Woman as Artist, Subject, or Patron in Baroque Art

Many elements must come together for a painting to be considered successful. Perhaps paramount in 17th century Europe were the guidelines set forth for art following the Council of Trent: Clarity, realism and emotional stimulus. Many artists fulfilled these requirements in their own ways: Rubens employed his mastery of drawing, while Caravaggio masked his apparent lack of skill by inventing a new way of painting, tenebrism (Caravaggism). While clarity could be established relatively easily, this doesn't mean images had to be simple.One of the most complex elements of Baroque painting is the use of women as subjects, particularly women of power, be they royal, biblical, or artists themselves. Artemisia Genteleschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes (1620) presents a female painter drawing on her own experiences to depict a heroine defeating a great enemy as only a lady could. Peter Paul Rubens' Medici Cycle (1622-25), specifically The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV, shows the produ ct of a woman patron trying to glorify herself as a queen and justify her political ideals while being presented quite literally as an object to her husband-to-be.Finally, Diego Valazquez's Las Meninas (1656), a royal family portrait focusing on the daughter of Philip the IV and Mariana of Spain, but using the commission as a vehicle to draw attention to the artist and praise his craft. Using these three works, one can conclude that a woman, present as the artist, the patron or a decorative faux-subject, was a very powerful tool in Baroque art. Artemesia Genteleschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes shows the Old Testament story of a Jewish widow and her maidservant beheading the Assyrian commander Holofernes to save the city of Bethulia.The history of the artist is a strong influence on this work, as Artemesia was raped at age 17 by an associate of her father. Mary O'Neill points out in her article â€Å"Artemesia's Moment† that rape in the 17th century was a crime against a famil y's honor rather than the victim herself. This surely doesn't mean there is an absence of the psychological harm that accompanies the crime, and this work is seen as a â€Å"revenge painting†, an outlet for the artist to voice her feelings on a personal subject.Maybe one of the first examples of art therapy, a very powerful and deliberate action is taking place empowering women while keeping their femininity in tact, as mentioned in Mieke Bal's article,†Head Hunting: Judith on the Cutting Edge of Knowledge. † Bal says the three major jobs in women's lives are life-giving, in this case, saving the city and its residents; life taking, the killing of Holofernes; and in between, hard work, the two women with their sleeves rolled up, completing a task. The fact that the artist is female plays a large part in the mood and reception of the painting by both men and women.In this case we can compare it to a male-painted version of the same event. Caravaggio's, Judith Behea ding Holofernes (1599) shows the two women as apprehensive toward their charge and unwilling to make a mess, but the most striking visual difference is the red sash present in the background of both paintings, in Caravaggio's, it remains hanging as it should be in the space, in Artemesia's, it has fallen over the victim (victim? ) suggesting a battle has taken place and the women have triumphed.In Rubens' Medici Cycle, Louis VIII had come of age while his mother acting as regent, ruled France, when he grew tired of her policies, Marie de Medici commissioned the artist to make 26 paintings depicting events in her life to be shown to members of the French court and important visitors, with the intent to glorify herself as a legitimate ruler of France, â€Å"Painted Propaganda†, as David Freedberg puts it in his book Peter Paul Rubens: Oil Paintings and Oil Sketches. She was not meant to be shown as a mere member of the royal family, but as the single ruler of the country in whi ch her son was the rightful ruler.The fourth painting in this series, The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV, shows the lady patron as a portrait, an object, being presented to a man, her husband-to-be. Though a woman as an object is generally seen as degrading, the way in which she is presented by deities and allegorical personifications strengthens the perception of the Medici: Hymenaios and Amor escort the portrait to the King while Jupiter and Juno look on in approval and France stands behind Henry in support of the union. She also engages the viewer, staring directly out of both frames, something the Kings isn't able to accomplish.This series wasn't meant to be viewed differently by men and women, only to glorify the â€Å"Queen Mother of France† to all people of France. The painting was produced at a time when Marie de Medici needed the support of her people, and although her attempt to keep the throne was ultimately unsuccessful, this painting among the series is a strong example of what women could accomplish as patrons to artists. Diego Valazquez's Las Meninas shows the more traditional negative way women can be shown as objects. composition dominated by women, the foreground depicts the Daughter of Philip IV and Mariana of Spain, Infanta Margarita surrounded by maids, dwarves, pets, other people important to the royal family as she goes about seemingly unimportant tasks. To her right, stands the artist, aposentador to the King, staring out at the audience as he paints. The king and queen are alluded to in a mirror on the back wall, present in the viewers space, as their physical presence in a portrait with the artist would be disrespectful. The artist takes advantage of this commission to raise his own status as an artist and member of the court.He does this by pretending Margarita is the subject, Magnificently dressed and centered, but bored and uninterested, only there to showcase the artists skill as a painter along with her servants. The Queen is also taken advantage of, present with her King in the background. Michel Foucault points out the objectivity of the King and Queen in his in-depth interpretation of the work in the first chapter of The Order of Things, â€Å"In the midst of all those attentive faces, all those richly dressed bodies, they are the palest, the most unreal, the most compromised of all the paintings images. only present to enhance the idea of the work the raise the artist and the art higher in the community. Men and women would both view this work similarly, showcasing the artists mastery of spacial representation and perspective, with underlying tones of narcissism as they discover the highly decorated and scholarly painter peeking out from behind the canvas. In these three very different views of women in paintings, as artists, as patrons, and as objects, we see how women were depicted, or used, as subjects in seventeenth-century art.It seems views of women have remained the same in the few hundred years since these works were completed, they can be seen as powerful, inspirational and strong, but also passive, boring, or as mere filler. The differences in composition, mood, and ideas were fun to discover as you move from a woman painter depicting a biblical event while drawing from her own experiences to a man attempting to keep a woman in the lifestyle to which she's become accustomed and not be executed himself.

