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Chapter thirty one is very unique we see old art themes expressed in new ways. One thing we see again today is the belief in the power of portraiture, which inspired people to reconstitute skulls and create death masks to keep alive a likeness. One thing we have today that wasn’t a thing in the past is communications. We can contact anyone anywhere in the world. With this better technology we see artist’s work resemble other cultures more today than in the past (Adams).

Today we see a return to Realism after the development of photography. Artists found a new way for capturing likeness. Photography was used by many painters and sculptures to save time for the sitter. Near the end of the 1960’s photography’s popularity skyrocketed, due to its relationship to Pop Art and how real it makes object seem. This lead to the creation of Super Realism. Growing up I loved photography I wanted to be a photographer. I even entered Photography contests through school. It’s weird to think of a time before photography. There would be no Facebook or Instagram because they are based of pictures. We would not be where we are today as a nation. Chuck Close known to convert photographs into paintings, which is ironic because before that he usually painted in black and white. I actually love his 1997 self portrait it looks so good. I love the pixel resemblance of his paintings. He is my favorite artist in this chapter by far. The fact that he made portraits of people in the art world is amazing. I would love to get my portrait done by him (Adams).

All artworks affect the environment in one way or another. One's environment is anything indoors and outdoors. Robert Smithson is well known for Environmental Art. His work titled, “Spiral Jetty” is a single huge spiral that is placed in the Great Salt Lake of Utah. The concept and actuality are related to painting of Abstract Expressionism (Adams).

Today there are many issues when relating to race and gender in the twentieth and twenty first century, which have created many movements including feminism. These movements reflect social and political development in the United States. An African American artist Bob Thompson has a lot to say when it came to race and gender. He would take important events from the past and rework it to create something totally knew. Thompson’s Crucifixion of 1963-64 was inspired by the racial turmoil of American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. I believe Bob Thompson was one of the first to paint what he saw wrong with America. He saw the racial and sexist issues in America and decided to bring awareness to it. There’s a lot of this happening in today's time. From Women’s Marches, Times Up movement, and Black Lives Matter. Thompson tackled those problems way before America saw them themselves. I believe more Americans should be put their say in matters on what they do not think is right. I know three girls who drove almost six hours to chicago to be apart of a Women’s March. Now I’m not saying drive six hours to make a difference, but if you full heartedly believe in something I don’t think you should just sit at home and do nothing (Adams).

Cites

Chapters twenty nine and thirty both take place near the mid twenty first century. However, I liked chapter twenty nine because it takes place in America and I can relate to it more. When America abstraction arose in the 1930s it was heavily influenced by the Regionalism and Social Realism. Yet, was equally impacted by World War Two. In the years leading up to World War Two Paris was the center of art for the longest time. However, when Paris fell to the Nazis the center of art became New York. I think it is something really amazing a third generation American Peggy Guggenheim opened the Art of This Century Gallery in New York. How can one believe the statement, Third Generation American, in today's society? How can immigration lead to something that isn’t looked down on or illegal? Well, I did a research paper a few months ago about Immigration today and what it was like in World War 2 and I found a survey that said more than 90% of Americans in the 1940s believe Immigrants were helping their society to move in the right direction. Only if we had that attitude today (Adams).

My absolute favorite thing that was mentioned in chapter twenty nine was Action Painting. In this type of painting the artist would drip, splatter, or roll paint onto the canvas. Many people may think it is so boring, however it is great to see. I compare these pieces to life. Every piece is so different and so unique that no one ever will get a perfect replica. Jackson Pollock is the best known action painter ever. He used a drip technique to create his most celebrated pictures. My favorite one of his work is called, “White Light”. White Light has no recognizable objects. It has different lines with different textures that are so detailed. The reason I like it is because it's different from anything we have seen so far in the book (Adams).

Chapter thirty is about the rejection of the non figurative style of Abstract Expressionism. The most prominent movement was “Pop”, which was more common in America even though it originated from England. Pop artists strove for objectivity and embodied by an imaginary of objects. In Richard Hamilton, “just what is it that makes today’s home so different , so appealing?”. There is a muscle man in the middle of the room which is from the classical “Spear Bearer.” He is holding a giant tootsie pop pointing at the women on the couch, which is at once a sexual and verbal pun. However, my favorite movement that was talked about in this chapter is the Op Art. Op Art is another word for optical. In Op Art one will see that it obviously favors geometric abstraction or noticable objects. These artists produce kinetic effects using arrangements of color, lines and shapes. The picture “Aubade” by Bridget Riley is a prime example. In it Riley has arranged pink, green, and blue in a vertical curves of varying widths. The way this picture is set up and the colors in it makes it appear the picture is moving. I actually know a fair amount when it comes to illusions. A few years back I actually did a science project on them and how the reactions to these illusions differed from people from different age groups (Adams).

