The setting of opera is credited to a group of intellectuals to whom history has given the name of the Camerata. The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians, poets, scientists and intellectuals who in the late Renaissance (late 16th century) period gathered to discuss and guide the trends in art, music and drama. Since the Renaissance was all about the restoration of the Golden Greek age discussions were gravitated and focused towards ancient Greek drama. However the first main obstacle encountered by the Camerata was that in those days contrapuntal music was the trend while a single melodic line was considered as an aberration. This was overcome by the construction of the recitative which is basically a single melodic line accompanied by various instruments.
The expansive, expressive quality of the Baroque paralleled the true expansion of European influence geographical, political and religious throughout the seventeenth century. The Baroque has been called a style of persuasion, as the Catholic Church attempted to use art to speak to the faithful and to express the spirit of the Counter-Reformation. Around 1600, Rome became the fountainhead of the Baroque, as it had of the High Renaissance a century before, by attracting artists from other regions. The papacy and many of the new Church orders as well as numerous private patrons from wealthy and influential families commissioned art on a large scale, with the aim of promoting themselves and making Rome the most beautiful city in the Christian world for the greater glory of God and the Church. ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY The Baroque style in architecture, like that of painting, began in Rome, which was a vast construction site from the end of the sixteenth through the middle of the seventeenth century.
Culture and art became of vital importance for social life: philosophy as well as literature began to spread, and sculpture, architecture, pottery and painting assumed completely distinctive and original features, growing to be the greatest collections of art history. However, it was a process that took place through several stages. Great transformations through the ages characterized Greek art, which may be thus subdivided into four main periods. The ages from 900 to 600 BCE, the beginning of Greek history, correspond to the “Geometric and Orientalizing art”, still strongly influenced by the Near East and the Egyptians. Geometric ornaments and abstract motifs, such as circles, quadratic spirals and M-shaped designs characterize ceramic styles of this period.
Art Appreciation Gothic Period/Art Gothic art originated from Romanesque art and lasted from the mid-12th century to the 16th century. The Gothic era in painting spanned more than 200 years, starting in Italy and spreading to the rest of Europe. Towards the end of this period there were some artists in parts of the North who resisted Renaissance influences and kept to the Gothic tradition. As a result, the end of the Gothic timeline overlaps with both the Italian and the Northern Renaissance timelines. Architecture was the most important and beautiful art form during the Gothic period.
From a cultural standpoint the concept of magical realism showed how imagination was breaking through in society. Just think about how far technology has come in the past 90 years. The enhancement of technology could have been influenced by the introduction of magical realism into the arts in the 1920s. It was a world-wide movement which influenced many cultures art forms as Candide was written in France, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold was written in Colombia. Magical realism made artists/authors realize just how deep into the imagination literature can be.
Before 1600, as the church had been the centre of music, vocal music had been dominating, and the instrumental music had been written for any instrument. Many of the well known musician from the first part of the baroque period hail from Italy, including Monteverdi, Corelli and Vivaldi. By the mid eighteenth century, our focus shifts to the German composers Bach and Handel.) Many of the forms identified with baroque music originated in Italy, including the cantata, concerto, sonata, oratorio and opera. After being ignored for decades, baroque music has become increasingly popular over the last fifty years.
The Renaissance and Baroque The art produced during the Renaissance and Baroque periods are still considered some of the most unique pieces ever created. The works created during these periods are very similar, yet their differences are quite distinct. Art connoisseurs continue to argue which period produced the best artworks, but it is quite difficult to contend the masters of the Renaissance like Di Vinci, against the greats of the Baroque period, such as Bernini. For this task, one work from each period will be analyzed and discussed in relation to how the periods differ and correlate with one another. Renaissance art was produced in Europe for the duration of about 200 years, from 1400 to 1600, during the historical Renaissance Period (McKay & McKay, 2010).
Both these styles , the Baroque and Rococo , are important because of reflecting these changing times . In these styles , there are more color and more emotion than previous ones . Although the Rococo style is considered as the continuation of the Baroque , there are differences between two styles in some ways . The Baroque style is a movement in European painting which is characterized by violent movement , strong emotion , and dramatic lighting and coloring , around the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries . This style reflects the changings times very well .
The term Baroque era describes the style or period of European music between the years of 1600 and 1750. Musicians embraced the idea that music could move the listener in a real and physical way. Opera, with its blend of music and drama, was the full realization of this ideal. In instrumental music, no less in opera, composers experimented with ways of creating impressive effects. Music continued to be an important tool.
Renaissance Period The Renaissance was a great cultural movement that began in Italy during the early 1400’s. It spread to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries in the late 1400’s and ended in the 1700’s. It is one of the most beautiful, names in history(Wikipedia 1). It is beautiful because it shows an awakening of awareness. During this period of time, the modern world was born as Gutenberg perfected printing, Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas, Copernicus found that the earth revolved around the sun, Martin Luther founded a new religion, the use of the cannon and the harquebus ended chivalry and da Vinci and Michelangelo created a new form of art.