Judith Slaying Holofernes

The story behind this painting is that Judith assassinated an Assyrian general Holofernes. The painting captured the moment when Judith accompanied with her maidservant beheaded Holofernes after he fell asleep drunk.

From my perspective, the artist wanted to show her emotions through her paintings. The emotion when she wants to release all her anger and vengeance. As if she wants to portray her anger and vengeance in a manner where she is Judith while the man who is being beheaded is the man who wronged her.

I was impressed on how the emotions kept lashing out as you stare into the painting. The way on how the maid will hold the man down while Judith beheads him. The way the man tries to resist and struggles to live. The darkness of the background to give emphasis on the subject. The way the blood spilled from different directions, the facial expressions on the subjects. There were a lot of things going on compared from the version done by Caravaggio.

Why should we accept Renaissance Style?

Ever since the Renaissance period we were able to discover and improve varieties of styles and techniques. Such examples are realistic style, gothic style, abstract style and many more other styles. Discovering these styles artists were able use these to create extraordinary paintings that turn into masterpieces, their greatest works of art of all time.

It also gives distinctive features to the artist’s painting and to the artist himself. Especially when you amaze people with your style and how you express yourself in painting. Like the painting of Mona Lisa, its distinctive style is the chiaroscuro. The way the shadow gives depth to the painting as if it is 3D. And the way it gives emphasis to the subject matter. Another great example is "St. John the Baptist".




ther styles such as "elongation", a type of style that figures are elongated more than they are in reality. One of the examples is "Madonna with a Long Neck by Parmigianino. The artist made the lady's neck in the painting longer to represent the gracefulness like the swan. And then the baby in arms is much bigger than a normal baby's size.


Each style is very unique that one is keen to perfect it and make it as his own. Many will admire and try to imitate it. It might offend some artists but on the bright side the art style will be carried on.

The Heroic David

David is a masterpiece created by Michelangelo Buonorroti. It represents the Biblical hero David from 1 Samuel 17. The Israelites are fighting the Philistines, whose best warrior, Goliath, repeatedly offers to meet the Israelites best warrior in a man-to-man combat to decide the whole battle. None of the Israelite soldiers is brave enough to fight against the giant Goliath. Until David, accepted the challenge. Saul, the Israelite leader gave him armor and weapons but he declined. Instead, he goes with his sling shot and confronts the enemy. He hits Goliath in the head with a stone, knocking the giant down and then grabbed the sword and cut off his head.

This statue became a symbol that symbolizes the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence due to its heroic nature. It has the eyes of David that gives a warning glare towards Rome. The way it appears seem like he’s ready for battle. His neck is tense and the veins bulge out of his lower right hand. And the way he twist his body gives off a feeling that he’s in motion.

Later in 1873, the statue of David was removed from the piazza to be protected from damage and was placed in Accademia Gallery where it attracted many visitors. It is even listed as the largest and grandest among the ancient statues. Michelangelo’s David became one of the most recognized works and symbol of strength and youthful beauty. 

Parthenon of Athens

The Parthenon is a former temple that was dedicated to the Greek goddess, Athena, who people of Athens considered their patron. It is regarded as a symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and western civilization and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments.

Athena is a Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, law and justice, strength and battle strategy. She only fought for reasons and would not fight without a purpose. She is portrayed as a shrewd companion of heroes and is a patron goddess of heroic endeavor. 

For a time, it served as the treasury if the Delian League, which later became the Athenian 

Empire. Later in the final decade of the 6^th century the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The Parthenon is a classic peripteral octastyle Doric temple with Ionic architectural features. It stands on a platform or stylobate of three steps. It is quite to the other Greek temples, it is a lintel construction and is surrounded by columns carrying an entablature. There are eight columns at either end and seventeen on the sides. There is a double row of columns at either end. The colonnade surrounds an inner masonry structure, the cella, which is divided into two compartments. 

At either end of the building the gable is finished with a triangular pediment originally filled with sculpture. The columns are of Doric order, with simple capitals, fluted shafts and no basses. Above the architrave of the entablature is a frieze of carved pictorial panel, separated by formal architectural triglyphs, typical of the Doric order. Around the cella and across the lintels of the inner element of the architecture is Ionic in style rather than Doric. 

To build the Parthenon. Its massive foundations were made of limestone and the columns were made of Pentelic marble. Pentelic marble is a material that was utilized for the first time. It is flawless white with a uniform, faint yellow tint which makes it shine with a golden hue under sunlight. This marble can be found in Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon which is located in Attica, Greece.

The Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead contains a number of magic spells to assist the deceased to the afterlife. It was developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts. The first funerary texts are called Pyramid text, it is written in hieroglyphic style. 

