Essays on Classicism

Part One

Phillis Wheatley was an eighteenth century poet born in West Africa and was enslaved on American soil in 1761. Despite her slave status, Wheatley had received an unprecedented education on classicism, Christianity, and literature. Wheatley wrote two significant letters, the first was to her fellow servant friend from the Tanner’s estate in 1772. The letter had discussed her enthusiasm for Christianity and her positive view towards her African heritage. The following letter in 1774 was directed to Rev. Occom in appreciation for the reverend’s argument against treatment towards African people. Her writing often included Biblical references as ...

Introduction

Realism is an art movement which originated in France (Cabello, 2015). Because of this, the spread of realism in the world has been greatly affected not only by the artistic minds, but also by the different aspects of society which will potentially impact a movement or an artwork. These influences were greatly seen in the middle, to the latter nineteenth century where the art movement received various criticisms, especially by the mass media during that period, through the newspapers (Lloyd, 2013). This paper will show the different views of society upon the introduction of the Realist movement in the ...

Romanticism. Introduction. As many got tired of regularity and rationality of Classicism, people of art started to try to find a way to express their emotions and attitudes through methods more free from canons. They found such possibility in Romanticism. Romanticism replaces the Age of Enlightenment, and coincided with the industrial revolution, that was marked by the advent of the steam engine, locomotive, ship, photos, and factory suburbs. While education was characterized by the cult of reason, and was based on its principles of civilization, romanticism advocated the cult of nature, senses and all the natural in man. It ...

Classical English literature studies

Comedy – a professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. Late Middle English (as a genre of drama, also denoting a narrative poem with a happy ending, as in Dante’s Divine Comedy): from Old French comedie, via Latin from Greek kōmōidia, from kōmōidos 'comic poet', from kōmos 'revel' + aoidos 'singer'. ("Comedy: Definition Of Comedy in Oxford Dictionary (American English)"). Aristotle defines comedy as an imitation of men, who is worse than the average, but not in their perversities, but in hilarious sense. Comedy, as a genre ...

The architecture of the early 20th century relied heavily on the introduction of new materials which led to the existence of new styles that rejected the notion of social hierarchy and religious affiliation. During this period, the buildings created within the early phase of modernization became so diverse and eccentric yet it was due to this nature that allowed architects to apply all the scientific knowledge in creating functional structures rather than buildings based on the designer's viewpoint. What separates the style of the 20th century from its predecessors was their openness in terms of exploring new materials especially ...

Art and Architecture

The Representation of David in the Sculpture by Bernini

Gina Lorenzo Bernini was born in Italy in 1598. His artistic talents were recognized when he was very young. Lubow (2008) reports that Bernini was only eight years old when he “carved a stone head that was ‘the marvel of everyone’ who saw it” (p. 77). Throughout Bernini’s life he accomplished great works of art, including paintings, sculptures and the creation of great fountains throughout Rome. Bernini was always involved with making art from an early age until he died at the age of 82. One of his great sculptures ...