Cites

Chapters twenty seven and twenty eight talk about a lot of different movements of art that has made a lasting legacy in the twentieth century. In chapter twenty seven the main points were about Cubism and Futurism. Cubism was an art movement. “It was essentially a revolution for art (Adams).” However, Cubism was the end for perspective with a single viewpoint and was the beginning of art that were abstract and used material that wasn’t necessarily used for art. Cubism is very ironic because of one of the founders, Pablo Picasso, was trained in realistic representation. However, I admire him for doing this. He wanted others to create or portray something different that anyone could do you wouldn’t need to be an amazing one of a kind their unique skills without being judged. He gave everyone the opportunity to do what they love and I believe he was one out of many who set high standards in today’s time. Personally my favorite Cubism Art was Picasso Sculpture, “Head of Woman.” It was the very first Cubist sculpture created. It is a women’s head, but her face and neck are geometric shapes. Even though the book didn’t say what it meant, I picture that if an Artist today created it it would be to empower women. It means to me that a woman shouldn’t be judged by their appearance, instead of the person they are. This chapter also talked about Futurism. This movement was focused on the future. Filippo Marinetti tried to encourage people to let go of the past. He wanted to abolish museums and libraries. This movement influences many types of art including sculpting, architecture, and paintings. My favorite is the architecture. It became international and really had an impact on the United States. We still see these vertical cubic, skyscrapers in some of the biggest cities today (Adams).  

Chapter twenty eight talked about many things including Dada, Surrealism, Social Realism, Regionalism, and Abstractism. All of these things have had a huge legacy on the twentieth century. However my favorite one in this chapter is Surrealism. Surrealism and Dada shared a lot of the same members. However, Surrealism was associated with exploring the imagination, which includes myth, fear, fantasy, and dream. However, it is my favorite because it connects a lot of the other movements. Surrealist recommend to write in a state of free-floating to obtain a spontaneous unedited expression, which influenced Abstract Surrealists. My favorite piece of Surrealism was a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti titled, “Large Standing Women.” However, this piece is very rigid and strange. It gives one a sense of uneasiness. It is suppose to represent royal figures from ancient Egypt and explores the idea of extinction. I absolutely love this piece because out of all of these pictures in this book this is the one I will remember in thirty years because of this feeling (Adams).

The video, “I Could Do That” talked about people thinking they are able to do a piece that may be hard to do. For example, Piet Mondrian created an oil painting with perfectly straight geometric shapes and consistent color with no mistakes at all. It may seem easy at first however oil paint is not as easy as a marker to draw straight lines. I relate to the saying I could do that. Right now I am in high school and I’m out for cross country and I’ve trained everyday for the past three years. I went to state as a Freshman and Sophomore and I’m training for my Junior year. Growing up I was very bad at sports most of the time I was the benchwarmer in every sport, was last in my grade, then I started running. I became one of the fastest in my school’s history and everyone believes if they ran when I started they could’ve had my success with it. Again, comparing to the oil painting no one understands how hard something is until you try. No one knows running a 5k is hard, they say they can go to state too. Also I’m not a poor sport so I pull a Gonzalez all the time and encourage them to try. The video mostly focused on Felix Gonzalez and his work because he wasn’t one to show off his great talents he made art and he encouraged people to do it themselves as well. One of his works is two clocks side by side that are in sync with each other this piece is known as “Perfect Lovers” and in this video this piece was compared to Gonzalez out living his husband. Other Gonzalez’s works are reproducible ones including a stack of candy that he encouraged to have viewers take a piece. I love how he encouraged people to try something new and he gives them the idea they can do anything they want if they have the right mindset. (I Could Do That).

