Caravaggio’s Religious Imagery Essay Example for Free

Caravaggio’s Religious Imagery Essay The topic to be examined involves the iconological study of selected religious works by Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The term iconological refers to the study of visual imagery and its symbolism and interpretation, especially in social or political terms. The primary purpose of this research paper is to study the symbolism of Caravaggio’s paintings and their impact on society in a historical sense through present day. A secondary purpose is to determine the extent to which, if any, that his art has influenced politics and religion dating back to the late sixteenth century. There are three facets of the research problem: (1) the impact of the new Baroque style of painting that Caravaggio defined; (2) the influence that his religious works had on the church, politics, and society; and (3) the iconological study of Caravaggio. The study is significant for two reasons. First, since art and culture have major influence on society and history, it is important to recognize Caravaggio for his role in averting the threat of Protestantism by replacing the ruling Mannerism period of European painting with his radical naturalistic approach to chiaroscuro. The term chiaroscuro refers to a painting technique that involves an intricate use of shadow and light. Second, the study will address the implications for art and religion in society in relation to the issue of barriers and obstacles that have been faced and whether they have been truly overcome. Hypotheses Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio profoundly changed the art world, bringing about definitiveness to Baroque and eliminating Mannerism. Caravaggio’s authentic religious works that filled the Counter-Reformation Church helped to form specific religions based on imagery. The symbolism and interpretation of Caravaggio’s religious pieces was that they were radically natural, combining theatre and drama with close physical observations. In proving the above hypotheses to be true through utilization of the following methodology, the impact of Caravaggio on religion and society will be obvious. It is also necessary to take other scholars who have come before him into consideration in order to detail exactly what impact his works have made. Although he was somewhat ignored after a short period of fame in the seventeenth century, until the twentieth century, he is to be formally credited with the evolution of art from Mannerism to the new Baroque. There has been an overall positive impact on art and religion because of his development. Methodology The research will use a non-experimental design. The data collection method will be a combination of observation, interviews, and the use of preexisting records. After an initial period in Australia, becoming familiar with relevant secondary material on the subject I will go to Italy to analyze paintings first hand. The three religious works by Caravaggio that have been selected for personal observation in situ are as follows: n Deposition of Christ in the Sepulchre, 1602-1603, Oil on Canvas, 300 x 203cm, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City n The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1599-1600, Oil on Canvas, 322 x 340cm, Contareli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome n Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1600, Oil on Canvas, 230 x 175cm, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome Literature Review In researching the identified topic, many of the traditional sources, articles and books, on Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his works were that of negativity giving him little or no credit for the profound impact he has had on art history. The intention of this research paper is to disclose the truth through interpretation while counter-arguing past research on the subject that is seemingly incorrectly represented. Primary Sources Alpers, Svetlana. ‘Describe or Narrate? A Problem in Realistic Representation. ’ New Literary History, Vol 8:1, Readers and Spectators: Some Views and Reviews (Autumn 1976), pp. 15-41 This article, taken from the New Literary History journal, volume 8, discusses Caravaggio as a great artist but describes his art as offensive and vulgar rather than profound and evolutionary. In order to validly make my claim, it is necessary to show arguments against my stated hypotheses and counter them effectively, which is why this article will be of significant use to me in compiling my extracted information. Chorpenning, Joseph F. ‘Another Look at Caravaggio and Religion. ’ Artibus et Historiae, Vol 8:16 (1987), pp. 149-158 I believe this journal article can provide the basis for my project. It is very similar to the intentions of my research paper and will help to make my finished piece a worthwhile, significant, and original investigation for the truth. Friedlaender, Walter F. Caravaggio Studies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955 Walter Friedlaender, the author of Caravaggio Studies, is one of the first to write about the obscure Italian artist. Although sections of the biography appear to be speculative, there is a great deal of information that is unavailable elsewhere in this book.

