Esse Quam Videri

North Carolina's state motto: "to be rather than to seem."  It represents some portions of Platonic ideology in the sense that the senses and "seeming" of an object could be deceptive and different from its actual form.  This then would surely be a present and powerful force in the Italian Renaissance, would it not?  The primary link to the past thoughts so heavily linked to Renaissance worldview would at least suggest so.  Yet somehow, the latter Renaissance years present a fascinating phenomenon.  In applying Aristotelian principles of observing reality and imitating reality and the Platonic appreciation for arithmetic representations, proportions, and calculations to represent the ideal form of reality, a shift occurred from just imitating reality in art and reflecting the higher forms therein, to actually creating a new reality, a new way to trick the eye.  Therefor the Renaissance peoples took a departure from "Esse quam videri" to "Videri quam esse."  The ultimate product generates an entirely different aesthetic that is entirely wonderful and pleasing, if not an utter departure from conveying the real to a conveyance of illusion.  This is perhaps my favorite product of the Renaissance and is a fantastic representation of the fundamentals of the Renaissance: humanism, in the capability of humanity to calculate and depict something that is so well crafted and carefully constructed that it supersedes reality and peoples' ability to perceive it, secularism, because the objects being depicted are not necessarily religious and usually are meant to develop an illusion focusing on this realm rather than in heaven, and even a certain historical self consciousness, in that Renaissance citizens recognize and appreciate that their Creativity is a new and distinct form of art that is shifting the nature and intent of humanity's inventiveness.  The following examples evince my point well enough.

When the architects and constructors of this church came together to create this structure there were some conflicts in interest.  The wealthy contributors to the church lived near by and wanted very much to maintain their sunny yards instead of being cast in the shade of a grandiose dome.  But the architects wanted to maintain their creative integrity and thus came to the best compromise they could.  Though this image is taken from the middle of the church floor, looking straight up at the ceiling, from specific points in the rest of the church, this appears to be a soaring dome above the church, a fantastic trick of the eye.  The intent is not so much to deceive people but to convey what they wanted to be reality.  This kind of depiction and shifting of the real to depict one's own ideal in architecture and the likes is an odd phenomenon of the mid to later Renaissance that seems a kind of departure from the traditional philosophical aims for deconstructing the constraints of this world (at least in a neoplatonists' worldview). 

Here is yet another example of the capability and calculations intentionally strewn together to play a trickery on the eye, to form a sort of deception towards a preferred reality over the actual reality.  It is solely the additional mythological figures that aid us with some hint that perhaps this painting is not the actual building itself raising higher and higher, but an elaborate hoax to goad the eye into amazement at the humanistic capability to trick the second greatest portal into the divine frenzy (the eye) into a frenzy over something entirely other than the true form.  Though it is difficult to depict without being there in person, this image evinces a portion of the illusory capabilities of interdisciplinary Renaissance artists.  Though the fresco is done at the top of the ceiling, the adornment tricks the eye into following the carefully calculated heights and proportions as something that they are no in actuality.  Don't get me wrong.  This is an impressive feat.  Yet the product serves as a fascinating and peculiar example that is less than uncommon in the later Renaissance to prove a fascination with shifting ends.  What was once done to lift up, glorify and honor the perfect unity of form and matter, now these things are brought together to rift the viewer from a higher depiction of reality into a newly constructed reality.  It is no more important to be but only to seem, and very convincingly so!

This last fresco scene depicts a group looking through a hole in the ceiling, almost as if they are enjoying looking down at us just as much, if not more, than the audience.  This follows in the same strain of depicting illusion to fool the eye.  Along with these deceiving frescoes there were also physical constructs carefully crafted to fool the eye to seeing them as much longer or grander than they actually were: 20 foot hall ways mathematically proportioned to fool the eye and brain to perceiving their distance as something closer to 60 feet!  Theatres were thrown up with proportionally deceptive hallways and backdrops so that, especially with proper illumination, the eye reads the sensory input as much more distant, grander, and altogether more impressive, especially for the backdrop of a theatrical tale!  

