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fandomhigh2009-10-21 01:15 pm
notsobadatall.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2009-10-21 01:15 pm
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Art 101 - Wednesday, Period Four - 10/20
As the class entered, they found themselves in a long hallway with a great deal of intricate art. Their teacher, glancing around, seemed to stay away from the walls but there was a certain sense of longing there. There was also something to how he moved as he walked towards the students that said he was intensely comfortable in such a setting as this.
Curious.
"Today, as you might have guessed" or read in the syllabus "we'll be covering medieval art. Again, this is an area that I'm sad to say we're only covering for a day. Suffice to say, there is... quite a lot to cover, so let's get started, shall we?"
He started with a brisk pace and started down the hallway.
"'Medieval art' covers over a thousand years of work in Europe, the Middle East, and even North Africa. It included such diverse arts as sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, mosaics, tapestries, and wall frescos. It grew from the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire" which got something of an odd frown out of him "and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church. Iconic art specifically became very dear to the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity. At first, art was very much only for the affluent, found only in rich homes, monasteries, and major churches."
There was a faint twitch of a smile as he turned to look at them.
"Quite a few books will tell you that all medieval art was religious. This is simply not so." Thankfully, for Nick at least. "For example..."
And he held up a small object which he passed to the nearest student.
"This mirror case portrays various scenes of courtly love, which was very much not a religious concept, as Chaucer pointed out in the Canterbury Tales more than once," and there was a faint smirk of amusement as he obviously remembered something or other. Then he moved on. "Art, as has become somewhat typical, followed money. And the Church became rich during this period. Rich and powerful." More memories, some sweet, but mostly bitter. The Church had done him no favors when he had acted as her hand.
"Which didn't have nearly as much to do with the price of craftsmen as the price of supplies." He pointed at a piece behind them. "When one abbey planned to print three copies of the Bible, they had to plan for the proper number of calves to provide the necessary vellum for the pages. Ultramarine, made of crushed lapiz lazuli, which produced such a vibrant blue, was extremely expensive and available only through merchants who obtained it from modern Afghanistan. Other processes for certain artistic techniques have actually been lost. The recent rebuilding of a church in Dresden, Germany showed us just how much we" or rather, most people, "have lost of that time."
He kept walking, obviously as much inside his head as teaching, pointing things out as they walked.
"Byzantine art was, as you can see, somewhat stylized. Irish and British art produced some lovely pieces as well." He pointed out the oversized piece he'd hung on a wall. And then, there, on a pedestal, there was a harp which he touched with a special sort of reverence. He couldn't quite hide the small twitch of pain as he stepped away from the harp to lead them into a room with the art supplies.
"You know the drill," he said, not quite harsh but it was obvious that there was something about this class that had gotten to him.
"There's supplies here that will allow you to duplicate some of the processes used to produce the medieval supplies minus the lead, of course... or modern paints for those more inclined to skip straight to the art."
Then he retired to a niche in the stonework to sit and watch.
[ocd up!]
Curious.
"Today, as you might have guessed" or read in the syllabus "we'll be covering medieval art. Again, this is an area that I'm sad to say we're only covering for a day. Suffice to say, there is... quite a lot to cover, so let's get started, shall we?"
He started with a brisk pace and started down the hallway.
"'Medieval art' covers over a thousand years of work in Europe, the Middle East, and even North Africa. It included such diverse arts as sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, mosaics, tapestries, and wall frescos. It grew from the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire" which got something of an odd frown out of him "and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church. Iconic art specifically became very dear to the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity. At first, art was very much only for the affluent, found only in rich homes, monasteries, and major churches."
There was a faint twitch of a smile as he turned to look at them.
"Quite a few books will tell you that all medieval art was religious. This is simply not so." Thankfully, for Nick at least. "For example..."
And he held up a small object which he passed to the nearest student.
"This mirror case portrays various scenes of courtly love, which was very much not a religious concept, as Chaucer pointed out in the Canterbury Tales more than once," and there was a faint smirk of amusement as he obviously remembered something or other. Then he moved on. "Art, as has become somewhat typical, followed money. And the Church became rich during this period. Rich and powerful." More memories, some sweet, but mostly bitter. The Church had done him no favors when he had acted as her hand.
"Which didn't have nearly as much to do with the price of craftsmen as the price of supplies." He pointed at a piece behind them. "When one abbey planned to print three copies of the Bible, they had to plan for the proper number of calves to provide the necessary vellum for the pages. Ultramarine, made of crushed lapiz lazuli, which produced such a vibrant blue, was extremely expensive and available only through merchants who obtained it from modern Afghanistan. Other processes for certain artistic techniques have actually been lost. The recent rebuilding of a church in Dresden, Germany showed us just how much we" or rather, most people, "have lost of that time."
He kept walking, obviously as much inside his head as teaching, pointing things out as they walked.
"Byzantine art was, as you can see, somewhat stylized. Irish and British art produced some lovely pieces as well." He pointed out the oversized piece he'd hung on a wall. And then, there, on a pedestal, there was a harp which he touched with a special sort of reverence. He couldn't quite hide the small twitch of pain as he stepped away from the harp to lead them into a room with the art supplies.
"You know the drill," he said, not quite harsh but it was obvious that there was something about this class that had gotten to him.
"There's supplies here that will allow you to duplicate some of the processes used to produce the medieval supplies minus the lead, of course... or modern paints for those more inclined to skip straight to the art."
Then he retired to a niche in the stonework to sit and watch.
[ocd up!]
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Listen to the Lecture / Chat Amongst Yourselves
Free Expression
TA
Nick
OOC
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He knew how badly that could go.
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"More... the loss of something that gave me much happiness. It's a replica, and I suppose it was my choice to make it a part of the class but... it would have felt wrong not to include it."
History, some of it anyway, was personal. He'd lived through it. And while he could pull up textbook examples easily enough, it wasn't nearly as valid as something he'd touched, something he'd listened to, something that had been and still was in some ways, important.
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Re: Nick
And then, almost as an afterthought--
"Her name was Gwyneth."
Re: Nick
Re: Nick
"She was... a new world for me. Something so different, so strange, and yet--" he glanced at Raven, his blue eyes haunted.
"I loved her. I shouldn't have, but I did."
Re: Nick
Re: Nick
She didn't die by his hand, but if he hadn't loved her, if he hadn't told Lord DeLaBarre his feelings, would he have felt the need to murder her? He'd never know. And so, it would haunt him, always.
"People make choices. And, unfortunately, they have to live with the results of those choices. I have... not always made good choices."
And others had paid for it.
Re: Nick
Re: Nick
"Thank you, Raven. I'll try to remember that. Was there... anything you needed?"
Re: Nick
Re: Nick
"Thank you for your concern, then. You should probably begin the activity."
Re: Nick
Re: Nick
"Well, if you enjoy this period, I have... quite a number of artifacts and any number of texts on the subject. Feel free to stop by my office if you'd like more to study."
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