Hieroglyphics were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that is a combination of Iogographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphics for religious literature on papyrus and wood. 

Papyrus is a leading Egyptian merchant in graphical paper, office paper, facility supplies and in industrial packaging. 

These texts are written on the walls in the burial chambers exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh. The purpose of these texts was actually to help the deceased king to take his place amongst the gods.

Then in the Middle Kingdom a new version of funerary text emerged, this is called Coffin Text. These texts are commonly written in the inner surface of the coffin though they are usually found written on tomb walls or on papyri. These texts were available to wealthy individuals that numbers increased to those who are expecting to participate in the afterlife. This process is to be described as the “democratization of the afterlife”. 

Not only the book is magical it is as well religious. It was legitimate and activity as praying to the gods. Also the spells are used for amulets to keep the deceased from harm. Spells are very useful that they also appear on amulets wound into the wrappings of the mummy. 

Summary:

The Book of the Dead depicts the beliefs of the Egyptians about nature of death and the afterlife. Also it shows many scenarios to the reader what path they encounter. Many of hieroglyphs also represents humans or animals to prevent them causing any harm to the deceased Pharaoh. It contains a number of magical spells to help the deceased to the afterlife. Also they said that it has a purpose to help the deceased Pharaoh to take his place amongst the gods and to reunite with his divine father, Ra. 

Who is Mona Lisa?

Everybody knows about the painting “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci but the question is who is Mona Lisa?

Some say that the lady in the painting is Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine cloth merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. Therefore, the alternative title of the painting is La Giocanda. There were even others that said, that it was his mother. However, according to the structure of the Mona Lisa’s face, some say that it was a structure of man that Mona Lisa was probably his assistant and probably lover, Salai.

Then according to Jeanna Bryner, the transparency of the veil shows da Vinci’s first painted a landscape and then used transparency techniques to paint the veil atop it. Then she noticed a change in the position of the left index and middle finger. At the elbow there was repair around at that part from damage due to a rock thrown at the painting in 1956. Also the left finder was not completely finished.

            Then in the year 2015, a group of archaeologists discovered the remains of Lisa Gherardini, one of the rumored models of Leonardo Da Vinci. Her remains were found in the Sant' Orsola convent in Florence. 

“I’m convinced it is her,” Silvano Vinceti, an art historian who led the research team, told The Telegraph.

“There is a strong compatibility between the results from our archaeological and historical research and the results from the carbon dating. It is highly probable that the remains belong to Lisa Gherardini.”

After finding the remains, they are compare DNA samples from the remains and the DNA that extracted from two of the five children that Gherardini had with her husband. However, when the children's remains were discovered in the tomb Basilica of Santissima Annunziata in Florence, their bone fragments have been badly damaged due to flooding of the Arno River. Because of this they cannot provide enough DNA samples to make a comparison, according to  Prof Giorgio Gruppioni, the head of the forensic anthropology laboratory at Bologna University. Although they haven't given up, they are finding solutions and techniques in order to solve the mystery. 

However there were some critics that pointed out that the remains belonged to another woman. Well, we wouldn't know unless further study is conducted. For now, Mona Lisa still remains a mystery. Who is the woman behind that famous smile? 

Life outside Technology

Technology has taken over the society together with social media. That people spend most of their time online. I’m for one am the same. When I first received this blog as project, I was worried what to talk about Technology. Well I could say that I like to spend my time online watching movies, updating myself with the latest news or trends and also chatting people from a long distance. Back in elementary, it became natural for everyone to have Facebook. 

Then when I entered high school, I learned a lot from social media. It even became one of the topics in our conversations with my friends. We talk about music, movies, idols and many more. Then came the time to say goodbye. When I graduated high school, my friends and I went to different schools to pursue our dreams. However thanks to social media I was able to keep in touch with them from time to time. 

That’s a good thing about social media. However, as I engross myself in social media the more it affects my life. There are times when I forget what really matters and I cannot take back what’s already done. There are times when I forget to do my homework or my projects. That when the deadline comes only then I’ll cram. And also I cannot live without my laptop since I always need it for designing. 

Thinking about today’s media, I’d say it has its own advantages and disadvantages. But when did I ever go without checking my Facebook or my emails. When was the last time did I ever hangout with my friends and forget about technology? When was the last time when I just enjoy my life free from social media?

Outside social media we can spend more time with our family, relatives, friends etc. We can get to know other things that social media cannot show. Also we can create more memorable smiles and laughter. “Sometimes we have to disconnect to make a connection.”Sometimes We Need to Disconnect to Make a Connection."