him more now then I did when I was at school. St. Francis book is REALLY dry...but I'm hoping that it might get better. I'm only at the point in his life where he is told to "rebuild the church." And at first he takes that literally, and rebuilds the church in Assissi. I hope you made it into the office and got Mariah off to school on time since you were talking to me this morning! Love you and miss you too! And how could I NOT get cultured? I think that'd be impossible lol.

[Amanda]

It sounds like you are learning a lot. What you were saying about Michelangelo and St. Francis sounds interesting.