Why do some protest groups use violence in the context of collective Essay

Why do some protest groups use violence in the context of collective action - Essay Example These forms may range from individual actions to groups actions or even roadside group demonstrations (Dalton 2003, p.53). Furthermore, they can advance into use of physical demos or demonstrations by use of technology such as social media. Protests are normally undertaken to promote particular courses and depending on whether protestors or protest groups face some forms of obstacles or not, protests may be violent or non-violent in nature (Gilcher-Holtey 2008, p.5). Therefore, protests groups can be pronounced any form of group in the society that takes any grounds to publicly demonstrate protests or cause civil disobedience. Such acts are normally intended to take the peaceful and non-violent paths and are normally aimed at acting against any form of official repression (Gilcher-Holtey 2008, p.8). The restrictions that such protests groups may face prompting violence entail restricted government policy, the state of the economy, religious barriers, bureaucratic social structures or even the monopoly that exists in the media. The laws of most of the countries in the world are today aligned in a way that allows for an assembly by groups to express the societal interests (Turner 1981, p.12). In the process of expressing pubic concerns, protests by the protests groups should not at any cost be violent; however, as has been stated in the previous paragraph among the stated reasons, protest groups may at times follow violent means to express their message (Dalton 2003, p.67). The society is normally in a position of handling issues up to some defined limits, therefore, the reasons why violence erupts can be summarized as political and socioeconomic in nature (Turner 1981, p.18). These may be in the form of unequal treatment and total disregard of such groups, this arises in the sense that the groups are voiceless and no relevant body wants to lend them an ear. The nature of poverty in which most people live in the society can cause an eruption into violent protest. Greed as depicted on resources as well as the environmental factors is another cause. Insecurity and scarcity of the group demands coupled with the urgency of such demands (Weldon 2011p.23). Political and institutional factors have a range of inbuilt causes of violent eruptions and these ranges from the weaknesses expressed by the state to a breakdown in social contracts and corruption. Such weaknesses provide grounds upon which such bodies find it difficult to manage the internal and external protests of groups (Weldon 2011, p.44). The institutions as a result are not in any position to peaceful management of group conflicts, provide strong protection measures for the different groups in the society or to the worse, unable to provide for the demand for the groups to participate on fair political platform and express themselves. Forms of political ideologies and ways of handling violence in case they occur can result into violent group protests or not. In mature democracies, manage their protesting groups peacefully through democratic inclusion as opposed to autocratic governments who apply force (Gilcher-Holtey 2008, p.4). Violent protests in a given society like in UK could be fuelled by the aforementioned factor. This is so because of the strength possessed by propagators of violence and their ability to retaliate. Violent protests in this platform results mainly from the group fears for the future, the weaknesses of the state and repress violence creating responses by the marginalized groups among other stakeholders (Zamorano 1999,p.234). It is evident that most of the protests that have become violent in Europe have been because of power struggles and exclusion.