The Portrayal of Family in Charles Dickens David Copperfield Essay

The Portrayal of Family in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield DECLARATION OF INTEGRITY. I declare that this study is my own and does not contain any unacknowledged work from any source. CONTEXT INTRODUCTION. 4 1. COPPERFIELDS (SENIOUR): Dicken’s pattern of 6 happy marriage. 2. DAVID&DORA’S MARRIAGE: the reasons of spiritual 8 separation in the family. 3. DAVID&AGNES’S MARRIAGE: Dicken’s ideal of 12 marriage 4. MR.MURDSTONE&CLARA: opposite to Dicken’s ideal 14 Of happy marriage. 5. MICAWBERS: the main components of 16 happy marriage. 6. MR.BARKIS&PEGGOTTY: the importance of women's wisdom 20 CONCLUSION 22 BIBLIOGRATHY 23 INTRODUCTION David Copperfield became my favorite of all Dickens' novels. Although the novel is rather long ( 736 pages) I have read it in one gulp for the actions that take place in the novel are developed so dynamically that the process of reading itself was like taking a piece of sweet cake. It evoked in me a lot of emotions and I really have been crying and laughing together with the heroes of this novel. The affect of the book on me was so great that I that was even thinking of it days and nights. That is the reason why I have chosen this book for my term paper in order to develop the theme â€Å"Family in Charles Dickens' novel ‘David Copperfield’ †. Charles Dickens is one of the most popular and ingenious writers of the XIX century. He is the author of many novels. Due to reach personal experience Dickens managed to create vivid images of all kinds of people: kind and cruel ones, of the oppressed and the oppressors. Deep, wise psychoanalysis, irony, perhaps some of the sentimentalism place the reader not only in the position of spectator but also of the participant of situations that happen to Dickens’ heroes. Dickens makes the reader to think, to laugh and to cry together with his heroes throughout his books. â€Å"David Copperfield† was Dickens' favorite creation. The novel reflects writer’s own life – his autobiography. The image and character of David Copperfield corresponds to the image and character of Dickens himself. The range of personages of the novel recalls to us people which were close to Dickens: Micowber is comical portrait of John Dickens, the father of the author; the image of Dora – is the exact copy of the Marry Bindel – the first sweet-heart of the writer; David’s seeking in marri... ... the novel, â€Å"Of all my books I like this the best†. Likewise legion readers have come to agree with the author’s own conclusion. In my paper I tried to trace Dicken's messages and lessons he teaches the reader on the family issue. By masterly usage of the language the author manages to portray good and bad images in order for us to be able to chose which way to follow and which one to avoid. The principles and components of happy marriage that the author is trying to share with us are simple but at the same time ingenious. I firmly believe that this book is highly useful for young people and should be included in the list of books compulsory for reading in the University. BIBLIOGRATHY *1. Dickens Charles.†David Copperfield†, Wordsworth Edition Ltd., Denmark, 1992, 737 pages. WORKS CONSULTED: *1. Lawrence Crabb. â€Å"Marriage Builder†, Druckhaus Gummersbach,Germany, 1991, 160 pages *2. http://library.utoronto.ca/www/dickens/crit/il.html *3. http://www.glug.com/homework/copperfield.html *4. http://www.nagoya.-u.ac.jp.dickens.html *5. http://www.mitsuka.dickens.crit.html *6 Jammy Broke "Notes on 'David Copperfield'", Cambridge University Press, 1991, 50 pages.