Cities

Adams, Laurie. A history of Western Art 5th ed.  McGraw-Hill 2011

Chapters twenty-five and twenty-six are about the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. In the late nineteenth century the main style of art that many artists used was Post-Impressionism. Post-Impressionism stands for “After Impressionism.” As one could have guessed by the name Post-Impressionism  was significantly influenced by impressionism. Some similarities they have in common with one another would be the bright color and discrete brushstrokes that were used often. However, some differences would Post-Impressionist do not dissolve and their edges are very clear and noticeable. It’s actually very funny how somethings can change in such a very short time. Fifty years between Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (Adams). It may not seem that much has changed between them, yet those changes significantly change the picture, which changes the feelings the viewers has, that change their perceptions of the picture. It is exactly like a chain when one thing changes you got something brand new. I believe changes like this happen periodically throughout history. For example, in today's society the presidency is a strong contender. When Trump went to power there was a feeling of uneasiness for some people it could’ve been caused for many reason maybe the women accusing Trump for sexual harassment or something else. This feeling lead to their perception of Trump as a president. This lead to riots and women march’s. Just from a change that happens almost every 4-8 years.

An example of a Post-Impressionists would be Paul Cezanne. In fact in school a few years back we got to look at his masterpieces and study them. I found his work interesting because he was THE Post-Impressionist of his time. He had a positive influence on the western style of paintings. He was known for transforming paint into visible structures. I am very curious when it comes to Cezanne because in his early times of art you’ll see that he favored black and violent themes, which is contradicting his Post-Impressionist self. However you can see both of these sides in Cezanne’s self portrait. The majority of the picture is dark colors, yet the landscape clearly shows Impressionists ideas. What I find interesting is that in the year 1887 Cezanne is no longer involved with the impressionist, however still impressionism has a major influence on his objectives. He then focused the majority of his time and energy on the pursuit of a new way of representing space. For example, his work “Mont Sainte-Victoire” painted a subject that has preoccupied himself for years. He painted a mountain that and a rich green tree that could possible be a self image. “Through Cezanne’s faceted, crystalline forms, a breakdown and restructuring of Western spatial conventions are achieved. This was a revolution made possible by the Post-Impressionist synthesis of the prominent brushstrokes and the clarity of the edge(Adams).” Another reason I personally respect Cezanne is that he isn’t afraid to take risks. Today he is the most known Post-Impressionist of his time and to think he dropped all of it to go back and do something different. He literally just started over and did what he wanted. I think in today’s society we could use this idea. We need to focus on our future and not worry or let anything in the past hold us down. Do what you were born to do (Adams).

Chapter twenty-six talked about the different influences on art in the twentieth century. This period was a time for change and this really paved the path to where we are today. For example, we are moving up in many aspects with the moon landing, flying airplanes around the world for the first time, and electric lighting in houses. As one could guess even the arts changed rapidly as well. For the longest time Paris was the center for the Western art world and during this time WW2 broke out, which divided this century. In the 1900s Impressionism and Post-Impressionism pictures were shown at the World’s Fair in Paris. However, this World’s Fair lead to ideas to expand in new areas, influenced by non-western ideas. The idea of something new really influenced the western art and really made people open minded when it came to art. My absolute favorite topic that was talked about this chapter was Expressionism. Expressionism had a greater concern for emotional and spiritual properties of color and form. For me I want to feel something when I look at a picture of art. If that feeling is happiness, sadness, or disgust. For me I think when someone feels emotion they’ll remember it. In fact, in the year 2012 I saw Emil Nolde’s “Still Life with Masks” in school and I thought it was the most disturbing thing in the world, yet here I am today six years later seeing it in our book and remembering that feeling I felt six years ago. I truly love it I think if an artist makes you feel something they’ve done their job perfectly (Adams).

Chapters twenty three and twenty four were about Realism and Impressionism in the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century was an age of revolution. The ideas of the Enlightenment were fresh and inspired many to create conflicts in their society. These revolutions were the source for art at these times. Usually the art was created from the viewpoint of the rebels. However, even some forms of art created revolutions themselves. For example, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the most influential political tracts behalf of workers “The Communist Manifesto.” The same year the first convention for women rights was held. I believe that this is being repeated in today’s world. I consider the influential art then is our social media, for the fact that social media is used daily in our lives. Some other movements that were powered by social media were #BlackLivesMatter, and #GayPride. Both of these movements were very powerful and made a strong statement and was made aware through social media. Due to these new general changes in the nineteenth century the art work began to change with it. In fact, this is the first time ever that a critic was introduced into art. As well as the art gallery and museum we see today both originated from the nineteenth century. In the visual arts, the style that corresponded the best to the new social awareness is called Realism (Adams).

