Self in the Modern WorldFor the Social Studies aspect of my project, I used perspective through different beliefs, religions, and cultures. The tangible product I made for this aspect was a mind map connecting Eastern Religion, Abrahamic Religions, Dante's perspective, and Agnostic views. I interviewed several people with different religious views, and incorporated and connected them in my mind map.
|
English IVFor the English aspect of my project, I read and annotated Dante's Inferno. To put perspective into my English aspect, I wrote a mini essay answering the questions, "During his time, what was Dante's view on religion?" and "How was art influencing before, during, and after the novel was written?" Here are a few annotations from 'Inferno'.
Here is the mini essay I wrote, answering my essential questions: Throughout centuries, there have been hundreds of impactful novels and stories in which have changed the world, and impacted many lives. Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ is a novel that was written in the 14th century. This novel was incredibly impactful during its time, due to the deep religious meanings behind it. It was so impactful, that it united the entirety of the Italian language. “it is claimed that at the beginning of 1300s, 60% of the essential vocabulary of Italian—“the two thousand words without which we couldn’t manage in today’s everyday life”—had already been part of the language. But by the end of that century, Dante left us with the lexicon that already included 90% of the essential vocabulary of the modern language.” (Language of the World) It is no secret that this novel is impactful and insightful, however, in his time, what was Dante’s perspective on religion? What religion was ‘Divine Comedy’ based off of? ‘Divine Comedy’ is a fiction novel that is derived from multiple religions. During its time, however, Roman Catholicism was at its most popular peak. Dante himself, was a zealous believer and follower in Catholicism, he however supported the pope at that time- Pope Boniface VIII- who was a power hungry leader. Dante thought the church was too involved in politics, and believed that church should be separate from state, meaning that the church should stay out of politics and shouldn’t run the state. There are many characters and figures mentioned in the story that have historical context. For example, Minos was a character mentioned in Canto V. Minos is the Infernal Judge who judges souls going to the second circle of Hell, Lust. Minos is also a great figure within Greek mythology. “In Greek mythology, Minos was the first King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by the Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld.” (Britannica) There are also references to Islamic, “Because of of Dante's zealous beliefs he was "intolerant of all non-Catholic views" and therefore placed religious leader of the Muslim religion, Mohammed into the depths of hell as an act of punishment (Ciardi XIII).” (Persons) Lastly, the reference from Christianity, is the overall belief of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. These references to different beliefs are important because it shows how Dante perceived Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Artists during and after Dante’s time were highly impacted by ‘Divine Comedy’ and would create art based off of his works. One of the artists who was influenced by his novel, was William Blake. William Blake created artistic pieces showing how he perceived ‘Divine Comedy’. Each piece William did, included the primary colors and many dark undertones. Blake created 102 drawings with several different medias such as watercolor, graphite, and oil paint. “In 1826, at age 65, Blake received a commission to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy thanks to John Linnell — a young artist he had befriended, who shared with Blake a defiance of modern trends and a belief in a spiritualism as an artistic foundation for the New Age. Blake was drawn to the project because, despite the five centuries that separated them, he resonated with Dante’s contempt for materialism and the way power warps morality — the opportunity to represent these ideas pictorially no doubt sang to him.” (Popova) Another piece of art influenced by Dante’s work, was, “The Yates-Thompson Codex”. This piece was inspired by Canto V, when Dante and Virgil are entering the second circle, Lust. “In the illumination from the fifth canto (in epic poetry, a canto is a division similar to a chapter) of the Inferno pictured here, Dante (in blue) and his guide, the ancient Roman poet Virgil (in red), pass through the circle of the lustful. The artist captures three distinct moments from this canto in one image. The first moment is shown in the upper left corner in the form of the snarling beast. This is Minos, who determines where in Hell a sinner will be sent, and who briefly impedes Dante’s journey until Virgil rebukes him and the two move onward.” (Khan Academy) This piece is one of the most divine and illuminating pieces ever inspired by ‘Divine Comedy’. It was so divine, that it was presented as a gift for a king. “It was originally carried out for Alfonso V, the king of Aragon, Naples and Sicily, either as a gift or under his commission.” (Khan Academy) Before Dante wrote ’Divine Comedy, he had a relationship with art during his time, that influenced his literary works. Dante grew up in Florence, which was filled with many artistic marvels and wonders. From architecture, to sculptures, to paintings, there was art surrounding him. “Florence was full of artistic marvels well before the Renaissance. Incredible works of art and architecture filled the city well before Dante's birth in late medieval times. The Florence Baptistery (illustrated above), which Dante fondly referred to in his Comedy as his "bel (beautiful) San Giovanni," is one such example, which the poet would have known well, even from the days of his youth. The ceiling inside the baptistery is covered with mosaic images that still dazzle visitors today. There are many indications that Dante too was dazzled by the sight.” (Khan Academy) Dante’s perspective of many sights and ideas were influenced by the arts he saw throughout his childhood. “After a childhood and adolescence no doubt filled with sights of Florentine artistic wonders, Dante’s familiarity with the visual arts matured. In Purgatorio XI his understanding of various forms of visual arts and artists is especially evident. Through a conversation between his fictional self and the manuscript illuminator Oderisi da Gubbio, Dante discusses the fading glory of artists, always eclipsed by another’s greatness. He writes that just as Franco Bolognese surpassed his master Oderisi in illumination, and Giotto surpassed Cimabue in painting—in poetry, a certain unnamed poet (that is, Dante) just may have outdone Guido Cavalcanti and Guido Guinizelli. Dante implies that there are similarities between the written word and the painted picture, as he directly associates these mediums and their practitioners with one another. Certainly, poets like Dante learned from and were influenced by artists, and as we will now see, visual artists were also greatly affected by poets such as this great Florentine.” (Khan Academy) In conclusion, ‘Divine Comedy’ was one of the most impactful and inspiring literary pieces known to man. It was so impactful, that it united an entire language, inspired several artists to create works based off of the novel, and even brought new perspectives into other religions, beliefs, and cultures. |
Portfolio Art IIFor the artistic aspect of my project, I decided to restore the Gates of Hell sculpture next to the auditorium. I made 3 figurines to add to the piece. These figurines I made are called Pashichas. Pashichas are flesh eating demons from Hindu mythology. I also intend to repair broken and or missing pieces. In the future, I plan to paint the entire sculpture with the primary colors. I am painting the piece the primary colors because an artist named William Blake did did pieces based off of 'Divine Comedy' using the primary colors.
|