Unit 5 - Chapter and film

Chapter 10 (The Fifteenth Century in Europe) & Film 5 (Early Renaissance in Italy)

I was not able to read this chapter in one go and kept getting distracted! I struggled to get into the flow of reading and making notes and felt that I spent too much time re-reading sections. I do not feel that this chapter has made much of an impact on me and even going over my notes again, I struggle to feel or be enthusiastic about the subject.

Towards the end of the chapter my interest picked up slightly. The text on paintings and artists rather than the architecture was more appealing and I particularly liked the mythological references to the images. I am thinking once again that I like learning about these hidden messages and meanings in art. They make a piece much more enjoyable to study and investigate.

Also, I like the idea of progress in art and architecture. Durer’s printing accomplishments, and also general developments in architecture and engineering (as seen in the previous chapter on Gothic architecture) are more enjoyable to me, as opposed to the Renaissance trend of going back to Classical styles.

It may also be the simpler ideals and lack of detail of the Classical period are just not as intriguing to me as the intricate work of the Gothic period.

Although this chapter has not been one that I especially enjoyed studying, it has helped me to understand a bit more about what it is in an image that draws my attention and interests me.

This time, however, the film was very useful. I made a lot of notes and found it to explain the subject much better than the textbook. I liked how concise and direct the information was presented along with the corresponding imagery. It really helped me to understand the era and the changes that took place.