The primary goal in Realism is to capture the direct observation of society and nature. In multiple artworks that obtain Realism also contains Romanticism. For example, Rosa Bonheur created “The Horse fair” contains both Realism and Romanticism. The picture shows her understanding of the anatomy and the movement of horses galloping. In fact, she was so intrigued by the Realist scientific observation she actually dissected animals. I find this very interesting because to be an artists in Realism you have to do science. You need to observe and study a particular subject to get a better understanding of how it works. Realism is actually my favorite type of style we have covered this far for the fact that it recalls all events including political, which makes it more relatable (Adams).

The impressionist style originated from Paris in the mid nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth century. Impressionism, unlike Realism, barely ever brought up political events. Impressionist would rather paint leisure activities, entertainment, and landscape. Impressionists were more concerned with optical realism and the lighting more than anything. Again we see art being influenced by science experiments they then would study light patterns by doing multiple experiments. A famous impressionist would include Edgar Degas. “Absinthe” is a creation of his and it seems as like someone took a picture without angling the camera. In the picture it shows to figures. The women is holding absinthe and both figures are looking at nothing. One may think that this is the most pointless piece yet, it's really interesting. Sure they are not looking at anything in particular but, you can see they are obviously drunk and from their gestures are mentally isolated and both unwilling to move anytime soon. For some reason I find this piece very interesting I would like to know where he got the idea to paint this piece (Adams).

Cities

Chapters twenty-one and twenty-two are all about the early nineteenth century. In particular, Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Neoclassicism may be referred to as “True Style.” It is as well as a reaction to Roco (Adams). It arose from the questioning of the ideas and value. When it arose Europe was fresh off the Enlightenment ideas and this really affected this new style of art (Adams). Roco was more emotional and imaginary, while Neoclassicism is more rational and serious. The Enlightenment ideas inspired many countries to stand up to the unfair treatment they’ve been getting through these biased monarchy’s and it really show’s in their art. This isn’t just a new style of art it has factors into a new way of life. One of the most famous Neoclassicism painters Jacques Louis David is associated with classical antiquity. In one of his best paintings, “Oath of the Horatii” painted in 1785 shows a Roman event in which honor and self sacrifice prevail (Adams). In the picture Horatius raises his sons swords on which they swear allegiance to Rome. The soldiers in the painting show signs of patriotism by looking at their gestures you can see the determination, which will really speak to France and will be a factor in their revolution (Adams). I love art when one gets inspired to make a difference. Any form of art when one is motivated I really love to observe in hope I’ll be inspired to do something as well.

Chapter twenty-two is about Romanticism. Romanticism spread at the same time as Neoclassicism. It has been inspired by medieval tales of chivalry and literature through Gothic novels (Adams). It as well may have a romantic quality to it. One French Philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau writings inspired the French Revolution and spread the Romantic movement (Adams). Again I believe that inspiring others to make a positive differences in this world is everything we can ask for. This guy let the French believe in themselves enough to make a revolution through his writings. Rousseau believed that humanity was born to live peacefully with nature however, was corrupted by civilization (Adams). I actually have mixed feelings about this. I believe we need a ruling system, but need enough freedom. The best example I would say is present United States we all have a voice, yet we still are corrupted by outside factors. For example, what Trump is doing with immigration. I believe we need to do something at our borders, but I don’t think his way is right. My point is for me civilizations is a need for humanity, yet it will never be perfect, which leads to corruption. Romanticism however, lead people to believe that people had the power not the monarch. Romanticism wasn't just art it was political as well (Adams). This movements as well created an interseat with the state of mind that would lead to theories on psychoanalysis and modern day psychology (Adams).

