Salon de la Princess - Germain Boffrand

Salon de la Princess, decorated by Germain Boffrand from 1737 to 1740, is a Rocco room at Hôtel de Soubise in France. The room is uniquely featured with sinuous curved, gilded moldings and mirrors, small sculptures and paintings, and floral ornamentation. The artist intentionally represents the room as the center of Parisian and intellectual life. 

A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery - Joseph Wright of Derby

A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery is an interesting oil painting drawn by Joseph Wright of Derby in ca. 1763-1765. With energetic color and composition, this picture vividly depicts a lecturer giving a demonstration of an orrery to a small audience. The artwork also attempts to celebrate the scientific advances of the Enlightenment era. 

La Pendaison (The Hanging) - Jacques Callot

La Pendaison (The Hanging) is 11^th etching of Jacques Callot from The Great Miseries of War series in 1633 . This artwork is unique because it lively depicts ruthless consequences of war. Using vivid details with baroque technique, the artist also increases the tension of death and sadness in the picture. 

Johannes Vermeer - Woman Holding a Balance

       Woman Holding a Balance, completed 1662-1663, is an oil painting by Dutch baroque artist Johannes Vermeer. I like this picture because several interpretations could be made from the picture.  However, the theme of the picture is directly toward symbol of holiness and earthiness. I also like the vivid colors as well as the baroque composition of the picture.

Gianlorenzo Bernini-Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

            Located in Rome, Italy, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is a fountain designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X in 1651. The fountain is a composite of four major rivers of the four continents through which papal authority had spread: the Nile River in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in Asia, and the Platte in the Americas. Above them, an ancient Egyptian obelisk is surmounted with the Pamphili family symbol of a dove with an olive twig. I like this fountain because of its complex structures and statues which ultimately express the excellent skills of Renaissance master Gianlorenzo Bernini. 

Gian Lorenzo Bernini - David

David is a marble sculpture created by Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini in seven months from 1623-1624. The statue depicts the biblical David who was about to throw the stone that would bring down Goliath. The statue has several interesting features which show the prosperity of the Renaissance period. Aside from that, with this statue, Bernini also emphasized the rise of Baroque in sculpture where artist used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama and tension. 

Albrecht Altdorfer- The Battle of Alexander at Issus

The Battle of Alexander at Issus is a 1529 oil painting by German artist Albrecht Altdorfer ca. 1480–1538. This artwork depicts the battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire where the victory was on Alexander the Great’s side. I like this painting because it illustrates enormous landscape with vivid colors and distinctive details such as the present of the moon and the sun on the sky at the same time.

Melencolia I - Albrecht Dürer

Melencolia I is an engraving by the German Renaissance master, Albrecht Dürer, in 1514. This artwork was a “self-portrait” of Durer’s personality. I like this engraving because of its concept emphasizes the fact that an artist sometimes cannot produce any work even though he is surrounded by all the tools he needs. 

Michelangelo- Sistine Chapel ceiling

This enormous fresco painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was created by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. This incredible artwork depicted the doctrine of humanity's need for Salvation as offered by God through Jesus. The complex design of images in the painting as well as the vibrant color of all the details has shown many features of High Renaissance art including humanism and the devotion in divine art of the Catholic Churches. 

Leonardo da Vinci – Embryo in the Womb

This sketch of an embryo in the womb was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci using black and red chalk with some pen and ink wash on paper ca. 1510. It was an interesting sketch since it clearly showed that Leonardo da Vinci was indeed a renaissance man, an individual who has well knowledge in various field. In fact, along with being a brilliant artist, Leonardo da Vinci also had his interests in scientific illustration as well as in discovery of new ideas. With this vivid sketch of an embryo, Leonardo da Vinci opened up a novel way for the field of medical illustration.

Pollaiuolo – Hercules and Antaeus

This bronze sculpture, named Hercules and Antaeus, was made by Antonio Del Pollaiuolo ca. 1475. I like this artwork because it well illustrated the pain and the struggle of an individual in combat. This feature ultimately reveals that the artist did comprise humanism, an important concept of Renaissance era, into his sculpture. 

Botticelli - Birth of Venus

This artwork, named the Birth of Venus, was painted by Botticelli ca. 1486. Its medium is tempera on canvas. I like this picture because it depicted the revolution of art during Renaissance period in which the artist brought much humanism into the picture. The nudity of Venus is, a controversial elements during the artist's era, also a distinctive part of the drawing. In addition to that, the unique color and impeccable depth contributed to the beauty of the drawing.

Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino - Palazzo Rucellai

This architecture named Palazzo Rucellai was designed by Leon Battista Alberti and executed by Bernardo Rossellino from 1452-1470. Alberti adapted superimposed orders or the Roman use of different orders for each story to the edifice. As a result, he created an illusion that Palazzo Rucellai becomes lighter toward its top which is also my interest of the structure. 

Fra Filippo Lippi- Madonna With Child and Angle

This painting, Madonna With Child and Angles, is an artwork of Fra Filippo Lippi. He painted the picture from 1460-1465 using tempera on wood technique. I like this artwork, because it creates a more realistic picture of the holy family than any other artworks before. The color is vivid which also carries the feeling of humanization into the scene.  

Claus Sluter- The Well of Moes

   This fountain named The Well of Moes was designed by Claus Sluter in Chartreuse de Champmol, Dijon, France in 1395-1406. It was a lime stone sculpture and painted and gilded by Jean Malouel.  I found this artwork interesting for which it supposed to be a water source for the monastery, but water never spout from the fountain since the monastery committed to silence. Also even though the figures on the fountain recall French Gothic, the sculptures are far more realistic.

Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife

          This artwork named Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife was painted by Jan van Eyck using oil on wood in 1434. The picture has two versions of interpretations. The first one is said that Jan van Eyck depicted the wedding of Giovanni, an Italian Financier, and his bride at Giovanni’s home. The second version states that the scene in the painting is a legal scene which depicts Giovanni gave his wife a special permission. Despite of the different interpretations, the picture mainly depicts a vow that was made between Giovanni and his wife and Jan van Eyck was the witness. This picture is interesting to me because several symbolic objects appear in the scene. For example, Giovanni’s shoes are near the window which represents the symbolic of a man who is always the one working outside, and the wife is next to the bed which characterizes the symbolic of a woman who should always takes care housing works. The colors of the picture are also vivid which help create three dimensional illusions as well as the depth of the painting. 

Giotto di Bondone - Lamentation 1305

This artwork titled Lamentation was painted by Giotto di Bondone in 1305 at the Arena Chapel which locates in Padua, Italy. This painting depicts the moment when Christ had been removed from the cross and his follower gathered around him. I like this picture because all of the elements were illustrated vividly and colourfully. I can feel the movement in the picture in which the people are mourning for the death of Jesus and the angles fly down from the sky to join the lamentation. The orientation of the picture makes viewers to focus on the main image which is Christ laying around his follower.The artist also used fresco painting style which create depth, mass and volume. This method also indicates a transition from medieval art to renaissance art.

Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus

This art work titled Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus was painted by the Italian Gothic artists, Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, in 1333 for the Chapel of Sant’ Ansano in Siena Cathedral. I like this picture because it depicts vividly the Annunciation in which angel Gabriel announced to Virgin Maria that she would become the mother of Jesus. With the bright gold background and affluent polish of all characters in the painting, the picture shows the prestige of the commission in Annunciation day.