Art History Through the 19th Century Essay Example

Art History Through the 19th Century Essay Artists have forever been able to take us to places where we have never been or would like to go. They can make our fantasies come alive on the canvas and transport our thoughts to far off places. Real life is often harder to paint because you are bound by reality and your audience is not always willing to face it. Therefore, the artists that can paint reality but connect it in some way to our fantasies are the ones that truly understand the power of art. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painted the Grand Odalisque in 1814 during the Romantic era of France. He uses a classical linear style and narrates morality, which is referred to as a poussiniste technique. France at the time was fascinated with the orient and other far off places and politically involved with Turkey and Africa. The erotica of this painting captured them and took them where one’s imagination could take control and forbidden things could be explored. Ingres uses a classically influenced body on the female with the volumetric, softly lit, warm skin that is revealed to the viewer. Her reclining pose is one so familiar to the art world and obviously referencing the earlier masterpieces Ingres studied during his life. He has idealized the woman’s shape by elongating her back and softening her curves. ( If you can mention elongated poses were often used because long limbs on a woman was considered ideal beauty. There is also a name for this kind of pose but I cannot think of it. Commonly found in mannerism but that was like 1520-1600, and was High Renaissance. That might help you find the term. High Renaissance features elongated, contorted poses, crowded canvases, and harsh lighting and coloring. We will write a custom essay sample on Art History Through the 19th Century specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Art History Through the 19th Century specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Art History Through the 19th Century specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer You could use that to compare) Her face portrayed as more like those of the Renaissance, (nice you picked up on that) idealized, as well and looking straight out at the viewer. She is doing what the concubines did best, inviting us in to her private scene. With Mannerist (good) and Venetian colors, the background fabrics are cool and highly detailed to contrast the warmth and smoothness of the woman’s skin. Ingres’ hyper real details throughout the scene only help sell the illusion that this is something that could be in real life. The props placed in this harem complete the erotica of the scene and add symbolic reference to the romantic scene. A pipe is placed to the side symbolizing the euphoric atmosphere. The Odalisque holds a peacock fan in her hand and sensually brushes it against her upper thigh. The jeweled turban and gold bracelets are characteristic of the orient and add to the focus of her nude body. With all the erotic reference and symbolism the viewers were able to peek at a forbidden and immoral scene without having to confront the subject of sex. I remember this one and it was consider a Oriental nude, which in those times the idea of sex was lessen he does by showing orient artifacts the fan the turban placing her in orient setting was exploiting women trapped in their own closed world. She gases as if tired broken and worn down. ) Manet was a painter of the Realism era that referenced Ingres’ Grand Odelisque with his Olympia, painted in 1865. This painting is considered to be the very f irst truly modern painting. Here we have the reclining female nude again, but this time it is portrayed as never before. Much like the Odelisque, Olympia is a nickname of some of the prostitutes of the time. However, Olympia is an actual portrait of Victorine Meurent, a local French prostitute. Manet has not simply painted a female nude as so many before him, but instead he has taken it a step further and painted this female naked. This painting is closely modeled after the Venus of Urbino from Venice because of the position of the figure and the composition of the scene. Even though there are some large differences, Olympia has most in common with Ingres’ Odalisque. Both paintings show the figures with some ornaments and accessories on their nude bodies. Manet chose to put more focus on the fact this his woman was purposefully naked by leaving a ribbon on her neck and by having one of her slippers be carelessly dangling off her foot. He places an exotic orchid in her hair, which is considered erotic and sexual and a black cat at the foot of the bed the represents promiscuity. A clever opposite of the Venus of Urbino’s dog placed at the end of the bed for fidelity. Line was very important to Manet as it was to Ingres. His color patch technique and hard light earned more critisism for Manet. The Salon said that his figure looked flat and un-modeled, but Manet wasn’t trying to portray an ideal feminine embodiment. He was trying to show us the scene as it was seen it in real life. This was a look into another forbidden scene of fantasy except with the reality of the current indulgers. Unlike the Odalisque Olympia was not received by the public as a glimpse into forbidden pleasures, instead she was looked at as a public display of France’s immorality. While some critics labeled the painting as pornography, the crowds were very intrigued by Olympia and came in rushes to see her when she was finally displayed. This was not meant to through France’s moral faults at her but to capture the way she was at the time, life without idealistic cover-up. Although the people of France were disgusted that Manet would want to capture a prostitute, they were more appalled at her haughty gaze towards them. She was the one in control and the critics were not used to that kind of mood. Society was undergoing revolutions in the industrial, intellectual and working classes so control was a big concern. Realist painters like Manet were more concerned with making the everyday subjects be acceptable in art instead of playing to the ideal. I chose to write about these works because of the effect they had on me the first time that I saw them in this class. The Grand Odalisque was stunning and made me want to creep into the picture. It’s a beautiful work with captivating detail. Olympia was my favorite from this half of the semester class. She stares at you so matter of fact and as if to beg you to challenge her. Her small frame is so different from the voluptuous models seen so many times before. I think that the two offer a very intriguing comparison and are worthy of recognition. Both Ingres and Manet painted the reclining female nude, one as a concubine and the other as a prostitute. They focused the lighting on their figures and were concerned with the use of line. Although the detail that Ingres used did not match the brushwork of Manet, they still were both obviously concerned with symbolism. The biggest difference between the Grand Odalisque and Olympia is in how they were received by the public. Ingres harem was from somewhere far away in an exotic land where this scene was supposedly acceptable. The viewers were invited into the scene as bystanders and able to indulge the fantasies with imaginations of that place. Manet’s bedroom scene was just like the one that everyone had at home and very familiar. As the viewer you are locked into the gaze of the female as if you were there for her. She makes you part of the scene instead of a bystander. Your fantasies of her are laid out in plain view and reminding you of the current socially unacceptable prostitution taking place. Ingres was a master of fantasy and used hyper-detail to fake reality, but Manet could paint reality and connect it to the fantasies that we indulge in our everyday life. This association that Manet mastered between the fantasy world and the actual world makes anything possible for the viewer, and that is the true power of art.