I believe on of the 70’s Alternate/Indie is on its way on topping music charts everywhere today. In fact, Talking Heads, who is one of the most popular boy bands in the 70’s, really is having an impact on today’s society. Talking Heads were very intrigued by rhythms and believe it or not, but also was inspired by the spirit of black music and it really shows in their sound (Talking Heads). They were very popular in the 70’s to my understanding the music is very easy to dance to. With its soft fast beats it’s almost impossible not to dance to it. It also has soft whispery voice in the parts of the song. Now I believe it is making a comeback in today’s time because of one of their songs titled, “Psycho Killer.” Since the 70’s there have been many covers of this song and about 5 that showed up on albums just in the late 2000s early 2010s (Talking Heads). It is a very quite soft fast beat that until recently I had never heard of it, however my parents knew every word. In May 2017 one of the most known person in the world, Selena Gomez, made a song titled “Bad Liar.” It sampled the song “Psycho Killer”, which means it was the same beat, but she just sang her own version instead of the original lyrics, but really emphasized her whispery/singing lyrics. “Bad Liar” went on to having the title of Best Song of 2017 by Billboard. In fact, in just 2017 alone the actual song “Psycho Killer” got 15 million views thanks to Selena bringing more awareness to the song. I thought at the time that this would be the only song in today’s time that would be 70’s Alternative/Indie. However, many other huge stars including Shawn Mendes also have this sound in 2018. His song “Nervous” is very similar to Selena Gomez “Bad Liar’ and Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”. Again we here the soft fast danceable beat with his whispery lyrics. It’s just a matter of time before more songs like these are released.

Cites

Adams, L. S. (2011). Mannerism and the Later Sixteenth Century in Italy and Sixteenth – Century Painting and Printmaking in Northern Europe. In A History of Western Art (5th ed., pp. 306-332). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Chapter nineteen and twenty are about different types of styles of art in certain areas in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth century. During the sixteenth century in Western Europe there were a lot of advances and conflicts between religion, politics, and science (Adams). This is the time where the thirty year war broke out between Catholics and the Protestants (Adams). As well in England their ruler, King Charles, was beheaded (Adams).

The seventeenth century wasn’t only about art it was a time for scientific discovery. William Harvey created the system of blood circulation (Adam). Even some scientists at this time got into trouble with the church. For example, Isaac Newton when he discovered the laws of gravity got into conflict with a Catholic king, James ll (Adams). However, there were some that played by the rules. Rene Descartes based his philosophy of systematic doubt, but avoided conflict with the church by stating God was the source of the original creator of reason (Adams). I think Rene Descartes was very smart in the sense that he said that, so he could still do what he loves by not letting anyone hold him back .

The first style was Baroque style, which means diverse, and imperfect happened at this time (Adams). Baroque remained unlimitedly emotional, and more energetic than before. It was very common for Baroque artists to reject parts of the Mannerist style (Adams). For example, people who pursued a Baroque style would more likely study nature than ones who were Mannerists (Adams). This meant art now resembled some of the scientific discoveries of this time period (Adams). On the other hand, there was a outbreak of dramatic and emotional art as well. The Baroque and Renaissance had many differences in their color, lighting, and the way the derw as well (Adams). I love the way they are not afraid to do something new not that much time has passed from the Renaissance and they are already being different and getting credit for it.

Another major art during this time was architecture. Many people may not see or realize architecture is an important art form, but it is. One example at this time is in Italy. They were rebuilding Saint Peter’s when Julius ll became Pope (Adams). No one realizes how hard it is to build this. You need the write measurements to put the columns apart and the right size columns. The best part in my opinion is they built it right above St. Peter’s tomb (Adams). I would love to go see this in real life to see a saints tomb. I love the way they have the light and dark contradicting each other that the columns have the dark bronze that make the light marble stand out more (Adams). When they made it their goal was to provide an impressive approach to the church. The architecture represents Baroque style by involving the crowd in a created space (Adams). I actually think the space leading to the high altar was the perfect touch for this masterpiece it really made it more interesting for me to read about.

The eighteenth century however had many different art work trends. The most recognizable in my opinion of this time is the Rococo Style . The general Rococo picture would include parks, gardens while Cupids flying above (Adams). Rococo is very frantasy and graceful. Last but not least this was the Age of Enlightenment (Adams). This is a time where philosophy idea were put into political movements. For example, John Locke believed that all knowledge of facts comes from experience, which later would become the basis of the scientific method. Locke also believed in a social contract that argued of divine right (Adams). You’ll see these Enlightenment ideas in years to come in new nations that will become independent from their absolute ruler. I loved this time because without the Enlightenment we, America, wouldn’t be like we are today. We took idea from many philosophers. I am very appreciative for this time of the art of science. I love how far we are with the discovery and observations of the human body because hopefully I can reach my goal of being a doctor and to further this research.

References

Chapter nineteen and twenty are about different types of styles of art in certain areas in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth century. During the sixteenth century in Western Europe there were a lot of advances and conflicts between religion, politics, and science. This is the time where the thirty year war broke out between Catholics and the Protestants. As well in England their ruler, King Charles, was beheaded.

