Art And Life In Italy (1950)

all about us we find examples of Art in our homes in our schools in our art galleries much of the art that is familiar to us is art that has come from Italy in order to better understand and appreciate this art we should know something about the people and the country from which it comes this is Italy it is a country of beauty beauty that is expressed in Italian art one of the most common types of art expression is painting what does a painter Express he usually expresses the things he sees and feels the things he experiences in life this scene for instance represents part of the life of ancient Italy and in this painting it becomes an expression of Art and of life in Italy today the Italian people have practiced many types of art expression they have filled their beautiful cities with architecture that is among the world's best they have used sculpture to decorate their streets and squares and they have made these streets gay with their melodic [Music] music emotional expressive artistic these are some of the ways the Italian people have been described they are known too as religious people people who are devoted to their church and the Italian people are known for their pride in their history which goes back to classical Roman times these ruins are part of the classical influence in Italy and this church is part of the religious influence both these influences have affected Italian life and Italian art a center of both influences is Rome the religious Center of Italy today and the classic capital of Italy in ancient times today in Rome we can find many examples of the classical art that has been part of Italian life for 2,000 years through the style of architecture which they borrowed from Classical Greece the Romans added size and Grandeur features which expressed the power of the Roman Empire much of Roman architecture is tremendous in size almost 2,000 years ago the Coliseum and the the pantheon were impressing people with the Grandeur of Imperial Rome and 1500 years later when the tremendous Cathedral of St Peter's was built its design showed the influence of classical Roman architecture in modern times we find the Italian people still expressing ideas of classic Beauty this imposing Monument built in the 20th century reflects the Roman tradition of power and Grandeur with the rise of Christianity in Italy the classical tradition was modified by a religious influence the tremendous size of this early Christian Church reminds us of Roman architecture but inside the early Christian churches we find Art that expresses The Life and Times of the early Christians this art helped explain Christianity to those who could not read one of the favorite pictures was Christ the Good Shepherd and one of the favorite methods of making these pictures was in Mosaic tiny pieces of colored Stone and glass were cemented together when seen as a whole the Mosaic forms a colorful composition today the Mosaic technique is still practiced in Italy but the technique is painstaking covering a large wall with Mosaic is slow and costly here is a faster method a wall is covered with fresh plaster on this colors can be painted directly this technique is called Fresco the Italian word for fresh colors laid on the fresh plaster soak in and become a permanent part of the wall so permanent that some Fresco have lasted for hundreds of years the Fresco in this Chapel were painted by jotto one of Italy's great Masters in these scenes of the story of Christ jotto was expressing not only familiar Bible themes but he expressed the ideals of the period during which he lived the period around 1300 when religion was a leading force in Italian life one of the important centers of life and art in Italy is the City of Florence here during the height of the Renaissance period in the 16th century some of the finest art of Italy was produced a kind of symbol of the Renaissance period is the great Dome on the Cathedral of Florence it was designed by brunoli and it was the first Dome built in Italy since Roman times its design has influenced domes built in many other lands today on the streets of Florence we can still see many other examples of Renaissance art near the cathedral stands the baptistry with its famous bronze doors the East doors are decorated with reliefs by the sculptor giberti these panels illustrate themes from the Old Testament it is reported that when the sculptor Michelangelo saw these he said they are beautiful enough to be the gates of paradise but the artists of the Renaissance expressed much more than the religious side of life something of every day life was expressed in the great palaces built by wealthy merchants looking at the famous mediche Palace in Florence built in 1444 we can see once more the influence of classical Rome in its Grandeur and tremendous size the rooms in Renaissance palaces were decorated by artists employed by the wealthy patrons these Merchant noblemen provided much of the money that made Renaissance art possible in the portraits of the patrons we find a new idea of Renaissance art the idea of individualism the importance of each man here are paintings of actual persons Italians who lived during the Renaissance period here is art that expresses another phase of Italian life of course religious subjects were still painted but in the hands of such an artist as Raphael a Madonna and Christ child are an Italian mother and baby even the familiar Bible stories take on the Renaissance flavor of real life this is the Adoration of the Magi the artist belli filled it with people of his own times the principal figures are portraits of men of the medi family who paid for the work and in one corner of the painting gazing out as though proud of his Masterpiece is the artist himself but aell we see the same kind of realism in the singing Angels by deobia they seem as alive as these choir Boys in an Italian church today this too is a part of Italian life expressed in Italian art life was powerfully expressed in the human forms carved by Michelangelo in Michelangelo's figure of Moses we can find some of the important ideas of Italian art first this is a religious figure part of the religious tradition and second it has the Grandeur and strength that are part of the classical tradition today artists of Italy continue the artistic traditions of their country as in the past they are still noted for their skill in carving works of art out of Marble Marble that is plentiful in Italy this famous Quarry at Kara has furnished fine marble to builders and sculptors from Roman times to the present throughout Italy we find that marble is a favorite Building Material the Church of St Marks in Venice contains many different kinds of marble in Venice 2 is the Church of Santa Maria de Salu one of the most famous examples of architecture in Italy this church appears as a familiar Lang landmark in paintings of the 18th century and here's another phase of Italian art art which expresses simply familiar scenes which the artists saw here is a scene in Venice which today is still a part of Italian life that life has been expressed in Italian art in many ways the beautiful fountains and Gardens of Italian Villas are another expression of the Italian search for beauty and of course the artists of modern Italy continue to produce the many kinds of art for which their country has long been famous the people of Italy have given us some of the finest art of the Western World in architecture in sculpture in painting these are some of the kinds of art produced by the expressive creative people who live in beautiful Italy the