The first video that I choose to watch was the one on Velazquez. I choose this video because I remembered hearing him recently mention in my Mexican history class and I was interested to learn more about him. We did not learn much in my class other than he influenced some of the Mexican artists. One of details that I knew from my course was mentioned in the video that Velazquez belonged to the great quartet of Spanish painters. Velázquez was appointed to paint for King Philip the IV. Velázquez was known to capture the moment through light and time. Velazquez was a man with only one friend the king in which he painted for. I was surprised when the video said he had a wife because it’s hard to meet someone when you have no friends, although in that time period it was probably an arranged marriage. Velazquez would study the Italian artists like Michelangelo and Raphael and would come home and have deeper meaning and awareness in his artwork. Velazquez was known as an idealist. He had no concern for shapes and would often express character. This relates to the book because we learn of painters who are idealists and we also learn in the book that the works of Michelangelo and Raphael would be works that were studied and mirrored by many.
The second video that I picked to watch was the Drawings of Michelangelo. I picked this movie because he is a very popular artist and I was interested to learn of his drawings that aren’t often brought up. The video mentions how the drawings that were done of Michelangelo were kept hidden and often destroyed by Michelangelo himself. The video said that this was mostly because he was a perfectionist and the sketches showed him second guessing himself. His drawings were mostly sketches of what was to be painted in the Sistine Chapel. This video was very informative of Michelangelo’s background. When I think of Michelangelo I do not associate drawings with his name. This video did a great job pointing out the in depth detail and perfection that Michelangelo used in his drawings. They used a technique to compare both the actual sculpture with his drawing to point out that his drawing was of a sculpture body and not just a body. They even pointed out that Michelangelo would often construct his sculptures based on the angel in which a person would view it and not just on detail. Of the videos I watched I think this one was the best. He related to the text several times, especially when mentioning all the contour lines Michelangelo would create that would just find their way.
The third video that I watched was the one on Leonardo Da Vinci. The video talks about how Leonardo was a left handed man and would often write mirrored. I just found that fact to be odd. Leonardo was not picked to paint in the Vatican which did upset him. He lined up some of his jobs due to the connections his father had. One thing that I did enjoy about this video even thought I felt it was a little slow and dry was the fact that they showed the other aspects and qualities Leonardo had. I was unaware that Leonardo was so versatile. Like Michelangelo he too had a lot of drawing that he did. Leonardo was a military engineer and could build bridges and ladders. He also could build closed chariots for fighting and catapults. I don’t recall hearing this in the book. Leonardo also was a city planner that would help reconstruct Italy after the plaque. This was mentioned in the text in the Renaissance period. He was also a scientist and inventor besides being a painter. I liked the fact that they showed how important Leonardo was to the city and that he was not just a painter but helped with many projects.
The fourth video I watched was the one on Rembrandt. I picked this one because I knew little on the history of Rembrandt. I think that video did a great job in showing just how important he was to the Dutch. The video goes on to explain how he is an icon of Dutch art. He is most famous for his painting the Night Watch. This was considered to be an object of Dutch pilgrimage. The original painting had been through some tough times, it was slashed, had acid poured down it and even submerges in water. In this painting there are several aspects that catch your eye. One of them being that the man in front has his hand out to you like he is trying to reach out to you. Another aspect is it is set up as a military style yet there is a girl in the back of the picture and it makes you wonder why she is there. The video shows the importance again to the painting in the fact that they mention the arguments that would take place over the lighting of the painting to the audience to give off the best angel. There was even a committee formed in 1902 to come up with a decision. This painting was only removed out of the museum twice by the Dutch. It was removed once willingly for the princess and celebration and another for the war to protect it. The video showed old pictures of the police escorts that would follow the painting. I thought mentioning this really hit home just how important this painting truly was to the Dutch that they would hide the painting in a castle. Rembrandt is mentioned in the text for the same reasons.
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