Guilio Romano's Palazzo del Te

The Palazzo del Te was commissioned by Federigo Gonzaga in Mantua. The name came from the island it was built on. Romano worked on this palace from 1527 to 1534. It was built for horse breeding and entertainment.

This building was built very peculiarly. Each side of the building is different. The design of each side is contradictory. Pilasters are constructed throughout the outside facades but the rest of the design doesn't exactly mimic that same type of Greek and Roman style; they are more rustic. Some other examples are the falling triglyphs. These triglyphs used are uniform except with a few that have a space on top of them for some reason. Romano even played with the pediments. Some look as though the blocks holding them up are separating apart and lifting the pediment. He wanted to break the rules for those who were educated in architecture and could see the intentional contradictions to architecture of the time.

(http://arts.muohio.edu/faculty/benson/ROMANVILLA/paldelte.htm)

 

I like the quote in the book by Hartt that says, "On both exterior and interior of the Palazzo del Te the elements of architecture seem to be battling with each other." When looking at first, this building seems kind of boring to me. It's very melodramatic; one story, square building.  Now looking more closely to the details it is really intriguing and interesting, but intentionally done this way; very genius I think.

 

 

 

 

Leonardo D Vinci: Flights of the Mind

I chose pages 257-287. The first part of this section was about theatrics. Leonardo Da Vinci did set design and costumes for the theater. He excelled at this along with all his other talents. "Reading between the lines of this blurb it seems that Leonardo's visuals were the memorable thing about the show, rather than the perishable poetics" (258). He designed characters that were grotesque and dark; unlike his other works. He would go to places full of people to study their features and expressions. He later would draw them. "When Leonardo wished to depict some figure... he went to the places where he knew people of that kind gathered, and he observed their faces and manners, and their clothing, and the way they moved their bodies" (264). The "Five Heads" is an example of this. Some of the pictures in the book are creepy but intriguing at the same time. I've never seen Leonardo Da Vinci do something like that before. I bet it was even more intriguing when he first drew them, they didn't have the internet and TV like we do today.

The second part was on the book of shadow and light. It shows his studies of light but also of science and other things. He talks about shadow and light as if it is a concrete thing that you can touch. "In my first proposition concerning shadows I state that every opaque body is surrounded, and its surface clothed, in shadow and light; and on this I build the first book" (265). To be surrounded by a shadow or light in the way he puts it made me think outside of the box a little bit. I've heard light talked about as an abstract or I guess as a tool in like photography but not like a real thing that could possibly surround you. I found that very interesting.

The next part was called "Little Devil". This referenced to a boy who apprenticed under him. His name was Giovanni Giacomo. He was left with Da Vinci and lived with him. He was a tyrant; always getting into trouble which Leonardo had to deal with. He basically raised this boy and also taught him certain trades. He was talented but just a handful. " On the second day I had 2 shirts cut for him, a pair of stockings and a jerkin, and when I put aside the money to pay for these things he stole the money out of my purse, and I could never make him confess" (271). It talked about how in a fatherly way Leonardo loved Giacomo but it also talks about how they may have been lovers. I know Leonardo's sexuality has always been in question and after reading this I could see why. "

In the hunting bears section it talks about Leonardo's love for nature and describes in detail how connected he was with the outdoors. "One could counter this by saying he was a voyager of the mind; or, less rhetorically, by saying he was an intensive traveler of relatively short journeys, each of them for a man of his curiosity a lungissima via of impressions and experiences- raw empirical data to be noted and pondered" (276).

The next section was about the lost wax casting Sforza horse. Leonardo was supposed to make this gigantic horse sculpture made out of bronze using the lost wax casting methods. Everyone thought he was crazy and wouldn't finish it but at the same time people rave about it too. Leonardo had many different plans on how he was going to create this masterpiece but didn't end of finishing it; finding out everyone was right that it was too big and impossible to make. "In his life of the Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo, Vasari says that Sangallo discussed the casting of the Horse with Leonardo, 'disputing the impossibility' (282).

The Last section was about Leonardo's maybe mother Caterina. He had documentation on her funeral and occasions where he saw her. None of those documents really say she's his mother but evidence points more in that direction. " We don't know who she was, but it is hard to resist the possibility that she was his mother, who in 1493 would have been in her mid-sixties, and since about 1490 a widow" (285). The math seems to come together and why would he have anything of hers if she wasn't. He was smart I bet he figured it out.

Humanism

Lauro Martines' Humanism is about the importance of studying humanities. People started recognizing how important education was and which areas of information was needed to be successful. Rhetoric was key. Speaking and writing became an art form. How someone spoke reflected on their intelligence and in turn their success. History was still considered important as well as philosophy. The areas of philosophy and history most focused on were Greek and Roman philosophy and history. People mirrored their life after the Greeks but especially the Romans. Poetry became a large educational tool. Being able to read and write poetry and understand the historical references in it was something to strive for. People of this time thought all these educational areas led to a more moral and distinguished individual. Now in saying that, this lifestyle and frame of mind was only for the elite; those who could afford education and were allowed access to reading and writing. Lawyers and government officials were the ones gaining all this knowledge and living the lifestyle it came with. I agree that people of this stature should indefinitely be educated and strive for more "eloquent" behaviors, but what about everyone else? How much further along would those countries have gotten if they would have let their lower class be educated and taught with this mindset? How much more successful would this generation be? We still think today that having "eloquent" rhetoric is important. President Obama makes sure his speeches are written out with perfect grammar and knowledgeable statements. Schools are still teaching history and poetry. The importance of the Greeks and Romans is still taught today. How many more "greats" would we have if the "everyday joe" was given as much education as the higher classes? The innovation we missed out on because the ignorance of our past generations... Aside from that, this movement was still ground breaking and influential. The idea that education can free us from superstition and falsehood has continued throughout history and is why we still believe education is the foundation for life.