What's more, there are documented literary trends that follow the same preference for seeming rather than being.  "Old Nick Himself" (i.e. Machiavelli) has long been villainized for his better known work The Prince.  This text encourages following a life style that is similarly "seemly" based.  Though I agree with Machiavelli's end goals of Italian peace through unification, I do not see that his ends justify his means in the pursuit.  He encourages those in power to seem to be all human (humanism anyone?), all faithful, and many other uncomfortably omni-esque imperatives.  The intended result is to flaunt the prince's ability for governance and maintain his power over the state.  He has to seem christian and religious but actually be able to shift those leanings at any time he deems as necessary for the betterment/protection of the state.  The general trend then seems to be a movement away from ends of seeing depicting the forms (whether Aristotelean or Platonist) in either lives or art, but rather the focal point is constructing a kind of reality that can mislead its viewers.  I don't know if this development is necessarily their actual intent but it certainly seems the end result they produce.  Though, I am most impressed with this kind of art, literally and artistically speaking, because they are in many senses the basis for modern arts of these forms.  Old Nick is said to be the progenitor of modern politics and much of modern art could hardly be said to be aimed at a clearer depiction of the forms/reality (i.e. cubism, abstract art, surrealism).  Though I should probably cease my projections as of now, I know just enough on these matters to be dangerous and too little to prevent my embarrassment!

"Plato, Aristotle, how you wrestle inside me," bemoaned the Renaissance.

Ok, so perhaps bemoan is a bit of a strong word here, but the function of Aristotelian and Platonic philosophies in the Renaissance world view have proven to be necessary, though perhaps not solely sufficient.  There has been some disputation in the class as to which Neo interpretation of the philosophical ponderings is the king of the hill of the Renaissance.  Some have suggested that the big player was the neo-platonist mindset held sway, since the huge pursuit for the ideal of forms and the rise of art in their capability to raise people up to the world of forms (or at least closer thereto).  Others contend that the humanism and appreciating for the natural world in peoples like Saint Francis of Assisi  and Galileo suggest the supreme reign of the Neo-Aristotelian mindset.  I care to contend however that there did not exist any kind of monopoly in popularity for the Renaissance thinkers.  These peoples full of accepted, nay expected, anachronisms took no problem with a combination of ancient philosophies into what they saw best.  As the "School of Athens" can attest to visually, the combination of alternative time lines and peoples  evinces the mindset to be an odd sort hybrid that takes the best of several worlds and combines them with great deliberation.  Therefore there exists inherently to the Renaissance worldview a sort of interacting vibrancy played out between the Dualism of Plato and the Monism of Aristotle.  Though the "neo" tacked on to the front of these schools of thought necessarily connote a few differences in interpretation and application, the contrast exists nonetheless.
Where then do we see the Platonic mindset play itself out?  The shifting value on artists of many types is typical of the Neo-platonist approach to thought, in that painters and sculptors alike were seen on a lower level close to stone masons are manual laborers during the middle ages, their socio-economic position shifted because their highly valued skills were seen as reflections of Plato's world of forms; instead of depicting reflections of reflections, their art could somehow enhance reality and point our pour and weary souls back towards the world of forms.  In this same sense, the HUGE emphasis on mathematical calculations that Plato values is mimicked in kind in the Renaissance music and later art.  The extreme appreciation for balance in proportion for Renaissance musicians is a direct throwback to Plato.  The art we witnessed just yesterday in developing perspective and mathematically calculating the vanishing point so that all things in the painting are in proportional balance.  These thoughts are highly Platonic but by no means do they weigh out the Aristotelian approach to the world either.

As Aristotle's most famous portrait depicts, his prime locale for defining importance, function, and reality altogether is here, in this world of becoming. (Notice his hand extended out towards the earth) This is manifested heavily throughout the Renaissance worldview.  As Aristotle sees all matter is comprised of matter and form (2 of his "four causes").  This is what Renaissance artists are depicting reality of matter in their most optimal form.  In attempting to capture the world of becoming and unite it with the world of forms (i.e. the church) nature became increasingly more depicted in the church.  The church now becomes the idealized form of what nature should be like, filled with men that are no longer floating angelic beings but creatures that are gravity laden and real, and yet perfected, the best combination of matter and the form after which we should all strive.  Also entering with Aristotle's mindset is a greater appreciation for the use of observation of this world, an important aspect and perspective imitated in much of Giotto's work as well as the "School of Athens."  The importance of a systematized understanding of the world and organizing set order patterns to which everything relates in the Aristotelian mindset is even reflected in their grandiose expectation for the virtuous life lived for secular reasons, only possible through the humanist mindset.
This can hopefully evince that neither Plato or Aristotle reigned supreme in the Renaissance mindset but served as guides and grand gifters of the ways of days past; things to be conglomerated in anachronism and deliberation, more for the purpose of appreciating and incorporating all the greats of the past instead of just a singular entity.  Clearly philosophies of Plato and Aristotle have worked together through the hands of Renaissance thinkers to form a world where secularism, historical self consciousness, humanism, and individualism are possible.

