What is beauty And More Importantly, what is the use of Beauty in understanding history

I have divided these slides into 4 sections: 1) Nature 2) Man made art 3) Uncertainty 4) The question for this assignment Your task – to click through the images, and do spend some time on each as the beauty is undeniable. The fortunate part – you can always refer back to some extraordinarily beautiful images.

Duccio, Betrayal of Christ, back of the Maesta, 13 th century

Giotto, The Lamentation, 14 th century

Giotto, The Ascension, 14 th century

Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Tempera on wood, 13° century

Giotto, The Annunciation

Reubens, Feast of Venus

Botticelli: Nascita di Venere, 15 th century

Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise, 17 ft high, 15 th century

Panel from Ghiberti door. Bottom right panel

Andrea Mantegna, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ,. 15 th century., tempura on canvas

Rafael, The Transfiguration

Raphael, The Madonna and child

Massacio, Expulsion from Eden, 15 th century (note twisted and contorted face – the pain and the agony)

The Annunciation, Rogier van der Weyden, 15 th century

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 16 th century

David, 16 th century

The Creation of Adam. Michelangelo, 16 th century

Monet

Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh

Chris Ofili's "Holy Virgin Mary": Using dung as a paint

Piss Christ – Crucifix in case of urine

You may wish to review other art – from the Renaissance through the art constructed today. These are samplings I found, which I particularly find appropriate.

What is the use or purpose of beauty? In forming an answer, you may wish to consider the following: Is there a standard for art and does art have a relationship to the real world (the one we live in), should it if it does or does not. Should art reflect your life – whether triumphal or abysmal – or should art aspire (inspire you) to something else? What benefit does that have for us in understanding beauty? If you believe it should reflect a beauty we could or should aspire to- why? Does beauty change over time, or is there an eternal beauty that is universal. Do you have to answer each of the questions above? No. That is why I wrote you may wish to consider the following. It is your answer, BUT I want serious thought and consideration of the questions raised and then, after you have seriously considered all I have asked – make sure you do answer the following question: What is the relationship between the beautiful and the study of history?

How long does the paper have to be: - no more than 1 page typed. I do not care about format. Simply type it, and give me a one page answer. There are no points for this. THIS TIME: All work must be sent via . The deadline for all work is 10 am on Tuesday, May 31 st. If I receive ANYTHING from you after 10:00 am, I will not even open the am is determined by MY time, my watch, my clock. I WILL not ACCEPT THIS ASSIGNMENT ONE SECOND LATER THAN 10:00 AM (local time) – if you are in a triple car accident, that is unfortunate but I will not accept this assignment late. If your family are all taken to the hospital requiring surgery – this assignment must be in before 10 am. If your computer malfunctioned – it must wait until after you send this in, if it happens earlier, I will not even look at your . This assignment MUST be done. If you do not do it, you will receive 0 out of 20 on your assignments portion of your final grade, which means the MAXIMUM you could possibly get would be 80 / 100 (and that assumes 100% on attendance/participation, final exam, and quizzes).