The seventeenth century wasn’t only about art it was a time for scientific discovery. William Harvey created the system of blood circulation. Even some scientists at this time got into trouble with the church. For example, Isaac Newton when he discovered the laws of gravity got into conflict with a Catholic king, James ll. However, there were some that played by the rules. Rene Descartes based his philosophy of systematic doubt, but avoided conflict with the church by stating God was the source of the original creator of reason. I think Rene Descartes was very smart in the sense that he said that, so he could still do what he loves by not letting anyone hold him back.

The first style was Baroque style, which means diverse, and imperfect happened at this time. Baroque remained unlimitedly emotional, and more energetic than before. It was very common for Baroque artists to reject parts of the Mannerist style. For example, people who pursued a Baroque style would more likely study nature than ones who were Mannerists. This meant art now resembled some of the scientific discoveries of this time period. On the other hand, there was a outbreak of dramatic and emotional art as well. The Baroque and Renaissance had many differences in their color, lighting, and the way the derw as well. I love the way they are not afraid to do something new not that much time has passed from the Renaissance and they are already being different and getting credit for it.

Another major art during this time was architecture. Many people may not see or realize architecture is an important art form, but it is. One example at this time is in Italy. They were rebuilding Saint Peter’s when Julius ll became Pope. No one realizes how hard it is to build this. You need the write measurements to put the columns apart and the right size columns. The best part in my opinion is they built it right above St. Peter’s tomb. I would love to go see this in real life to see a saints tomb. I love the way they have the light and dark contradicting each other that the columns have the dark bronze that make the light marble stand out more. When they made it their goal was to provide an impressive approach to the church. The architecture represents Baroque style by involving the crowd in a created space. I actually think the space leading to the high altar was the perfect touch for this masterpiece it really made it more interesting for me to read about.

The Sixteenth Century

Chapters seventeen and eighteen were about the sixteenth century in Europe. The sixteenth century was a period of intense political and military turmoil from which Italian artists couldn’t reach their full capacity (Adams). However, it was also a time the power of the church was challenged and was weakened (Adams).

Around the 1520’s new development in art began. This new way is called Mannerism, which means uncontrolled gestures, which are considered exaggerated or affected. It is also refers to meaning bizarre. Each of these terms defines one aspect of art or another in the sixteenth century (Adams). Mannerism has inspired many paintings at this time that in today’s society are seen as disturbing and upsetting. For example Jacopo da Pontormo’s work “Entombment” was painted for the church. In this piece Jesus was already taken down from the cross and his skin is very pale representing what happens to a body after death. The viewer is seeing the expressions on each youths face. The two that are holding Jesus’s body are horror stuck and the gray sky draws attention to the fact that in the bible, after Jesus died, a bad storm hit. All these factors contribute to the upsetting idea of the Christ’s death (Adams). Again I love the fact that religion was a big factor in the sixteenth society. Many people including myself find the event of Jesus’s death very disturbing and horrifying. However I appreciate this picture because of the uniqueness and with mannerism it open a new chapter in art that will dramatically affect the present.

On the other hand in Northern Europe had many of the same development as the south. The most important Northern artists were from Germany and Netherlands. Although many of these artists were influenced when they traveled to Italy. Nevertheless, the North was always less comfortable with the Classical forms than Italy was. Netherlands and Germany’s paintings consisted of light colors and savory Gothic styles that influenced generations yet to come. The North had produced some of the most famous humanists ever known including Martin Luther. These humanists stated striking statements about witchcraft called “The Witches Hammer.” In this they described the characteristics of witches and recommended methods of torture for extracting confessions from them. One way the North was similar to Italy was that they showed an interest in the artists biographies which were part of the Classical traditions (Adam)

Albrecht Durer, who is a German artists, showed a taste for linear quality in painting striking works. He traveled to Italy and he got used to the idea of the revival of Classical forms and copied Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Durer’s “Self Portrait” expresses influence from Leonardo, whom Durer's greatly admired. However, Durer figure is painted with crisp contour that would be unusual in Italy. In his paintings you can see how personally he got with them. His confidence is shown through his upright posture. It as wells reflects his social status when he lived in Nuremberg (Adams). I really like how he got very personal with his own self portrait. Also I’m jealous of his self confidence that he portrayed. I like how he was different from everyone else. He was from Germany and was painting like Italians. However he painted with crisp contour that Italians don’t use. He was very different from everyone else and I believe he got the recognition he deserved.

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