Like a Phoenix from out of the Ash (and mud)

What a fantastical weekend.  Honestly it was better than my highest expectations on so many facets.  Even though the hostel was a party hostel I was able to sleep really well (to the bumping base just outside my window) and the last minute change from Capri to Positano was a welcomed relief to my eyes as well as my wallet!  The phenomenal nature of Positano must be revisited, but perhaps at a later post.  What truly warrants mention is my most fortuitous visit to Pompei (scavi), Ercolano (scavi), and the National Museum of Archaeology in Naples.  These visits evinced a kind of alarming realization for me.  Up until this point I had only been giften with visiting the Renaissance statues, paintings, and frescoes without much ability to compare them to their base.  All of these mediums were employed and started because of the ancient Grecian and Roman art that displayed so many of the central concepts adopted by the Renaissance society: humanism, ideal-form, proportional distance, mathematically inclined songs, deep philosophical meaning, grandiose architecture and the likes.  The well preserved sites of pompeii and Herculaneum each boasted a proud resemblance to the Renaissance fundamentals (or should I say the Renaissance resembles the excavation sites due to their temporal proximities).  Check out this statues that was left in Herculaneum after it was crushed under mudslide caused after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius:

Now pardon me for extrapolating, but the similarities in stance to many of the items we have seen in Firenze and Roma alike are so stark that one cannot help but recognize it:

This and countless other examples were displayed from the time period near the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  Mostly from the 2nd and 3rd century CE, these works displayed almost the exact same contra-posta stance that many of the Renaissance crafters found so enthralling in their sculpture works; all the way from Michalangello to Bernini, the ideal forms and mathematical calculations common to the ancients is present throughout the Renaissance work.  Pardon me for the picture overload but here is a room full of examples:

These examples of balance, of sculptures in action now no longer scream solely Renaissance to me, but also the ancient Grecian and Roman principles of sculpting that were so crucial to their art.  It was finally realized in my mind what exactly was being reborn!

Another crucial aspect to the Renaissance art is the fresco tradition.  I don't know that it is necessary to include all representations of this fresco process but here is one to tantalize all your fancies (plus I'm all about superfluity)

And though this possesses an admittedly greater amount of Christian overtones, the similarities in balance, human portrayal, and a reflection of reality is a significant reflection to the Herulaneum (especially well preserved) frescoes seen both in the excavation site itself and in the National Archaeological Museum:

Pardon the nudity but this is ancient European Art and it has been a great challenge to spare you the amount of nudity I have managed thus far.  The depictions in both the frescoes portray something very close to reality, or at least ideal reality.  The beauty, the elegance, the age!  I am in amazement.  But to see and connect the very art that inspired the Renaissance truly brought to life the rebirth that took place between 1350 and 1600 in Italy.  The mosaics in the Renaissance also bear extreme similarities to those preserved in Herculaneum, and what is most noteworthy is the actual feel for reality those mosaics portray.  At the end of it all though, what made me so ecstatic was seeing the great battle of Alexander (the Great).  This fantastically old item, so amazing, will never cease to amaze me.  I shall leave you with it:

This mosaic is from pompeii and looks just like a painting!  I was close enough to touch it but would never dare!  Ha!  It reminds me of the battle of Constantine picture that I referenced earlier.  Not that I am entirely concerned relating all things between Renaissance and the ancients but making connections is just like Pringles.  Once you pop the top, the fun don't stop.

Well This is Just Awesome

For all you inquiring baby birds out there, don't worry, momma Matthew's going to feed your intellectual hunger!  This trip to Sorrento is going quite swimmingly!  We made it here in record time.  Had a liesurely meal in Napoli (I ate pizza in the birth place of Pizza!!!!!) and even went to the Acheaological Museum of Naples.  The mosaics, sculptures, bronze casts, and everything was phenomenal!  Tonight and tomorrow we reside in "seven hostel" which, among other things, is only a five minute walk from the beach, has happy hour from 6:30-8 with awesome drinks (only from what I've heard mum, I promise), hot roomies in the dorm with me (mixed gender, I assure you), free breakfast in the mornings (superfluous parentheses), and...brace yourself...AIR CONDITIONED ROOMS!  Oh my, I've died and gone to heaven!  Well, it's off to the beach now, pompeii, Herculaneum, and Vseuvius tomorrow, and Capri the day after.  Ciao ciao!  Buon weekend!

