Monday, November 23, 2009

How can art be a mirror of society?


The Renaissance was a time of exploration, and a time of rebirth. It was a time where many people had decided to secretly go against the Church, and study many of the world's subjects themselves. There are many art paintings and drawings that really reflect and mirror the Renaissance, and what it really was all about. In 'The School of Athens', Raphael shows and displays many people experimenting and studying subjects from books. This really has a sense of what the Renaissance was because they are exploring for new ideas, similarly to what the citizens of the Renaissance era were doing. This painting also displays many artistic techniques that were created and used during the time of the Renaissance, such as the vanishing point, the focal point, anatomical accuracy, proportion, perspective, and foreshortening. The people of the painting are also wearing robes and clothing of the Renaissance. Raphael brings the ideas and topics of the Renaissance, and fits it all within one painting; The School of Athens.

The School of Athens: Who do you think you are?


Honestly, I think hold the traits of leadership as well as logical thinking. A person who holds these common features is Plato, the man who stands as the focal point of the painting. Being a mentor to one of the most popular greek philosophers, Plato holds the trait of strong leadership and the skills of teaching. I feel like I have a similar trait because during group projects and tasks, I think I'm one of the members who attempts to manage the group and make sure that they're on task. Plato was widely known as one who wrote many dialogues for his students to learn from, and one of his dialogue subjects was logic. Plato was a person who based his thoughts on logic, and I honestly think that I also have a sense of logic when I look at things. During schoolwork I always attempt to place logic into my answers and see whether it would make sense. I feel as if me and Plato seem to be very similar, and that he represents me the best in the School of Athens.