Explorations of Art

The Baroque period of art was defined by some of the artistic rule-breaking that became more common. Defying the previous composition of artwork was one key difference. Prior to the Baroque period, paintings and other pieces of artwork were organized and followed very rigid poses.  Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,  Resurrection of Lazarus , c. 1609, oil on canvas, 380 x 275 cm (Museo di Messina) Resurrection of Lazarus was one of the many beautiful depictions of dramatic posing and reflects what it means to "catch a moment in time". This piece was done as a commission for a wealthy Italian family, the Lizzari family (Caravaggio.org). They then presented the painting to a church. It was completed in 1609 in Messina, Italy and painted by Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, often referenced as Caravaggio (Ch'ien, Smarthistory). The painting is currently on display in the Museum of Messina (Museo di Messina).  Some of the key characters that stand out about this piece is th...

     The Renaissance led to major shifts in how art and culture were being perceived and started to shift the values of everyday people. During the Renaissance, the arts were becoming more valued by the everyday people, but less so by the church. The Protestant Church once funded large quantities of artwork and in doing so, heavily influenced the theme of most the well known works of the time. As the Renaissance took place, art grew to be more accessible and was beginning to be enjoyed by more classes of people.      As churches began to pull their funding in the arts, royals were often quick to replace them. The Dukes of Burgundy were a shining example of royalty largely funding the creation and exploration of art during the 15th century (Dr. Harris and Dr. Zucker, Khan Academy). Royalty prided themselves on the funding of artwork due to the influence they would have over what was being created and the blatant show of wealth. Another practice that began to...