Module 9 Video Reviews

Hello,


Leonardo Da Vinci:


   This video discussed the entire life of Leonardo Da Vinci and his relations to the renaissance. He was a perfect representation of this time period and in my opinion played a crucial role in developing a new light on art according to this video. His work is full of emotion and expression. You can tell there was deep thought put into each of his paintings and it wasn't just painting anything. His work always had meaning even in its form. I learned about the balance of work in this video. Seeing the paintings divided up to show its balanced form helped me visualize the concept. My favorite example was the balanced piece containing the wolf. If the lines were not shown in the video I probably would not have understood. I also learned about the hardships and self doubt that Da Vinci went through in his early years. I could not imaging not being recognized as highly as he should have been due to his talent. Also, the video allowed me to see the importance of lighting and explained a couple of pieces in detail so that I understood the emotion. the video was very similar in content when compared to the text, but the visualization of the concepts were much better in the video. I enjoyed this video, which is weird, because I usually don't like documentaries. I think the difference is that this video was much more focused on Da Vinci and it was much more personal. It did show the same concepts, but reinforced them with demonstrations and vocal explanations. It is crazy how much more emotion was understood when I watched the video.
The Drawings of Michelangelo:


   This video was more focused on solely the process and technique of Michelangelo's art as opposed to the previous video that included more information about the time period. Michelangelo was a perfectionist and took pride in pristine detail and beauty. He developed a lot of paintings that included the nude male, which he considered beautiful. Adding the element of nudity expresses more emotion and vulnerability in Michelangelo's work. He clearly defines texture, mass, proportion, and emotion in his pieces. I learned a lot of how long and detailed the process is in making such a piece. I never understood the time and precision he took in his art. The video definitely went into more detail about Michelangelo's views and his process. It was a new view on his life and accomplishments. I now have a much better understanding on his views of art and his process. This film was okay, but i honestly felt it was a little repetitive. I think I got the point early on and I felt that it kept repeating his passion for perfection in the details of his work and how he expressed himself.


Thank you,


---Mike Ushman