Bernini's Earliest Masterpieces

Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art found at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, this area is filled with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy conversation and each other's company. The streets surrounding his fountain have come to be one of the city’s most fashionable gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. The master's first fountain of his professional life was built at around 1630 at the request of Pope Urbano VIII. An enormous boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's main theme. The great 16th century flooding of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the water fountain according to writings from the time. In what turned out to be his only extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.

Archaic Greek Artwork: Large Statuary

The initial freestanding statuary was designed by the Archaic Greeks, a notable achievement since until then the only carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Kouros figures, statues of young, good-looking male or female (kore) Greeks, made up the majority of the sculptures. The kouroi were seen by the Greeks to represent beauty and were sculpted with one foot leading and an uncompromising stiffness to their forward-facing poses; the male statues were always strapping, brawny, and undressing. In 650 BC, life-size variations of the kouroi began to be seen. The Archaic period was tumultuous for the Greeks as they evolved into more refined forms of government and art, and obtained more data about the peoples and civilizations outside of Greece. However, these conflicts did little to hamper the development of the Greek civilization.

The Effect of the Norman Conquest on Anglo Saxon Gardens

The Effect of the Norman Conquest on Anglo Saxon Gardens Effect Norman Conquest Anglo Saxon Gardens 77812409739183.jpg

The Anglo-Saxon way of life was drastically changed by the appearance of the Normans in the later eleventh century. At the time of the conquest, the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons in building design and cultivation. But the Normans had to pacify the entire territory before they could concentrate on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Because of this, castles were cruder buildings than monasteries: Monasteries were usually important stone buildings located in the biggest and most fecund valleys, while castles were constructed on windy crests where their residents devoted time and space to projects for offense and defense. The calm practice of gardening was unrealistic in these dismal bastions. Berkeley Castle is most likely the most unchanged model in existence nowadays of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. The keep is said to date from William the Conqueror's time period. A spacious terrace intended for strolling and as a way to stop enemies from mining below the walls runs about the building. A scenic bowling green, covered in grass and bordered by battlements clipped out of an ancient yew hedge, forms one of the terraces.