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Gothic Architecture

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Salisbury Cathedral         To start of with the background, Gothic architecture had nothing to do with haunted houses, Halloween related, black nail polish, or dark things in general. The original Gothic style was to be developed to bring sunshine into peoples lives, especially in churches. Goths were a barbaric tribe that held power to numerous regions of Europe. Gothic came to term from a certain style after the Roman empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman empire collapsed. It grew out of the Romanesque architecture style, also when both prosperity and relative peace allowed for several countries of cultural development and great building schemes. From 1000 to around 1400 numerous significant cathedrals and churches were built, this was mainly in Britain or France.     Gothic architecture was a very complex and daring design. The most fundamental element of Gothic architecture is pointed arch, which was most likely borrowed from the Isl...

Arts of the Islamic World (early period): Umayyad

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Dome of the Rock The most important artwork is the dome of rock in Jerusalem. This includes Coptic, Sassanian, Byzantine elements in its decorativeness. This was created in 691. This remains in Islamic architectural masterpiece to this day. The Dome of the Rock is an Quabat al-Sakhrah a shrine in Jerusalem. It was built by Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al Malik ibn Marwan in the late 7th century CE. Is the oldest surviving is long monument. The rock over shrine is built sacred to Muslims and Jews. This was the first major Muslim monument. Also, the first major Umayyad architectural undertaking complete under Marwan. This was awesome bill on permanent site formerly occupied by Solomon’s Temple.         To start off with the background, they were 4 leaders known as rightly gilded caliphs. Caliphate is a representative. Caliphs are believed to be the successor to prophet Muhammad. They continued the spread of Islam immediately following the death of the prophet. After the 4 ...

Arts of the Islamic World: Mosque Lamp

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Domes of the Mamluk (900-1300)            To add some background, t he medieval period was the crusades, from 900 to the 1300s. This is also known as a military struggle. There were peaceful exchanges between the west and the east of goods and ideas. Christians and Islamic had undergone great transformations.       Mamluk ruling from 1250 to 1517 which was the 13th and 14th century. The name was given by historians later in time. Mamluk means “owned” in Arabic. This refers to Turkic slaves who served as soldiers for the Ayyubid sultanate before revolting and rising to power. Mamluks rule over lands in the Middle East such as Mecca and Medina.        Mamluk capital at Cairo became the artistic and economic center of the Islamic world during this time. They had a great production of art and agriculture during this period, usually sold by reigning sultans. Sponsoring the arts and creating monumental structures was a...

The Colossus of Constantine

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      The Colossus of Constantine statue is broken up between a head, elbow, foot, finger, knee, and shin. The remains are made up of colossal marble. It was originally made to be 40 feet high; the broken down pieces of it are huge. It fell to a public space and the sculpture was found in a niche. Michelangelo brought it to the Capitoline Hill. This was the government center.       Constantine is certainly a Roman Emperor. He really ushered Christianity and all the change that was happening in Italy and the ending of a former empire. He eventually moved the capital of the empire to Constantinople. This began the decline of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages.            All Roman Emperors idealized to the sculptures to greater or lesser extents, they made them very divine or godlike. On the other hand, Constantine was neither realism nor idealism, his sculpture was unique, unlike any of the others. His statue is ...

Roman Architecture

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To start off with the method of making the architecture, concrete appeared in the buildings not too long after it was created. They used volcanic stone native Italy which made it more durable and this appeared in the second century. Roman concrete was developed as early as 2nd c. B.C.E. It was also known as mortar and that was used as a bonding agent, it was a combination of the sand, lime, and water. Eventually they added Volcanic Italian which is known as pozzolana. This minute is incredibly strong and beautiful. While creating the structures, they covered the interior with brick and tile to make it pretty on it’s own. This made the interior look good on the inside as outside. The Opus Caementiciourm Initiate the Romans architectural revolution, this allowed them to be more creative such as the brakes on the inside and the round interiors with no structural support pillars.            As from my last blog architecture is our practice of designing ...

Ancient Greek Architecture

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      To start off, architecture is the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings; the complex design of a structure. Architecture is easily taken for granted because it can be elegant or decaying. It is found everywhere. Architectural tradition and design has the ability to bind desperate cultures together over time. The true legacy of architectural forms was created by the Ancient Greeks.      Greek architecture refers to the architecture of the Greek-speaking people who lived in the mainland, Peloponnese, Islands of Aegena Sea, the Greek colonies in Ionia (coastal Asia Minor, and Magna Graecia (Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily). Ancient Greek Architecture was constructed c. 900 B.C.E to the first century C.E. They influenced many cultures including the Romans; they incorporated Greek elements into their own practice.      The Temple was the most recognizable Greek Structure. They referred to them as...

Terracotta Krater, Ancient Greece

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The Dipylon Krater can be found in the Dipylon cemetery in Athens. It was made in c. 750-735 B.C.E. The vase is geometric and the shape of it is a Krater. Krater is a type of Greek clay vessel. It was made for a grave site. It sits on top of the grave and the bottom of the vase is open for liquid to be poured down as an offering for the deceased. The Dipylon Krater’s importance is the designs on the vase. It comes from an early period in Greece, the style is associated with geometric. It is covered with geometric motifs, it has diamonds, triangles, black lines, and meanders. There are also friezes, those are pictorial bands, the pictures are funerary. On the top layer it shows a dead figure on a bier, that is a stand for the deceased. They are being mourned. There are female figures on each side of the bier, their arms are raised as a sign of grief. As it shows a scene of a funeral the wife and child mourn at the bottom of the deceased. On the band below shows military in nature, there...