Master Class

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

 Albrecht Durer: Image of a Master


I selected this video because its title intrigued me: Image of a Master. I find it fascinating to learn about someone who is considered the top of their area. Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) is credited for dragging Germany's world of art out of the Gothic era and into the Renaissance. He was extremely honest in his portraits which made it seem as though he was painting his subjects in a harsh light. But he was true to what he saw and there is a beauty in that. And when he painted himself it was with that same exacting tone on the canvas. The sketches of his wife Agnes were also lacking in the modern day beauty we are so used to now a days. The narrator commented on her older portrait as still having a sparkle in her eye but I disagree. She seemed sad. After Durer's travels to Italy, the landscape embedded itself in his mind and he carried it over in his portraits. He is considered the first "true landscape" artist in Europe. Just as he was able to capture the essence of his human subjects, he excelled in portraying the mood of his landscape pieces as well. He had a knack for being able to translate truth and emotion into his paintings/ sketches. He was able to reach a larger scale audience when he started print making.
This video related to the textbook readings pretty much exactly. He lived during the Renaissance which is what we were reading about. Not only did he live during that time but he graciously crossed it over into his work and put it at the for front of German art. I enjoyed this film very much and found him to be a very interesting man. Although I feel bad for his wife, who looked as though she lived a very hard life, considering she was the wife of a respective artist.



Velazquez
I was going to watch this video but decided against it as for some reason the voice of the narrator got under my skin.

The Drawings of Michelangelo
Michelangelo is a name that almost everyone knows, even if you have nothing to do with art at all. I chose this video because while I have heard his name and know a few of his art in the Sistine Chapel, I really do not know a lot about him. One of the women in the video commented that she was embarrassed regarding the sketches because they were so "sexy". And it is true. He creates a man's body with a feminine quality about them yet it still screams masculinity. His lines are smooth and thickly shaded, and yet each muscle, each jaw line is extremely defined. And as the age old adage goes "we are our own worst critics", he destroyed most of his sketches on his own, leaving few for survival today. His influences were his adoration of the male figure as well as his love for Christianity, which is apparent in his pieces. He was described in the video as "Searching out power and form...its unbelievable". All of the people speaking in the video did so with such a passionate admiration as to the type of artist he was. He still to this day evokes an almost lustful craving of his pieces. This relates to our class readings because he is from the same time period and it correlates with he rise of Christianity in the book. He is also mentioned in chapter 16. I very much enjoyed this video mainly because of the reactions to the people being interviewed regarding him. They have such love and admiration for a man and his pieces that are hundreds of years old. I find it fascinating that his relevance has not faded. And he really was an amazing artist.