The Grecian gods, the Christian God(s?), and David

By no means to I mean to offend any of my Roman Catholic brethren and sisters.  I am fully aware that Firenze was under papal influence and I do not intend at ALL to insinuate these peoples as beyond Christianity, polytheists, or pagans.  That being said, I've seen too many Davids in Firenze to not catch on to the trend.  The Greeks often times would claim a patron god in attempts to claim protection from all sorts of offenses, both natural and human caused disasters.  This kind of act has had an ebb and flow of devotion throughout the years but it has never become truly as potent nor realized to me until my interaction with it in Firenze.  Here is a replica of the most famous David statue, Michelangelo's very Grecian nude.

As one can likely surmise, the figure stood at about the proportion of three and a half regular Firenzians' heights.   This depiction of the King of the Jews, David, is a man uncircumcised, standing at some 17 + feet high!  Perhaps somewhat austere in his garb (clutching solely his sling) this view of David has a man whose hands and feet by far out-proportion the other components of his body.  This exists in good accord with many of the Renaissance sculptures we found in Firenze.  Large appendages seem to be common in the study of producing a figure who will appear in proportion from a distance.  This is a clear portrayal of the science of art and perspective so common to the Renaissance hard at work.  Though the perfection and intentional appearance of the rest of the sculpture perhaps lends credence to the thought that the enlarged hands and feet serve as expressions of the humanist tendencies of the Renaissance thinkers.  Perhaps the enlarged hands portray a belief in the capability of humanity to reach the status of godhood?  Whatever the reason, it seems far from a mistake rather an intentional product of the sculptor. It makes the original all the more impressive to recognize that its source was a flawed piece of granite!  A daunting product indeed when we recognize the flawed source could have led to a much more difficult construction of the statue; destruction of the entire piece hinged upon the false movement and incorrect placement of but one chisel.

We see too that the godlike status that the patron representative (god) of Firenze has adopted a bit of variance in expression, though scarcely departing from the Renaissance background.  David is seen as a prime example of the capability of humanity to reach near divine status, to be a man after the heart of God, to unite the 12 discordant tribes of Israel, to reign forever strong in guiding the kingdom of Israel: this is the man in the bible chosen to represent Firenze, the center of the Renaissance.  Their protection of the love of God, their belief in human capability, and their affluence all lead to close appreciation and affiliation with the figure that David is.  Perhaps this could be seen as less secular, since this is a biblical figure, but this trend might be an embodiment of that very secularism!  This is a David oft removed from his background story.  This David is a character of strength, of potency, meant not so much as a reminder of the church but a reminder of the potency of the city of Firenze.  He then embodies civic pride and connects a different kind of historical self consciousness for the Florentine public.  "We are living out the Golden Age of Israel here in Firenze in this time," the David(s) scream.  This kind of connection with and appreciation for a more historical David over the theological David also lends itself to reclaiming portions of history and having a deep appreciation for the past.  Because this and so many other Davids found themselves established apart from the church, it is all the more convincing of their secularism.

The other Davids, though perhaps not as tall and intimidating as Michelangelo's David (and the Grecian god statues it reminds me of) still contain rich symbolism that lean towards a Renaissance mindset.  Even if cast in bronze (confusingly more expensive and "valuable" than the marble carvings!) the boyish long haired David of Donatello is a depiction of class, strength and power.  The small boy steps his foot triumphantly upon the head of the slain Goliath after all!  This boy, sporting the hat more common to Renaissance Firenze than the time of the Ancient Israelites suggests a kind of anachronistic and well intended historical reclamation of the Davidic figure.  Perhaps in the same vein, I distinctly recall one marble David depicted with both his pointer and index finger extended from both hands.  This might not seem too odd, till we recognize that this statue was commissioned by one of the main powers of Florence, a bishop!  As such, the David's depiction betrays perhaps some kind of Christian claim on the Davidic figure; mayhaps even in attempts to contest the secular claims to the figure.  It could even be an implied blessing on the city of Frienze, since this is often the hand symbol given when priests bless.

The true nature of the David-craze of Renaissance Florence will perhaps elude us for some time.  David is something of a symbol for the city, though one wonders how much David began to embody the protectorate role for the city in a similar fashion to the Greeks who proceeded them.  Was David the embodiment of humanism in Florence or something more?  Perhaps an imitation enacted in the same fashion that the oh-so admired Greeks so often did with Athena in Athens?  We may never know but it is worth some consideration.

