Essays on Uffizi

When analyzing and comparing two works of art, there are many aspects that one must take into account, especially if they belong to different mediums. Even though there may be many differences, one can still find similarities between two masterpieces. This is more significant if they belong to the same historical and ideological context, as in the case of Sandro Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus” and Agnolo Poliziano's poem “Stanze per la Giostra”. They were both important exponents of the Renaissance’s humanist movement, which sought to recall the importance of man, including the rationality and mythology ...

Introduction

Before the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment, though, the field of inquiry was completely different than it would be afterward. There was only one religious establishment during that time period, and that establishment had the power of eternal fear over everyone and everything. The fact that the Roman Catholic Church had the power to ban someone not just from church but from any chance of salvation radically altered the calculus of anyone interested in pursuing any sort of intellectual endeavor. Remember, this is the same institution that sought to excommunicate Galileo and Copernicus because of their claims that the ...

Introduction and analysis

Titian’s ‘Venus of Urbino’ is one of the classic works of baroque art and was finished in 1538 for the Duke or Urbino. Apart from being aesthetically very beautiful, there are a number of hidden meanings including the allegory of marriage as well as eroticism which although not full blown is quite subtly present in many ways. In fact analysts have shown that the painting is a sort of object lesson in the obligations that the wife has in terms of erotic delight and sexual proclivity. The depiction of Venus as the goddess of love continues to add fuel ...