Global communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global communication - Essay Example As a result of this, Bellsouth Corporation had to cut its operating costs and on capital spending. Since IT and back office services constitute about 20% of the company's operating costs, outsourcing the same to countries where services are cheap was an ideal way of cutting costs for Bellsouth. Bellsouth tied up with Accenture in 1998 as its IT outsourcing strategy partner to help it achieve improved service levels, on budget performance and on time delivery. To cutthe rising costs of ongoing maintenance and enhancement of IT applications and to maximise profits in order to utilize the same for future capital expenditure, Bellsouth began strategically evaluating its offshoring capabilities to further reduce IT costs and Project Horizon was born. Project Horizon's business objectives include offshoring resources to reduce maintenance and development costs of IT applications while maintaing the same workload and service levels and taking advantage of the differential cost savings. Results of application - The cost-savings initiative will enable Bellsouth to reduce IT expenses and save 45 - 70 % in outsourcing costs, which translates into an estimated savings of $ 275 million over five years

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Neoclassical architecture in England - Essay Example Soane's style is marked by clean lines, adherence to form, detail, excellent sense of mood and light in the interior, which can be attributed to his influence to classical architecture. His creations, which came to be known by the end of the Georgian era were overshadowed by the Romantic period and it was only in the 19th century that he was duly acknowledged for his contribution. Though Soane's life is marked by controversies, his creations have left their mark and have been a source of inspiration for many. Born in 1753, this son of a bricklayer, trained under George Dance the Younger and Henry Holland before entering the Royal Academy Schools in 1771. His hard work was rewarded when he won a gold medal for his design for a triumphal bridge and a scholarship to France and Italy. This trip was significant since it not only shaped his opinions on architecture but also enabled him to form valuable contacts that would be of use to him in later years. It was during this study tour that he studied classical architecture in minute detail and worked on designs for many public buildings. He drew influence from the work of Ledoux, Boullee and Goindoin and got the chance to meet Piranesi in Italy. He later moved to Ireland in search of good prospects but had to return to England and set up a practice. His early career comprised renovations and additions to country est ates and in publishing his designs. The turning point of his career occurred when he took over as the architect and surveyor of the Bank of England. A major task, which set the tone for his later creations, he was entrusted with the responsibility of enlarging and rebuilding the entire structure of the bank, a complicated task because of its form and structure. He reconstructed the edifice using the Roman Corinthian, a variety found in the temple of Sibyl at Tivoli, which, despite its shortcomings, was considered a great innovation in that era. His most popular work, The Bank of England embodies the values of Greek architecture and had a profound influence on commercial architecture of that time. Soane served many posts many of which were controversial and it has been argued that his unconventional style flourished largely due to the security of his position. He undertook many public and private commissions such as public galleries and renovating country homes. He faced a lot of ridicule for his designs because though they were carefully planned, his later creations had a lot of faulty elevation details and ostentatious ornamentation. This did not affect Soane who gained membership to the Royal Academy in Britain and seven years later was elevated to first class, where he replaced late William Chambers. In 1806, he became a professor of architecture with a commitment to deliver series of lectures annually. He then began collecting various forms of art and books for the benefit of students of architecture, which were later, offered to the nation after his death. A quiet and a withdrawn person by nature, his architectural affiliations were based on French theory and exuberance combined with the formal opulence of the English picturesque theory. He was deeply influenced by classical architecture as his lectures laid emphasis on "good taste" and "sound judgement". But along with these values, he also stressed on the need for character and

World and Independent Cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World and Independent Cinema - Essay Example Casino Royale reopens the sequence, creating a new timeline and chronicle sequence not meant to follow or head any earlier bond production. This enabled the movie to demonstrate an inexperienced and more valuable James and for once in the character, series of Miss Money Penny fails to appear. Additionally, forming the movie involved an intensive search for a new character to portray Bond, and critical debate surrounded Craig when he was appointed to take over from Pierce Brosnan, (Williams, 2006, p. 23). Casino Royale film documents the story of a newly selected British agent, James Bond, who in collaboration with impudent little agent of treasury, starts rogue mission to kill a terrorist bankroller in a high stakes poker game before his customers reach him first and try a global attack. The movie has some differences as compared to the mainstream (Hollywood) formula. For instance, when Pierce assumed the role of Bond J for Goldeneye, a lot was produced concerning the modernization of franchise. In fact, the only evident transformations were cosmetics, (Lindner, 2009, p. 45). Pierce Brosnan 007 is easily related to the character earlier performed by Connery S, Lazenby G, Moore R and Dalton T. With the rise of Craig Daniel to the authority to kill, martini, firearm and tux seismic shifts have taken place. The movie is not about the famous James bond of 1960s to 90s but the new era of M16s highly featured agent. The primary function of the film is to recreate the franchise. Daniel is not taking over after Brosnan; he is recreating the role. Additionally, as far as the film is concerned, little in the earlier 20 series has happened compared to the current scene. This is the origin story of Bond, and the only crucial bit of continuity is Dench Judy’s return as Mrs. M Forget. For decades now, James Bond formula has been submerged in an ocean of rip-offs and claimants, each highly over-the-top as compared to its successors. In a bid to

