What is the most important thing that you have learned this quarter?

The most important thing that I have learned about this quarter is about the Renaissance period. With all of the presentations, I've learned a lot so far. The topic that I did was Leonardo and his artwork. When you have to prepare for your presentation you have to find a lot of information about it and study it and know what you are talking about. I did Leonardo because he is a big part of the Renaissance art period.

When you do your presentation you have to fit all the stuff that you know about your topic in a 5-10 minute time period. You also have to know your stuff to teach the class about it. In just the 5-10 minutes you can learn a lot about something if the person teaches it well. You just have to listen and take all of what their saying into your head and you can also have fun with it by learning about something that you love.

It is so important to learn about these things because you can learn so much about it and later when your older if you want to help or teach your kids about the history that you learned when you were in school you can teach them everything you know so that they can learn about it. Also you can probably learn new things from your kids that they learn about in history too. This stuff is also important because when we take tests or quizzes on this stuff you should know a lot about it and be able to pass the test or get a good grade on them.

I took World History last year and I'm taking it again this year and I'm learning all the stuff I learned about last year. But I'm learning it in a different way, since I go to a different school and have a different teacher now. But it's a good thing because I've learned a lot more stuff and found out more information about some of the things that I learned last year. History isn't my favorite subject in school but it can be a lot of fun. You just have to pay attention and you have to be able to make things fun if you want it to be fun but you also have to be serious at times even if you don't want to.

I've learned a lot of history over the years and sometimes I wonder why we need to learn these things, but all the things that we learn in history are important for today's history and the future. I'm not a fan of history but it can be a lot of fun and you learn a lot. With all of the presentations I learned a lot about the Renaissance period. I think its fun and interesting to hear different things about what people have learned and you learn a lot of new things too. I like to listen to everyone and learn about what they did and researched on. That's the most important thing to me that I have learned this quarter and it's important information to know about. ;)

Leonardo de Vinci

I'm doing my presentation on Leonardo de Vinci. Leonardo was a mastered realistic painter, sculptor, inventor, architect, and mathematician. He was on of the best artists in the High Renaissance periods in Italy. Some of his famous work that I will be teaching the class about is The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, The Virgin Mary, The Baptism of Christ and The Battle of Anghiari.

The Mona Lisa is one of his most famous paintings. No one even knows the real reason why he painted it, but many admire it still today. He started it in 1503 and at that time Mona Lisa was 24 years old. After he had finished the painting he never sold it to the orderer but he kept it for himself until 1516 he sold it to King Francis 1 and bought it for the castle in Amboise.

The Battle of Anghiari was painted in the council hall in Florence. . I would say he had many problems with this painting from the time he started. When he started painting his main idea was that of a group of horses and men interlaced with flames and smoke. Many people have tried to copy the painting but no one has done it like Leonardo's was.

The Virgin and the child with St. Anne was started in 1507. The original sketch is lost to us now but the one they have now is located in the Burlington House Cartoon. The Virgin and the Child with St. Anne was painted at a time in his life when his mind was absorbed by three scientific studies, anatomy, geology, and the movement of water.

The Last Supper was started in 1495 and finished in 1498. It is a very big picture, it is 15 x 29ft and it covers an entire large wall. The painting is the evening before Christ got betrayed by one of his disciples and he gathered them to tell them what was coming and to wash their feet. Washing their feet was him telling them that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord. He also told them how to eat in rememberance of him. The bread represents his body and the wine represents his blood. The Baptism of Christ is an altar piece commissioned by the monks of San Salvi near Florence. It has four figures, Jesus, St. John and two angels.

The Baptism of Christ was Leonardo's first big job that Verrocchio assigned him. When Leonardo was finished with it, Verrocchio was so amazed and he said that he never wanted to touch paint again.

Leonardo tried to use many different techniques in every painting, so that each one had its own significance. He read many books on how to use different textures and techniques. Also to have new ideas and thoughts on how to do certain things. Leonardo de Vinci is an excellent artist and he loved what he did in life. He is greatly admired for what he created and always will be.

Websites I used:

http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/WhatWhereWhen.html

http://arthistory.about.com/cs/leonardo/a/last supper.htm

www.davincisfumato.com

http://www.monalisamania.com/

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vinci/joconde/

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/monalisa.jpg.html

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/battle.html

http://www.universalleonardo.org/work.php?id=351

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/st_anne.jpg.html

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/anne.html

http://renaissance-art.suite101.com/article.cfm/baptism_of_christ