Fall 2012 Tu/Th Survey of Art

I think that Masaccio’s linear perspective illusion would greatly affect the Renaissance period in a way that it would be rich in color and detail. What Masaccio did with the llinear perspective was show a greater view of the surroundings in a person’s vision of view, and instead of just seeing the object that is in front you can now see more objects that are miles away in their shape and color from how the person would usually view it in real life. I believe this effect would really enrich the Renaissance error and would put in a more greater detail of the surrounds. Some people may view this as a negative effect because too much focus is being drawn away from what the real focus should actual be. But to me, the way i see it the more painting/details the better!

As the history says, Hercules (son of Zeus) was famous for his strength and heroic adventures. Commodus shows himself is this sculpture as an invincible man as Hercules was. He putted animal skin on top of his head to show that she can even defeat the most dangerous animal in the jungle. He has a spare in his hand to show that he has the power of punishing. Also, he has no facial expression to show that does not please for mercy. Based on the information given in the Lampridius’s biography, it shows that Commodus’s portrait shows exactly what he was; a cruel, surmountable and monstrous person that did not have compassion for anyone or anything.

The Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain was a very long walk for the pilgrims then. It wasn’t as easy as it is now a days. Some medieval pilgrims encountered good food, wine, a nice place to stay where as to other pilgrims if unlucky would enter towns where there was a shortage of food water and shelter. There’s a village near the gates of cize called Ostabat where the toll collectors were ruthless. If you didn’t want to pay the toll, they would beat you and steal the money from you. I personally wouldn’t think about making a trip like this. It requires a lot of time and you have to be mentally ready for this. Considering the fact that traveling from villages to the next can take from three days up to a week. It is infarct a very long trip. Pilgrims in the modern day don’t all walk. In fact biking has become very popular so walking long distance is not so common anymore.

During the medieval Monastery Rise there were a group of individuals called monks. They dedicated their lives to the Christian religions and isolated them selves from the outer world living near the monasteries. They made their own food by making their own farms and selling their own beverages specifically beer. In my opinion I find this way of lifestyle to be psychotic and unmoral. The way the monks lived in the medieval is what we would call jail today. To be confined inside a place is not morally right and I don’t think that is what your hierarchy would want you to do with your life.

When reading about the Rule of Saint Benedict and the categories and lifestyles in which they lived under I was surprised to learn that some of these forms were considered monastic living. My prior understanding about monks and their lifestyle was that they were individuals devoted to a very simple life composed of bare necessities in order to focus on leading a life committed to the service of God and obtaining a certain level of spirituality. The Rule of Saint Benedict explained four categories of monks and the lifestyle that typically follow each category. Surprisingly, I was unaware of the kinds of monks that identified with the Saraibites and Gryatory- it was interesting to me that those who followed such lifestyles were considered monks; usually, one would not infer that a monk would tailor his beliefs and regulations according to momentary interests so conveniently, but perhaps my understanding from the reading is skewed.

The plan of the St. Gall monastery impressed me in its large scale. Given the time period in which it was designed, it is remarkable to see the detailed planning of a site dedicated to conform the lives of monks. I believe the main appeal of completing the plan of St. Gall, aside from tourist attraction purposes mentioned in the article about its construction, is to preserve the authenticity of monastic living and to reinstate the influence of the Rule of St. Benedict in religion.

The monks of the Rule of  the Benedict of the 9th century had a very different style of living than any others today in the 21st century. Their entire way of life is based off the belief of God and the Rule of the Benedict. In order to follow this faith, one must completely give themselves to God, stripping away all pleasures or material possessions. The monks are also given very weird sleeping arrangements according to their character. Each individuals character decides the positions for their beds. Abbots also decide a lot having to do with the monks life. For example, the abbot will decide what they wear. All these are very much affected by living in a medieval monastery. Considering everything that is needed to live and pray is in the monastery, there is little need to be connected with the outside world. The monks have pens for animals for food and have ways of making clothes and even taking care of their sick. This way, almost all of their time is given to God by praying or meditating. By making this monastery int he 21st century, it will give us a closer look of how the monks really lived and what was part of their daily routine.

The Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain is a very interesting and religious walk by far. Seeing the videos and reading the chapters, I don’t think that this Pilgrim walk or choice of activity posted any type of true difficulties to the pilgrims. In the past there might have been a confusion in which direction to go or would there be enough resources to last the trip but now in modern time as seen in the video that is all taken care of. Pilgrims do this walk for personal interest to get insight in there life and to have a metal state of mind. Others do it for the religious reasons. I would personally do the walk to, not because of religious reason, but because I like adventures and it seems as if one will make many good memories and experience after achieving the walk.

The portrait is a marble statue showing Commodus holding a club that he used to knock the head off his opponents. There is headless man at the bottom of the statue and the head is in Commodus’ hand. He is wearing a loin’s skin and head these are symbols usually associated with Hercules. The portrait shows his physical fitness and his thrill/ content with his barbaric act. It depicts the lack of remorse with the man being killed in the statue. This is most likely one of the statutes people would worship and make sacrifices as mentioned in Lampridius’ biography. Based on the data presented in the biography Commodus is ruthless and detached from humanity. His cruelty and lack of compassion for his people makes him not fit to be king.

Given the information in Lampridius’s biography, Commodus was an extremely cruelty driven individual- a grotesque, greedy, and barbaric person. To no surprise it was easily inferred that Commodus was only interested in being acknowledged and praised as one of “superior” and “god-like” qualities which can be identified in the Roman portrait of Commodus as Hercules. The sculpture presents Commodus as Hercules- relating himself to a god-like heroic figure. Plus, draped over his head and around the shoulders is the head and skin of a lion- this demonstrates to me his power, stating that he is stronger than the king of beasts; in the excerpt, it was stated that Commodus favored fighting wild beasts and could kill elephants in one strike with a pole. Lastly, there is a much smaller figure to the left of Commodus’ bust that is kneeling on one knee. This figure may represent one of his concubines, Marcia (stated in the excerpt), since this figure is suppose to represent an “amazon” and Commodus liked to think of Marcia, his favorite Concubine at the time, as an amazon. This little figure completes the overall suggestion of Commodus and his interpretation of himself; he believed that he deserved to be worshiped as a strong unbeatable figure and would not consider else wise.