Video Reviews

1. Explain why you selected each of the FOUR videos you choose from the selection listed above.

- The Drawings of Michelangelo. I chose this video because Michelangelo is one of the most famous artists and common names among the art world. He was always one of the artists who work always appealed to me.

- Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance. Just like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci is another famous person in the art world. I Chose this because I knew he was a very well known inventor but his art background was unknown to me.

- Cataclysm: The Black Death Visits Tuscany. I chose this video solely based on the name of it. I believe it just sounded like it was going to be very interesting.

- A World Inscribed: The Illuminated Manuscript. I chose this video because I was curious to learn more about book production and scribes.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.


- The Drawings of Michelangelo. I learned that it is almost impossible to view all of Michelangelo's work all together in a museum setting so the purpose of the video was to be able to show art students just that. Michelangelo has unique techniques when he did his drawings and always was a perfectionist.

- Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance. He was known as the "Renaissance man" because he was a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and student. He drew pictures of weapons and machinery that had military purposes.


- Cataclysm: The Black Death Visits Tuscany. This video shows what happened to two cities that were hit by the bubonic plague. It was interesting to see how things changed in the art world during and after the plague hit. Architecture went unfinished and people started focusing more on the after life.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos relate to the readings in the text because they have similar topics to the ones that were discussed in the readings. The videos dealt with different time periods just like the different chapters in the book did, from ancient Mediterranean worlds to the 17th and 18th centuries.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I thought that the videos were very good and were a very good way to further understand the topics that were covered in the readings. Sometimes it takes more than just reading a chapter in the book to fully understand the concepts involved. Plus it is always better to watch something than to read it in a book, but that's just my opinion.