Tobias Smollett Biography Essays - Picaresque Novels, Free Essays

Tobias Smollett Biography Essays - Picaresque Novels, Free Essays Tobias Smollett Biography Tobias George Smollett (1721-1771), Scottish novelist, was born in Dalquhurn, Dumbarton County Scotland. Smollett was born beneath a plane tree at Dalquharn House on the family estate of Bon hill in the Vale of Leven, near the village of Renton, Dumbartonshire. At fourteen Smollett was apprenticed to a Glasgow doctor. He studied medicine at Glasgow University and moved to London in 1740. He was a ship's surgeon in the Carragena expedition against the Spanish in the West Indies, and lived in Jamaica until 1744 when he returned to London and renewed his earlier attempts to stage a play he had written The Regicide, but still met with no success. He also failed to set up his own medical practice. His first novel, the partly autobiographical Roderick Random (1748), was an immediate success. His best novel, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), has become a classic. It is a story, told in a series of letters, about the travels of a family through England and Scotland. Smollett was troubled by lack of money. He spent his last years in poor health, and died in Livorno, Italy, on October 21, 1771. Two years later, Johnson and Boswell stayed at Cameron House with Smollett's cousin James, who was preparing to erect a Tuscan column in Smollett's memory at Renton. Johnson helped compose the Latin obituary on the plinth, and the column stood in what subsequently became the playground of a school. Some of Tobias Smollett's work consists of The Tears of Scotland (1746). Poem on the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Culloden. The Adventures of Roderick Random ( 1748 ). Gil Blas. Translation of LeSage's novel. ( 1749 ). The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle ( 1751 ). The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom ( 1753 ). Don Quixote. Translation of Cervantes' novel. ( 1755). The Adventures of Sir Lancelot Greaves ( 1760 ). Travels through France and Italy ( 1766 ). The History and Adventures of an Atom ( 1769 ). The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker ( 1771 ). Some critics regard Tobias Smollet as more satirist meaning that a work of literature or art that, by inspiring laughter, contempt, or horror, seeks to correct the follies and abuses it uncovers. I don't know what that means though. This is a paragraph from Tobias Smollett's book The Adventures of Roderick Random. Roderick Random is the orphaned, unwanted grandson of a severe old Scots magistrate, exposed by his grandfather's known neglect to the malice of the community. His principal enemies are the schoolmaster and the young heir. It is not long before a deus ex machina appears in the form of a sailor uncle: He was a strongly built man, somewhat bandy-legged, with a neck like that of a bull, and a face which had withstood the most obstinate assaults of the weather. His dress consisted of a soldier's coat, altered for him by the ship's tailor, a striped flannel jacket, a pair of red breeches japanned with pitch, clean grey worsted stockings, large silver buckles that covered theree-fourths of his shoues, a silver laced hat whosecrown overlooked the brim about an inch and a half, a black bob wig in buckle, a check shirt, a silk hankerchief, a henger with a brass handle girded on his thigh by a tarnished laced belt, and a good oak plant under his arm. I picked this paragraph because here Smollett is describing the hero of the story Roderick Random. I believe it is important to have a brief if not full description of characters, so that you can imagine seeing them maybe even being there, in your mind, while they are doing what is described in the book.