Sharon Construction Corporation - Case Analysis Essay

Sharon Construction Corporation - Case Analysis - Essay Example The project has been outlined to run for 48weeks with an allowance of 4weeks in case any problems arise. However the company is faced with some unusual problems. There is the prospect of a workers strike to begin on 30th November that will run for eight to twelve weeks on a probability estimate of 70:30 of the period the strike will last. The cold season starting in December presents another major challenge for this project. The concrete cannot be poured during this month therefore amounting to delays. To overcome these problems, suggestions have been put forth that are likely to add to the costs of the whole project or otherwise delay the process till January, when the weather is favorable. Any week delayed will amount to an overhead cost of $500 and any special heating required during concrete pouring will cost up to $500 depending on the temperature conditions. Possible problems An analysis of the project shows that delay issues will cost the company $15,000 per week. The workerâ €™s strike is one of the cited problems likely to set back the company on the time line given. The strike has a fifty: fifty chance of occurring hence cannot be ignored. Furthermore it is likely to last for eight to twelve weeks. ... The pouring of seats process is scheduled in December. The weather has been predicted to be cold and thus may amount to extra costs of $500 per week to bring in a heat system. However, this stage runs for two weeks therefore it can be delayed until the cold weather clears. The work can then be resumed since it is in the final stages of the project. The delay would amount to four weeks delay of $60,000 plus overhead costs of $2000 if the month of December is scrapped in this schedule. Major Problem The major problem posed by this project is the delay issue. The cost amounting from any delay have been analysed by each problem cited. Nonetheless it is important to note that the two problems are highly likely to occur at the same period of time. They are anticipated to begin in December. The weather issues can be resolved but the labourers strike issue has to be resolved. Processes like concrete pouring cannot be highly affected as it takes ample time to dry. The analysis of the project shows the process that require a great amount of labour hence the company can take advantage. It is important to shorten the period of work before December sets in. This can be achieved by adding the number of labourers for work that is labour intensive or expedite the process with highly equipped machinery. The project has to be cut back by at least six to eight weeks in order to sustain the goals of completion on time and/or earn projected profits. Analysis of proposals 1. The first proposal is to expedite pouring of seat galleries at an extra cost of $20,000 and reduce the duration of this activity by six weeks. This is worthwhile since it is in the goal of buying more time for the whole project. 2. Deploying a double shift for field filling will buy five weeks period at an

No Phones in School Essay Example for Free

No Phones in School Essay Cell phones are good for education. Cell Phones are good for education for many reasons. First you can use cell phones for research purposes. Although most schools have at least 1 computer in the classroom and a computer lab, sometimes this still isn’t enough. It can also be expensive to provide a computer to each student at school, so a good option is to use cell phones for research instead. Next, I want to talk about why apps are good for education. Some people think that some apps are bad and kids will get distracted and use them in class. And the truth is that cell phones have many educational apps as well. Which do you think would be more fun and exciting for a student? Either studying with a boring book that is hard to understand, or playing an educational app that is still studying, but much more exciting. I would definitely choose the second choice. Here are some good features of phones that are good for school: 1.Calculator. It doesn’t matter if your phone is expensive or not, almost every single phone has a calculator. Lots of students are required to have a calculator as one of their school supplies, but if they have one on their phone, then they don’t have to get one. 2. Stop Watch. Lots of phones have a stopwatch, which can be used in science class. I know that when I was in public school we used stopwatches all the time for experiments, and the teacher only had 3 stopwatches so we had to take turns. 3. Dictionary. Cell phones can be used as a dictionary, which can be VERY useful in a classroom setting. You can always search on the Internet for the definition, or if you classroom or school doesn’t have wi fi, you can text to 466-456 the word you need defined and Google will text you back the definition of that term.