Liberalism remains hugely influential in British Politics Essay

Liberalism remains hugely influential in British Politics, moulding the value systems and policies of all the mainstream political parties.’ Discuss. The prime focus of Liberalism is freedom and liberty; the type of liberty they strive for depends, however, on which of the two types of Liberalism is being referred to. Firstly; classical Liberalism, believing in negative freedom and progressive Liberalism leaning more towards positive freedom. I would argue that Liberalism does still have an influence in British politics; however I would not go as far as to say that it is ‘hugely’ influential. Firstly, I would outline that the Labour Party is possibly the least liberal in their political approach. Their manifesto does not set out many liberal policies due to their economical stance. The fact that Labour is traditionally a moderately socialist party, concentrating on equality within society and for this reason, they would steer away from the free-market and limited government intervention approaches that liberals may take to politics. The limited government that Classical liberals see as ideal would not appeal to the Labour party as they strive for the equality of their citizens and would feel that they need to impose policies, such as their policy on housing set out in their 2010 manifesto ‘No stamp duty for first-time buyers on all house purchases below  £250,000 for two years, paid for by a five per cent rate on homes worth more than  £1 million.’ This policy shows a socialist side to New Labour, highlighting a ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’ ideology within Labour politics. However, progressive liberalism may be seen to have had more of an influence on Labour Party politics. The fact that the Labour party believes in imposing policies of equality on society implies that they value positive freedom. Policies put forward such as the Equality Bill; which has been justified as a consolidation measure bringing different strands of anti-discrimination law together while implementing EU directives; highlight the controlled aspect of the Labour party’s equality regime. It could be argued that in the past, aspects of Liberalism, although neither truly Classical or Progressive, such as Neo-Liberalism have had a significant influence on British politics as well as the policies and value systems of the Conservative party in particular. During Thatcher’s time in office, she highlighted an ideal of a pragmatic means to progress. The Thatcherite Conservative party saw Neo-Liberalism as an obvious way to adapt to the constantly changing nature of modern political thought. Tony Blair’s New Labour could also be seen as a Neo-Liberal third way government, on both a social and economic scale. The current Conservative party however, seem to be significantly less affected by Liberalism. Arguably, the free-market ideals that Cameron appears to hold are seen as Neo-Liberal; however, it is apparent that in the current coalition government that Britain is currently led by, this free-market and Neo-Liberal philosophy has been limited to the catch-all demands of mainstream politics. This is apparent in Conservative economic policies such as that put forward in their 2010 pre-general election manifest: ‘A five per cent pay cut for Ministers followed by a five-year freeze, and a 10 per cent reduction in the number of MPs.’ This policy in itself shows how Cameron’s Conservative party are trying to appeal to the masses in controlling the pay of ministers. This does not necessarily denote a free-market approach to the economy and does not play into the meritocratic values that have been seen in the Conservative party in the past. It could also be argued however, that more prominent economic policies put forward in the Conservative manifesto pre-2010 have shown that Cameron’s Conservatives are moving toward the Neo-Liberal, Thatcherite ideology that the Conservative party once had. Although this may not have been the case when Cameron first became the leader of the Conservative party in 2005, aspects of his party’s general election manifesto in 2010, such as: ‘Reduce welfare dependency’ and ‘Stopping tax credits to families with incomes over  £50,000’ have proven to have shown the party’s shift back towards Thatcherite economic politics. These policies show a move back towards meritocratic society and a distinct step away from the ‘something for nothing’ culture that has emerged in modern Britain. Finally, the Liberal Democrats; both by name and by nature; are arguably more influenced by Liberalism than any other mainstream political party. Progressive Liberalism can be seen clearly in certain aspects of their recent policies, on education for example: ‘Cutting class sizes to ensure children get the individual attention they need.’ This is a fine example of how the Liberal Democrats would like to impose positive liberty and freedom on its citizens; cutting class sizes would increase individual attention and therefore arguably create more freedom and liberty for pupils in the long-term. It could also be argued however, that the Liberal Democrats are no longer such a liberal party, but more of a third way political party; much like the Conservative and Labour parties who have shifted towards the centre of political ideals and values in order to also become more ‘catch-all’ and appeal to the masses. In conclusion, I would argue that broadly Liberalism is not hugely influential in British politics as a whole and does not necessarily mould the value systems and policies of all the mainstream political parties. However, I would argue that liberalism still remains influential in certain specific parts of each party’s policies and value systems; therefore remaining an influential force, to an extent, in British politics.

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