Educational Excellence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Educational Excellence - Essay Example The area of improvement encompasses mathematics. The data was compared between those who were born in 1983 and those born in 1997. When 20 students of the 4th grade born in 1983 were examined for proficiency in reading and writing, only 6 were found to be proficient while 20 students born in 1997, when examined for similar proficiency 7 students were found to be proficient in reading. The area showed less improvement (US Department of Education: A Nation Accountable). When 1983 born 4th class students were observed for proficiency in mathematics, only 4 were found to be proficient. Students born in 1997, when examined for proficiency in mathematics 8 out of 20 were found to be proficient in mathematics. Indicating that proficiency in mathematics increased two-fold. On close observation it is observed that 20 children born in 1983, entered school in 1988, of these 20, 14 graduates on time in 2001, of these 14, 10 started college but by 2007 only 5 could earn their degrees (US Department of Education: A Nation Accountable). California has shown very poor improvement when compared to other states of United States. According to 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), California stands seventh lowest in 8th grade mathematics when compared with other states of USA. When their competitive spirit was calculated, California was at the bottom quarter. The students of 8th grade when compared for their reading skills they were the third lowest and just above the Hawaii and Columbia. The Californian students were poor in science they stand second lowest and just above the Mississippi. Indicating the education excellence could not meet the perfection in California (States vs. Countries in Math). According to the NY Times, Massachusetts shows maximum of 51% of mathematics proficiency, as compared to California which has 24 percent of proficiency in mathematics when students from eighth-grade were compared between various states and different

Is Assuming the Role of Citizen Journalist Worth the Risk Essay

Is Assuming the Role of Citizen Journalist Worth the Risk - Essay Example This facility of communicating information on various events has been made possible for the people, by the Internet. Before the invention of the internet, professional reporters used to be the only ones reporting information on current events. But the Internet and other forms of media, has allowed regular citizens to do the same. (Tony Rogers).  Citizen journalism, as far as blogging and writing different articles is concerned, does not seem to hurt anyone and only portrays the freedom of speech that has been granted to the people. But making videos of incidents such as a fire or a car crash can be pretty dangerous. Some people involved in such accidents seem more concerned with recording the event in any way than to get to safety or helping other to reach a safe point. For example, such an event took place when there was some problem with an airplane and an emergency landing had to be done. A passenger on the airplane named Eddie Ho was caught taking pictures and making a video of the emergency evacuation being done by the airport authorities. His actions did not please the authorities at all, and he was reprimanded by the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, that his job was to get out of the plane safely and help others in evacuating as quickly as possible. During such events, amateur reporting or making videos is not praised but criticized. At the same time, when the investigators acknowledged the pictures taken by Eddie, saying that they could be valuable during the inquiry, they also stated that even pausing for a minute during such situations can be detrimental for the person himself and the other people. They recommend that the wisest thing to do is for the people to get to safety and not worry about taking pictures or videos, which might or might not be helpful.  

