STAB 2017

For the past several days, we have been examining the Protestant Reformation. The students read about  Martin Luther's  dramatic decision to criticize the Catholic Church by posting his  Ninety Five Theses  on the door of his church in Germany.  Here are some of the intriguing questions that students asked about the Reformation: Why did Martin Luther start a separate branch of Christianity, rather than just starting a whole new religion? Since the time of the Protestant Reformation, has the Catholic Church changed very much? Why did the leaders of the Catholic Church care so much whether some people wanted to believe different things about Christianity? Were the  Ninety Five Theses  immediately taken off the church door, or were they allowed to remain on the door for awhile? Today the student discussed Luther's decision to stick with Christianity (and try to "fix" it) rather than starting a brand new religion. We broadened the discussion, then, to talk...

Michelangelo I paint, I sculpt, I create, I make. And in my free time, I like to bake. #Pietá_bread                                                                     (by  Alexa ,  Kelsey , Cam and  Grant ) Leonardo da Vinci Work in my studio; I’m a science-y dudio. Use sfumato a lot; vivid colors I got. #Mona_Lisa_smile_makes_you_wanna_look_awhile                                              (by  Caroline ,  John ,  Asa  and  Lily L. ) Raphael Look at my paintings and you will see My brushstroke’s as graceful as the sea  #Mediterranean                                 ...

The Renaissance tweet winners, as selected by you : Cosimo de Medici: Hired artists and architects to make Florence great again #Go_big_or_go_home #Cosimo_de_Trump #Next_we’ll_stop_Obamacare                                                                    (by Fletcher , Ellen , and Carter L. ) People of Florence please ‘loan’ me a hand for my ‘interest’ing idea #Classic                                                                  (by  Ellie ,  JP , Henry and  Grace ) Niccolo Machiavelli: Fear when you hear that I am near #Play-Doh_is_too_soft                           ...

The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo If you believe that there is or might be a God (or gods), does Michelangelo's representation of God on the Sistine Chapel ceiling resemble the picture of God in your head? Why or why not? Sam : I can't really imagine what God looks like, I imagine him as a spirit. So Michelangelo's picture does not work for me. I imagine God as a spirit who is nice but stern. Mac : Yes, because God in this painting seems very old and wise, knowing everything. Michelangelo captured it perfectly with the light grey beard and light grey hair. Percy : No, not really. I always thought God's eyes would be kinder. In this painting his eyes don't look mean, but they don't look very kind and helpful either. Andrew : No. I don't think God would look like anything. I think of God as a spirit. God wouldn't be a boy or girl, either; I think God would be like a wise and mysterious cloud. Liam : I believe that god is a force, not a person, like a g...

What emotions do you feel when you look at Michelangelo's  Pieta . How does Michelangelo communicate these emotions? Kelsey : Grief . The look on Mary's face is so realistic. I'm in awe that he could sculpt such realistic emotions in stone. Catalina : The sculpture feels dramatic , especially the way he made Jesus's head hang. All the curves in Mary's dress also make it feel dramatic. Gabriel : Mary looks at peace . Her son may have died, but she knows his legacy will live on. Henry : Sadness. Mary's head is hung and her eyes are closed , so it looks like she is crying. And Jesus looks very weak , which also makes this sculpture sad. Alexa : Comfort. Mary's hand holds Jesus up, as if to rock him to sleep . Fletcher : Sadness. Mary's expression conveys not just sadness, but helplessness and despair . The second way Michelangelo communicates sadness is through Jesus's limp body. I'm not sure why, but looking at it makes me sad. Andrew : Michelang...

Thanks to Lydia for sharing her wonderful photographs from the field trip! I continue to enjoy reading your reflections about the Cathedral and National Gallery: Davis : While visiting the Cathedral,  I realized that I was seeing something that most people would never see in their whole lifetime. I felt very, very lucky! [[I love the way that Davis expressed his sense of gratitude: he reminded me that w e were very fortunate to have the chance to visit two such special places]] Joey : The cathedral was my favorite part of the trip because of the " easy to miss " details, the " hard to miss " details, and the beautiful glowing stained glass windows. If I were making a cathedral I wouldn’t create something that had tons of exquisite details that nobody could see. The patience and time required to build one of the cathedrals is hard as is, but to have a majority of your work completely overlooked, unappreciated, or not even seen, I find strange but cool.  As for th...