In class we discussed several factors that influenced the explosion of great art works during the period we call the European Renaissance. Among these factors:
The Plague
The Fall of Constantinople
Maritime Improvements
Rise of the Merchant Class
The Printing Press
Collecting Classical relics
Choose one of these and find something out about it online. It may be helpful to visit one of the sites listed under Useful Links in the left hand column of this Wiki. Keep it simple, but keep it really specific to the Renaissance. Share what you find and where you found it (document your source) with the class by posting a response under "Writing Assignments."
I chose "Maritime Improvements." I found the following excerpt at http://www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance/exploration.html
"By measuring the distance of the sun and stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude, an important tool in navigation. Another tool, the magnetic compass, which had been invented in the twelfth century, was improved upon during the Renaissance."
Here is another link to a site specifically about the astrolabe:
http://astrolabes.org/mariner.htm
I chose "Maritime Improvements." I found the following excerpt at http://www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance/exploration.html
"By measuring the distance of the sun and stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude, an important tool in navigation. Another tool, the magnetic compass, which had been invented in the twelfth century, was improved upon during the Renaissance."
Here is another link to a site specifically about the astrolabe:
http://astrolabes.org/mariner.htm
I found this image of an astrolabe on Google images:
But I'm wondering how the astrolabe influenced art? I think it must have had something to do with the way humans came to perceive spatial reality. For instance, did the astrolabe change the way painters imagined perspective? Or did the change in the way we imagine perspective allow us to invent something like an astrolabe? I guess I'm asking if the technology (astrolabe) created a new way of seeing (perspective), or did a new way of seeing create the technology?
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting question. I would say that the same type of thinking influenced both. it was the spirit of the day or the Zeitgeist. I would say the need to see in a new way brought both.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you mentioned it. I was strictly thinking on the influence of foreign cultures made more accessible by the astrolabe. Of course, there is also the money that was made from these interactions and the subsequent commissions and patronage.
I once read that Picasso's Cubist explosion of space was synchronous with a deeper understanding of atomic structure. Why not perspective drawing and navigating latitudes? Fascinating.
This is a great film on the discovery of being able to determine one's longitude. Came out in 2000 and won several awards:
ReplyDeletehttp://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTU2MTgzMjYyM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTc1NzIyMQ@@._V1._SX214_CR0,0,214,314_.jpg