An Artist in their Cultural Context

by | Apr 30, 2022 | art

 

 

 

 

 

For the final writing assignment, you may choose any artist/patron that you are interested in or whom we have learned about in class. You will focus on one
artist and the time period that they lived in. Choose one of their artworks to write about and use as an example of the style and time period, how is it
characteristic of the time and style? Do not use an example from your book. Using what you have learned in class in addition to outside research, write a 5
page paper about that work of art. You must include a picture of the work either on the cover sheet of your paper or at the end of your paper, in addition to a
bibliography of at least 5 works cited. You may not use your textbook as one of your sources. Do not plagiarize!!! MLA style of citation is acceptable. This
paper is worth 50 points.
Points to consider can be addressed through these 5 steps of art criticism within your paper. This is a good way to organize your thoughts in writing your
paper.
Descriiption: (30 points) Historical Analysis
Who is the artist you are writing about? This is where you should give a brief biography and background of the artist. What time period/style was this artist
working in and what were the major artistic developments? What are the characteristics of that style?
Analysis:(5 points) Formal Analysis
What is the title of the work you are going to write about? What is the subject? Is the work realism, abstract, non-objective….? Is the work 2-D or 3-D? What
Formal Elements does the artist use or emphasize? (See Starter Kit at the beginning of the textbook.)
Media, material and technique: (5 points) Technical Analysis
What media, material and techniques does the artist use? What are the characteristics of that media and the process which was used?
Interpretation: (5 points) Content Analysis
What is the content/meaning of the work? Does the artist use iconography or symbolism? Does the work have a theme?
Judgment: (5 points) Conclusion/Reflection
What is your informed opinion of the artwork? Why is this work important to the history of art?

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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