The Elizabethan period was a transition between Medieval and the Renaissance era. The Renaissance emerged due to the constraints of Gothic and the power of Catholic Rome. England became powerful in their own right which is shown in their art and architecture.
Little Moreton Hall is a key example of English Renaissance architecture in a style called 'vernacular' with patterned timber framing. I absolutely love the look of this building in particular.
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Moreton_Hall
Hardwick Hall is another example of English Renaissance architecture, but is more modern in it's appearance, such as having glass to show their wealth as well as columns, taken from earlier periods, but making it their own. They are pretty much paying homage. Hardwick Hall has also been in Harry Potter as Malfoy Manor.
http://architectboy.com/hardwick-hall-architecture-history/
The upper floor of the buildings and the tallest floor was seen as the most important and upper class. This reminded me of the film High Rise where the further up you go in the building, the more upper class you get.
https://bcfan71.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/tom-hiddleston-high-rise-gif/
People become part of the display in English Renaissance buildings. Servants would fall asleep on the main staircase and instead of people saying 'what lazy servants', they would think 'wow look how rich the owners are! They can afford servants to do nothing!'. So basically, all this era was about was showing off.
http://rebloggy.com/post/gifs-megamind-presentation/56460059887
The 'Long Gallery' part of the house was also very important as it is where the owners would display their valuable paintings and was also a 'exercise yard' for women. The Great High Chamber (the bedroom) was the most important and the most prestigious part of the house. I guess the bedroom is where everything happens.
http://theberry.com/2013/01/29/movie-tv-tidbits-31-photos/
Lets go back to showing off. In the late 16th century, there was a huge consumer boom which made people change their hospitality. The Queen used her status as a magnet for other's spending. People would give the Queen gifts and never spend money herself. This is called 'emulative spending' or 'life goals'.
Bess (the owner of Hardwick Hall) was also a very rich woman of the era and spent a lot on Elizabeth I. She even gave her a really expensive dress as a gift. Elizabeth I had a painting commissioned of her wearing it and gave it to Bess. We would see this today as a sign that Elizabeth I loved her dress and gave the painting as a thank you. However, it is more likely that the painting was a warning to back off and stop showing off her wealth as Bess is competition for the wealthiest woman of the UK.
Paintings were full of symbolic meanings and messages in this era. Here's a list of a few symbols and meanings behind them:
- Ruby- blood (of Christ)
- Pearls- purity, chaste, unmarried, religion
- Serpent- wisdom
- Ruby heart- emotions
- Serpent plus ruby heart- wisdom controls emotions
- Rainbow- peace and the sun
- Eyes and ears- ever watching (of Catholic treachery)
The Rainbow Portrait is a key example of all of these symbols.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/255579347575254337/
The Armada Portrait also shows key symbolic meanings. Elizabeth I has her hand on a globe, which could suggest that she is deciding the future of England. Since she is facing more towards the bright ships and with her back turned on the dark ones, it could suggest her change is for the better. The mermaid in the back represents women and how they can be powerful but also destructive. The Ostrich feather fan suggests Elizabeth I's power in trade and wealth.
https://www.pinterest.com/thetudortutor/the-fun-in-tudor-history/
James I's (or Jacobean) architecture had a lot of arches to symbolise a 'New World'.
In Di's session, we looked at The Birth of Television (not quite sure how this relates to Malcolm's lecture). We first went through the different Visual Culture essay questions. It's a good thing we did as it turns out question 7 means something completely different than what I thought it was! So I'm going to have to pick another question as I'm not confident with it any more. The max. word count is 2200. Make sure I include a filmography as well as a bibliography with the key film examples I have used.
We then looked at past TV clips on http://www.screenonline.org.uk/. TV challenged cinema with it's episodic narrative whereas cinemas had a definite ending and narrative. Cinema then fought back the audienc with the introduction of the multiplex.
No comments:
Post a Comment