BEST AMERICAN ART by Alexandra Jopp

By Alexandra A. Jopp --> “There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” --Pythagoras One of the most intriguing aspects of a culture is how it reflects on its past. For instance, nineteenth century German composer Richard Wagner idealized the Middle Ages, while modernists of the twentieth century imitated the Viennese classics. Italian musicians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, meanwhile, looked upon ancient civilization for aesthetic and ethical ideals. --> But what did the Renaissance know of antiquity, in particular of its music? Italian humanists played a leading role in the revival of antiquity in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but their knowledge of ancient musical practice was severely limited, because it was, of necessity, based only on references in literature and, to some extent, visual sources whose reliability could be questioned. Even as devoted an admirer of antiquity...

Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1538. Uffizi, Florence By Alexandra A. Jopp --> The power and influence of the Christian Church was one of the leading features of the Renaissance. Not only was the church the dominant political force, it also directly shaped the lives of individuals throughout Christendom. Most people were poor and had very limited information about the world around them, and the church offered an explanation of the world – and beyond – that largely defined the weltanschauung of millions of Europeans. The High Renaissance – from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the closing of the Council of Trent in 1563 – was a period of remarkable cultural expansion, artistic enterprise and increasing demand for technical skill (which created a high degree of competition among artists). Many Italian nobles held refined courts, where they encouraged and protected artists. In Milan, for example, Francesco Sforza and, later, Ludovico il Moro, held courts – Ludovico ...