Art and Architecture of Michelangelo’s David †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Art and Architecture of Michelangelos David. Answer: Rational engagement with Michelangelos David allows the viewer to effectively engage with and fully understand this work of art. Introduction The rational engagement with art enables the spectators to see the art work under the internal light of harmonious spirit. The rational use of art offers an organic and temporary service that satisfies the eternal thirst. Bacon compared rationalists with spiders that spin all out of their own substance (Bacon 2014). However there is a contradiction between the aesthetics of art with the rational appreciation. The aesthetics welcomes the perception based sensitive cognition; the word aesthetic comes from a Greek word aisthetos that means perceptible and sensitive. Rational Engagement in the light of Post modernist Philosophies While discussing the philosophy of art, Baumgarten explains that when knowledge is concerned it is the rational one that holds much higher position than emotional one (Nakamura 2014). Philosopher Immanuel Kant suggested that viewers judgment towards a work of art generally is subjective and the whether a piece of art is beautiful is primarily the viewers subjective experience (Benot 2016). However it is not just the subjective feeling there is also rational engagement embedded. Animals lack this rational engagement with any object. Descartes suggested that the senses could not be subordinated to the intellect if the rationale is not provided (Vibbert 2013). Rational Engagement with David The rational engagement is the engagement with a work of art beyond emotional involvement or appreciation. The viewer develops his or her understanding based on the logic and reason behind the work of art. The middle ages of art did not have the rationalism from the historical perspective and it was more prone towards expressionism. According to the Story of Art the feelings were valued more than logic during the Middle Ages (Gombrich 2014). However the Medieval Greek architecture valued and incorporated more the ancient mathematical principles and at the later stage of the period the reasons started to reflect upon the work of other painters. In Giottos fresco painting the perspective painting techniques got coupled with depth cueing (Lubow 2015). Another painter Masaccio directly combined strict mathematics rules with perspective paintings. Brunelleschi applied linear perspective theory in the architectural art where he amalgamated Gothic style with classical building structures. T he renaissance painting and idealism came under light again in the work of Michelangelo. David demonstrates the application of reason with the reflection of expression of ideas rather than emotion. The Historical Perspective Michelangelos David was created in 1504 that is displayed in the Florence public square. The marble made most recognized sculpture in the world is 135 tall and depicts David waiting for a battle with a stone in his hand (Italianrenaissance.org 2013). David is an example of art where one can find the value of individual human being, physical beauty, rationalism and Greco-Roman influences. The original concept of David is influenced from the biblical story of David, where he did not use his strength directly to defeat Goliath but he thought and planned to use a better stone. David is a nude muscular man whose veins are visible as he is holding a stone firmly. The statute was meant to be placed at the roof of Florence Cathedral, but it is too heavy to be placed there. Davids hands and head are larger than the rest of the body and that is because the viewers were supposed to see this high up. The asymmetrical arrangement or the contrapposto reflects in the artists representing Davids lef t leg as that is also bigger than the right one. The depiction of human figure followed the reasoning of body postures as Michelangelo wanted to perfectly present Davids stance through his bodily gesture. David has put his body weight on the right leg and left leg is resting and this leads to his right hip positions bit higher than the left hip. Because of his stance his torso is bit curvy and his left shoulder is bit higher than his right shoulder. Two Davids One can compare Donatellos bronze made David with Michelangelos marble David to highlight the differences. The basic difference would be the Donatellos David is muscular and manly and without the associated biblical objects like Goliaths head or the sword (ItalianRenaissance.org 2013). Scale wise Michelangelos David is way larger than the other one but that does not make it a giant which his enemy is. Michelangelos David is depicted as he is about to start the battle where Donatellos one has already defeated the giant. The physical presence of David immediately presents the symbolical representation of heroic courage. Michelangelo appropriately depicted the idea of power of spiritual strength to be higher than the arm power through the exact bodily gestures. The Christian and Modernist theory both are rejected are rejected as he does not represent David neither as a giant nor as a victim rather his David is courageous noble man. The statue has a special historical significance as jus t before the statue was completed Florentines won a war against Medicis and held David as the symbol of their heroic act (Paoletti 2015). Conclusion The rational engagement with art enables the viewers with the power of appreciating the subtleties and complexities of art (Dominiczak 2017). The rational engagement contradicts the popular belief that beauty lies in the beholders eyes. When the viewer or critic is truly appreciating the art he needs to differentiate his own theory of beauty from the arts integrity of style and form. In the modern world the viewers engage with the arts on a superficial level mainly guided by their gut feelings. In order to judge the true art it is necessary to build up a sense of reasoning. The rational engagement with David explores many nuances of logical calculations, historical interventions and artistic elements. It highlights the artists knowledge and stance and the viewer gathers knowledge and reapplies those in interpreting the art. Without the rational engagement the statue of David is just a beautiful work of art but the in depth rational engagement helps the viewer to discover all the minu te details and subtleties that makes this art more than just a beautiful figure. References "Donatello's David Italianrenaissance.Org". 2017.Italianrenaissance.Org. https://www.italianrenaissance.org/donatellos-david/ Bacon, Francis. "Analogy, Metaphor, and Pattern."The Art of Social Theory(2014): 80. Benot, Gerald. "The beautifulin information: thoughts about visual literacy and aesthetics."Journal of Visual Literacy35, no. 1 (2016): 60-78. Dominiczak, Marek H. "Michelangelo: The Ingredients of Greatness."Clinical Chemistry63, no. 10 (2017): 1665-1667. Gombrich, Ernst HJ. "Idea in the Theory of Art: Philosophy or Rhetoric?."Daphnet Digital Library1, no. 1 (2014). Lubow, R. E. "Giotto's applications of embodied perception: Lateral and vertical dimensions of space."Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition20, no. 6 (2015): 642-657. Nakamura, Tomoe. "The Cognitive and Ethical Scope of Confusion in Baumgarten's Aesthetics."Philosophica44 (2014): 27-46. Paoletti, John T.Michelangelo's David: Florentine history and civic identity. Cambridge University Press, 2015. Vibbert, Charles Bruce. "The Perception of Movement in the Philosophies of Descartes and Bergson."The American Philosophical Association Centennial Series(2013): 313-325.