Romanticism Blog Post

I think what Thoreau is saying that people need to stay awake and live their lives the way they want to live. The reason I say that is because when he was talking about men building the railroads, he says “If we do not get our sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads? And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads?” He says men are trying to live too fast and they don’t take the time to notice the little things. If we spend all of our time working, we would die without ever living.

What Thoreau would say about my life? That’s a tough one because my parents would say I am awake too much and I need to get some work done more often. Thoreau might say that I don’t work, but I’m still not living. I don’t have a lot of friends down here in southern Utah because we just moved here, and I don’t make an effort to make new friends because it’s easier for me to be alone than to go and talk to new people. So he would think I am still just going through the motions and I need to get out there and really live my life to the fullest.

He would agree with how I am balancing my work with my play because I’m not afraid to take a break from the real world and have fun. He would disagree with my lack of social skills and maybe tell me to not be afraid to be myself and people may like or not but it was worth a try. And get out there and try, try again! 

Enlightenment Blog Post

Marriage now a days is changing from how it was even just ten years ago. People don’t like the legal liability of being committed to one person forever. Some people like having companionship but they don’t need a piece of paper to prove it. They’ll live together but they don’t want to get married. Being gay is a lot more accepted in today’s society, so people are being more honest instead of being embarrassed and trying to hide it. Since people of the same gender can’t get married in most of our country and all over the world for that matter, they’re not getting married. So the institution of marriage today is different because people are ok with not getting married. And If they do get married it’s not all rainbow and everyone lives happily ever after. We can get divorced now, affairs, getting married too young of for the wrong reasons.   

There are a couple different ways I could paint this story. Two gay people getting married and the in laws don’t agree. A teenager gets pregnant and the parents of the kid think it’s what they should do and rush into the marriage because it’s “what’s best for the baby”. A husband cheats on his wife with his secretary at work. There are too many ways to count! 

Let’s go with the gay couple for the next question. I don’t think it would be the same rather than just opposite of Hogarth’s. In his painting it was an arranged marriage, but they want to get married but their parents don’t want them to. Maybe the side of family that’s supporting them has to pay for the wedding, but that would be the only thing that is similar.      

Baroque Blog Post

The Renaissance style as we have discussed before is very clean with straight lines and it’s simpler. The Baroque style is pushing to the limits, crowded and the lines are always curved rather than straight.

When comparing the three Davids, Michelangelo’s, Donatello’s, and Bernini’s you can definitely see the difference in the two styles.

Michelangelo and Donatello both have David standing straight up and there is a slight bend of the arm and leg on the right side in both but other than that they are both very simple and nearly the same.

In Bernini’s he has David crouching down in a way that reminds me of a hockey player. The leg on the right is back farther than the one on the left, when in the other two the left leg is farther back.

The Renaissance Davids have a more soft expression on their faces. Like they are pondering something off into the distance. The Baroque David is much more serious and looks like he is concentrating on something specific.

Maybe Bernini put clothes on David “because he could”? David is hunched over and his body and arms are curved rather than him standing straight up, which is Baroque style. All together Bernini’s is a much different look then the other two.      

Renaissance Blog Post

Everything in the painting "The Last Supper" says it's from the Renascence era. All the lines are very straight and what we discussed in class, it look like someone said ok everyone line up and let's take a picture! When we know in the real world that would never happen. There is a lot of open space in the room behind the dinner table, and the decor on the walls is very square and neat. Even the food they are eating seems to be perfectly placed and organized on the table. As far as colors go, Their clothes are very bright colors. When I think what it would be like to live back in that time I picture a lot of browns, tans, very neutral and boring colored clothes. Not all these rich reds and blues that you see in the painting. But that's my word against da' Vinci's. The book talks about how Leonardo was so  good at making the viewer of his paintings look in the right places to see what he wants them to see, maybe he thought the colors helped tell the story better or easier? No one will know but him I guess.

The straight lines and and simple backgrounds combined with the bright colored clothing the people are wearing, helps make you focus on them and what is happening at the dinner table. Since nothing catches my eye in the back of the painting, I just want to focus on the people and see what they are doing. I think that was a smart play again by da' Vinci because in my opinion  that's how we keeps us looking where he wants us to look. 

When we compared the Renaissance style to the Baroque style in class, Baroque was a lot more dark and shadowy. And there was also a lot more going on in the background of the Baroque styled Last Supper painting. This painting by Leonardo is very light and almost cheery. With it's very clean lines and simplicity you can defiantly tell it's from the Renaissance times.