Today was the introduction to our class. I am excited to take this class, as I have never taken a survey on art history before. I am interested to learn more about the art that we will focus on, as it should help to broaden my understanding of art periods from Renaissance art all the way to modern art.
An interesting part of class today was learning about each respective city-state’s individuality in Italy in this period. Each city-state strived to convey its power and grandeur, often competing with the surrounding city-states. This seems to be an important aspect of the culture at the time, and it most likely allowed for production of many more important works of art.
The importance of the church was one part of the lecture that stood out to me. Much of the architecture of the time was done in churches, and this also allowed for the invention of altarpieces and other works in that vein. I am interested to see how the influence of the church affects the creation of new works of art and architecture in the following centuries.