Each week we will talk about three different windows into the historical period we are studying. We will follow the lead of the textbook and use painting & sculpture, architecture, and music as general themes. Each week our discussion questions will be based on these categories. You choose the one you like and post a response of 125 words or more. You also need to respond to another post from one of your fellow students. This second post should be at least 60 or so words long and should not just agree with or repeat what has been said. Try to use an example that has not already been used in the discussion and if you do repeat the example, try to bring something new to the discussion,

Painting and Sculpture: Choose one painting from Italy and one painting from Northern Europe (Holland, Belgium, France, England) from the period 1600 to 1650. How are they similar and how are they different in terms of:

1) theme

2) the intent of the artist

3) what they tell us about the time and place in which they were created

How do modern politicians and business leaders use painting and sculpture to influence how we think about them? Provide a recent example.

Architecture: St. Peter’s Basilica was built and designed to overwhelm the viewer. It is one way to use architecture to send a message. The paintings of small domestic scenes and simple rooms are very common in Northern European art. How are these two approaches to the use of architecture similar and how are they different in terms of:

1) theme

2) the intent of the builder/architect

3) what they tell us about the time and place in which they were created

How do modern politicians and business leaders use architecture to influence how we think about them? Provide a recent example.

Music: Gabrielli, Monteverdi, Corelli, and Vivaldi are the progression of Italian composers the textbook presents to show the development of music in Italy, Venice in particular. Their work had a strong influence on all subsequent Western composers, especially those who wrote operas. At the same time, in the North, Johann Sebastian Bach was such a giant as to diminish the work of others. He, like all the Italian composers depended on vocal music in their compositions. The Italians often had more diverse orchestras, while the Northern Europeans relied heavily on the keyboard. Choose one of the Italian composers and compare him to JS Bach. How are they and their music similar and how are they different in terms of:

1) theme

2) the intent of the composer

3) what they tell us about the time and place in which they were created

How do modern politicians and business leaders use music to influence how we think about them? Provide a recent example.

Explore:

Monteverdi and Vivaldi

• Chapter 21 (pp. 707-710), Baroque music and composers; review the Week 1 “Music Folder”
• Monteverdi’s Orfeo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ll_u870PG8 (Monteverdi Tu sé Morta lyrics with translation: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien/student/olc/46.htm.)
• Vivaldi’s "Spring" from Vivaldi: A Man For All Seasons at http://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/104868631/vivaldi-a-man-for-all-seasons and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFHPRi0ZeXE(background and lyric translation at http://www.baroquemusic.org/vivaldiseasons.html)

Baroque Visual Arts

• Chapter 21 (pp. 689-691; 701-703) and Chapter 22 (pp. 715-720; 726-735); Baroque style and its characteristics; Baroque in the north
• Baroque samples at https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/baroque-art1/beginners-guide-baroque1/a/baroque-art-in-europe-an-introduction; (also seehttp://www.artinthepicture.com/styles/Baroque/ and click on the names of the artists to see their works)
• Examples of Baroque paintings from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam at https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/styles/baroque (click on images; go full-screen; click “i” for info on the artist and date and painting)