That Infernal Dante

There is something remarkable about the transitional figures of the Renaissance.  Those peoples who evince characteristics of an age not their own, Dante, Francis,Giotto, and so on, seem to profess a kind of unexpected potency on their surroundings.  Their works, sculptures, art, texts, and theological contemplations exhibit many of the new and innovative characteristics later destined to become commonplace in the years to follow for the Renaissance.  Dante Alighieri portrays many of the attributes that we see common to the Renaissance period, including, but not limited to, an historical self consciousness, secularism, humanism, a utilization of tempered rationalism, and a revitalization and appreciation of the ancients.  Though we have but a few short excerpts from the beginning book of the Comedia, the Inferno, there are clear (and perhaps deliberately so) selections that evince a strong historical awareness of important individuals.  Not the least of which serves as Dante's guide through Hell, the great Greek poet who serves Dante in the underworld in a sense that ingeniously establishes a stark link between Dante's present and the Grecian past; a recurrent theme in Renaissance world.  It is also striking how the greats of the past end up: in a sort of Limbo location, these are the peoples of the past who worked up great deals of merit and merely made the mistake of being born prior to the capability of being baptized in the name of Christ.  Included amongst this group is Aristotle, Plato, Julius Caesar, a throng of grand poets (who "rightfully" welcome Dante as one of their own), and a host of other ancients, each equally unChristian as the last.  It makes sense that none of them are in heaven from a Christian perspective, though it perhaps betrays Dante's growing secular ideology in that he does not punish these non-believers in the pits of hell, but merely dooms them to the existence of perpetually wanting more.  His secularism begins to seethe through a bit more when we are confronted with decidedly Christian figures meeting sorts of punishment in the pits of the inferno, i.e. prior popes who did not act justly according to their authority.  This kind of shocking statement begins to evince Dante's transitional role as an entry way towards the Renaissance.  (here's a Florentine depiction of Dante to whet your appetite and perhaps dampen the dryness of my work a bit)
It is also worthy of mention that Dante's Inferno portrays a good deal of Creativity and Historical Self Consciousness.  Dante nearly realized the Italian language in opting to limn the works of Comedia in the accent of Latin (Italian that is) that was but a common language of the people.  This opened the door for centuries of authors and thinkers thereafter to release works in native vernacular, circumventing the issue of exclusion that came about through the sole utilization of Latin.  This may even connect to humanism because these people have entirely evaded hellish punishment via their own works, not through the action of God in/through Jesus!  This kind of thinking also evinces a certain action in the peoples in relation to other people instead of a central theme following peoples' relation to the church.  This reflects even further suggestions of secularism over the utterly divine centric mindset of the Middle Ages.  The clear reflection of soft rationalism is displayed in the sort of Aristotelean feel of the punishment each individual garners in the pits of the inferno.  Because people disrespected or ignored their own sense of rationalism, because those suffering therein were receiving torture reflecting or directly opposite to the lack of rational life they employed.  This process produces something interesting: Dante serves as a model for the Italian Renaissance in many ways, a kind of mold that is broken for him is imitated and (perhaps) improved upon in several castings for other important Renaissance figures.  The ensuing Renaissance will have been forever changed at the hands of yet another citizen of Firenze.

Vesuvius and all the Jazz

I really need to get this off my chest.  I am going to the Amalfi Coast this weekend and am elated to some nth degree.  I get to see Sorrento, a top notch archaeological museum in Napoli, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius, and Capri!  Ah!  I can barely contain my jubilation.  I am also kind of scared, but here's to hoping it rocks.  I really want to listen to Sufjan Stevens' song, "Vesuvius" while I hike it from this album.  I hope it works out because that would be dang awesome!!  Well here's to hoping for an awesome time.  I hope things are going quite swimmingly across the pond.  I've had my ups and downs but it seems to be going alright as of now.  My Italian midterm is behind me and it's nothing but travels on my own for the next couple of days.  The lone wolf out on his own!  Which reminds me distinctly of one of my favorite new italian sayings.  When one prepares for a large examination one exclaims: "In bocca lupa" (meaning in the mouth of the wolf)  People respond "Crepi" which means it died!  How great!  The following photograph is the beginning of a fantastic meal I had just after a fantastic service at Santa Croce  Enjoy and   Buon weekend!