Presidents and Governors Powers

Presidents and Governors Powers The presidency and governance have more in common when it comes to its history that what you can see in a first glance, few are the people that actually compare the two and draw parallels between the two without looking for it or discuss it beforehand. When we look at its history both come from a place where what they were looking for was independence and how the government works nowadays is a direct result of that, when the United States obtained independence the founders focus their efforts into creating a Constitution that would not follow the lead of other countries, but it would create a new system that work for them, the first constitutions were much less organized, it granted less responsibilities and power than the ones that came after it. The Texas constitution, in the other hand, was in control of Spain at first and then of Mexico, until it independence was achieved, their constitution reflected the several paths they had to take in order to become independent not only by name, but what it has in common with the US constitutions is the desire behind it to create an actual independent system that worked for them and do not adapt it from other country, having as a result the creation of an executive that the world has never seen (George et al, 398). Over the years the necessity of have a more efficient constitution would lead to the continuous amendment of it. In order to serve you should have certain qualifications to be eligible to the presidency or governance, both have very clear requirements that must fulfil, one of the most important is to be an US citizen by birth, if what you are looking for is to be the governor of Texas then you must be a legal citizen, but it does not matter if you become a citizen instead ofÂÂ   being born here and the time that you have been a citizen does not influence, in Texas a naturalized citizen can become the governor regardless of the time the person has been a citizen, but if you want to run for the United States presidency then you must be a citizen by birth, although there has been debates of what that constitutes since many have argue the if the child meet the legal requirements for US citizenship at the moment of birth then is regarded as a US citizenship by birth, one of the case could be that the parents are US citizens so their child is entitle to the citizenship. Since someone could be a citizen, but have not been most of their lives in the US a state citizenship is require, if you want to run for the governance of Texas, then you must have live at least five years in the state of Texas, but you would have a better chance if you have live there more than ten years. When it comes to the presidency, like it was previous mentioned, someone may be an US citizen by birth, but had never live here, so the candidate should have been living here for at least fourteen years. The last qualification that you are require to fulfill is to be age appropriate, for the governance in the state of Texas you should be at least thirty years old, while for the presidency you should be thirty-five to qualify, this is in order to have an experienced and mature person in the job. As we can see the presidency is slightly stricter regardless of qualification than the Texas governance, but Texas is one of the states that comes closer to it since in comparison to other states, since Texas has more clear and specific requirements to meet than others. When it comes to compare, the power granted to the presidency and governance there are very similar, both have little executive power is even consider weak. In both cases this lack of power is done in purpose, since the abuse perpetuated by past executives the checks and balances was established in the Texas governance and the presidency. In the presidency, the way power is used has been evolving thanks to the presidents themselves, they have been expanding responsibilities and resources which has led them to have more power than the constitution allows. According to the constitution one of the functions of the president and the governor is to enforce the law, in order to so the constitution allow the president to be able to appoint cabinet jobs and agency chiefs, but the governor has to work alongside those who the electoral also choose, leaving the governor working with people who may not be supporters of his policies or values, while the president is free of choosing his cabinet thus allowing him a better work environment and in a better position than the Texas governor when it comes to establishing policies, the president is the definite authority when it comes to the final decision of a cabinet discussion, which puts his cabinet as one of advisers instead of executives, the Texas governor does not have that luxury in order to pass any legislation he must convince or pass a bill that fits the beliefs of the senate. The reason why the Texas governance is weakened compare to the presidency is historical and it begun with the Texas Constitution of 1876 due to the reconstruction after the Civil War, after it the constitution was amendment a numerous time which ended up making it the second longest in the country, uses very specific languages in polices that were previously abused, while as seem as whole the constitution becomes hard to understand with the vocabulary used at the time and the refusal of the framers to create the constitution in a slower pace and in good quality presentation. Nowadays it is impossible for the governor to claim he or she does not know what his or her constituents want, with social media citizens make their voices be heard, so in order to improve the role of the governor hearing the people is always the beginning. The reelection option was made in order to motive the public serves to do better in order to be reelected, this may be a negative thing since instead of doing was its best for the state, they take decisions according how much it will help their chances to be reelected, this is also true when it comes to the senate and the house since the electoral chooses their serves, passing or creating bills can become a game in which if the person with the contrary belief win, it would be a lost to the others, when they should be worrying about what is best in general and not what seems to look better for one or the other party. In conclusion, while the two of these jobs evolve into lack of power, the presidency has more power than the Texas government, because while it does have a history with independence the repercussion were major in Texas, while in the presidency is more balanced, the president is allow to choose the head of the departments having an advantage since they would likely agree with him and otherwise his work has more weight than the others, the governor has to work extremely well with others, who also have different opinions, stances and beliefs. Works Cited Henson, J. R. (2016). Texas politics. 3rd ed. Asheville, NC: Soomo Learning. Available from hNp://www.webtexts.com Edwards III, And George, C. Chapter 13. The Presidency. American Government. Pearson Education

Symbolism in Fuentes Aura Essay -- Carlos Fuentes, Aura Essays

On the surface, Fuentes' Aura is a very strange and eerie book. It draws you in and keeps you there, forcing you to read the book to its very end. Just below the surface, a world of symbolism, words and parallels lead to a greater understanding of what is happening throughout this captivating tale. Skimming the surface of the story, an abundance of symbols can be signaled out, but a recurrence of symbols is very important. One of the most prevalent symbols found in this story is the darkness of Senora Consuelo's old colonial mansion. The house is so dark the characters must learn to maneuver by sound and touch. The darkness sets the tone for the whole story. Senora Consuelo's room is not bathed in light but filled with "perpetual shadows". Of course darkness and shadows are a staple of the Gothic, but darkness could also be suggestive of the unknown or not being able to think clearly. Shadows could be interpreted as that which is clouded, hard to grasp, or just beyond clear vision. Did the darkness and shadows contribute to Felipe?s state of mind and make him more susceptible to Senora Consuelo's will? The rooms where the action of a story takes place are also very important. Some the rooms used in the book are bedrooms, the dining room, the parlor, and the enclosed garden patio. The first room we see inside of this old house is the garden patio. This room is interesting because the smell from the patio is always associated with the title character. Felipe looks for her in this garden; he smells the patio plants in her hair. Symbolically, the garden can be associated with the mind, with the unconscious, or it may give you clues to your own inner state. The plants, flowers, and fruit found in the garden may also enhance t... ...book. These symbols and recurrences are not coincidental or superficial, but upon investigation, give deeper insight into how deeply the mindset of our main character was affected. We now know that Felipe had almost no choice and was lulled into this household. Then there is a plausible explanation about the true relationship between Aura and Senora Consuelo. This book turns out to be a very strange life/death cycle that still leaves questions that need to be answered. Work Cited Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. Trans. Lysander Kemp. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. Fuentes, Carlos. "Worlds Apart." Modernism/Postmodernism. Ed. Peter Brooker. London: Longman, 1992. 244-46. Gillespie, Kathleen " A literary Legend Speaks ? Carlos Fuentes at the Askwith Education Forum" 1 de Diciembre de 2003 http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/featrures/fuentes12012000.html

Envy is a Sin

As all emotions, envy is socially constructed. Individual interaction, class variation and social institutions like schools, family, religion, and politics define envy for us. Envy is dependent on the beliefs about wealth, status, power, and how they ought to be distributed. In less complex societies envious objects are food, babies, and health; but in more complex societies they are wealth, status, and power. Envy, which is often mislabeled as jealousy, is hostility towards superiors. In an unequal situation, or comparison the envious has, not a mere wish, but a malicious wish that the other would lose his advantage (Foster, 1972:167). Though condemned in all cultures and repressed in nearly every individual, envy has a function in society. Schoeck points out that envy is almost a taboo-topic in daily conversation, in research, and in literature. This condemning and repression is what allows envy to work. Envy in excess of that minimum is a surplus, which can do more harm than good (Schoeck, 1970:348). In societies where envy is high productivity is low and where envy is low productivity is high. Envy is our drive for innovation and competition, though if not controlled causes poverty and revolutions. Management of envy is key to social order. In order to minimize envy we must always rationalize our inequalities through modest statements such as; â€Å"Luck†, â€Å"God†s will†, and â€Å"hard work†, which date back through the history of the Greeks, Roman Catholic Church, and the Protestant Work Ethic. Although possibly the rich are wealth addicts, thriving on the envy of others, and the rest are all closet addicts fooled into believing that they will one day be rich too (Slater, 1980:16).