History

The Early Middle Ages is sometimes referred to as "The Dark Ages", because it was a period of ruin and destruction. The mighty Roman Empire fell in the 5th century A.D. and the Middle Ages began. The early Middle Ages lasted from approximately 400 to 900A.D. Invading "barbarians" of this time were not really wild cavemen. Barbarian was a general term, used by the Romans, to refer to any non-Romans. The Gauls (Celts) were referred to as "barbarians". Some of the invaders were the Huns from Mongolia, north of China. Their most devastating attacks were made on Europe in the 5th century; and that included Rome. Rome was already split into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Attacks by Attila the Hun helped to weaken the west. Yet, the eastern empire grew into the Byzantine Empire. Attila died in 453A.D. It is the Goths who are given the credit for sacking Rome in 410A.D. They appeared to originate from Scandinavia. Other invaders included Visigoths (in Spain) and Ostrogoths (in Italy). Angles and Saxons invaded in England. The Franks occupied old Gaul (France/Belgium), and the Vandals occupied the Roman territories in northern Africa. The Germanic peoples of northern Europe replaced the much of the old Roman Empire. Some migrating and invading groups merged such as the Jutes (from the Jutland Peninsula) with the Danes (Vikings) in Denmark, and the Angles (from south west Jutland) with the Saxons (from north west Germany) in England. In the east, in the early 7th century, Serbs and Croats overran Illyria (Albania), followed within 50 years by the Bulgars. The fading of the Roman Empire gave many northern peoples the opportunity for a new life in a new land. Many, like the Vikings, invaded to plunder, but many settled. Only the Huns, after invading Europe, retreated and just seemed to disappear.

The feudal system the legal and social system that evolved in W Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, in which peasants were protected and maintained by their lords, usually through the granting of fiefs, and were required to serve under them in war.
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The Feudal system was the economic system used in the middle ages. In that time the kings were often quite weak they divided their kingdom into fiefs (smaller sections ) owned by lords the lords had to swear fealty to the king and come help him whenever he needed and do whatever he told them to do then the lords divided their land into even smaller fiefs owned by knights who swore fealty to them. The knights divided their land into farms and gave them out to the peasants who swore fealty to them. When the king needed an army he would send a message to the lords who would send a message to the knights who would send a message to the peasants to serve in the army.

Knights

Knights were the wealthiest type of soldier. Knights fought more for the riches that come out of ransacking a city rather than the army wages to become a knight boys would become a page when he was eight he was sent to the nearest castle to train at the castle he would be taught how to fight however also taught a little Latin and French and how to sing and dance and act sociably at the age of 15 or 16 the boy would become a squire he would serve a knight when he was about 20 the boy would become a knight. The knights had a code of chivalry they promised to defend the weak be courteous to women be loyal to their king and serve God it also said to have mercy on the defeated enemy which was never followed as the knights recived most of their wealth from plundering the city they had just sacked. The defend the weak did not extend to the peasants knight could go into peasant villages kill men and rape woman without fear.

A special medical physician of the middle ages who saw to the victims of the bubonic plague
City payed their salarys so they treated rich and poor
They were usually second rate
They treated only plague patients
They were not ussually proffesionally trained
Medical interns second class doctors
Job was umplesant difficult risky
Chances of survival in a plague epidemic were slim
They were hard to find
Wore a beak doctor costume
Mask; glass eyed openings coned shape like beak with sented substances such as
Amber, balm mint leaves, camphor, cloves, laudanum, myrrh, rose petals, storax

If someone claimed Mars was the centre of the universe, would you believe him? Probably not, but what if he proved it? This sort of paradigm shift happened to many people living in the Renaissance, a time of change and the ending of the Dark Ages when the Church held society in an iron grip. I will show how this change was greatly assisted by the individuals who shaped the world as we now know it, the inspiration from the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations, and, most importantly, the weakening of the Church. I will also explain the effect of these factors on art, medicine and religion.

The Renaissance is one of the most significant periods in history. The word Renaissance means rebirth. The Renaissance was seen as the rebirth of ancient Rome and Greece, two massive empires. After the fall of ancient Rome, the Dark Ages lasted for a thousand years. During the Dark Ages, the Church opposed new ideas and believed that scholars should dedicate their time to teaching and explaining old traditional ideas. The renaissance lasted from approximately 1300 A.D. to 1600 A.D.

Art

The Renaissance was one the most productive periods for art. This blossoming of art was mostly fuelled by individual artists (many of whom were supported by wealthy patrons trying to make their city state the best) and by the inspiration these artists drew from classical Greek and Roman artists. The art of the Middle Ages is flat, stiff, and unrealistic to our eyes. It was used mostly to decorate churches and religious places, usually telling a story from the bible for people who could not understand Latin so therefore could not understand the church services. Artists in that era did not care much if the figures looked unrealistic. They just wanted to tell a story and make the person who looked at it interested. Paintings at the time had lots of gold and expensive paints like blue to symbolize god's glory. The people in the paintings had blank empty faces. Jesus, Mary, and the saints would be shown much bigger than anybody else, usually with halos around their heads, while the other figures in the painting would be identical.

Art began to change in the fourteenth century, first in Italy, and soon the rest of Europe caught on. Artists began to look back at how classical artists had worked. They became more observant and tried to make everything look realistic. They sketched how nature appeared at different times of day or in different weather. They also studied the body to see how it moved and twisted so that they could paint it as it really was. Medieval artists had never considered these methods. Renaissance artists gave facial expressions to their subjects. They depicted how light fell on objects, and they developed perspective and distance to add depth to their artwork. If a Renaissance artist painted a large picture, it would take an enormous amount of preparation. As the church loosened its grip on society, artists also began to frequently paint non-religious subjects such as Greek and Roman myths. During the Renaissance, portraits also changed entirely. In the Dark Ages, an artist might never even see the person whom he was painting, but in the Renaissance, artists wanted their portraits to look as much like the person as possible. They would even sometimes portray the personality and emotions of the man or woman in their actions, clothes and the setting of the picture. Renaissance artists would have the person pose while they worked.

Important revolutionary individuals boosted the change in art. The Renaissance in art began with Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) more commonly known as just Giotto. Giotto was the first (very early) renaissance artist to draw his figures as three-dimensional. He influenced many other artists. After him followed Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, Bellini, Tintoretto, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Ghiberti and Raphael.

The shift in the Renaissance from stiff, stylized figures to life-like portraits and from flat, imaginary landscapes to backgrounds that show perspective and realistic colours changed the way we see art. Much of the most beautiful art ever produced came from the Renaissance. After centuries of very little change in art, the Renaissance saw the creation of the new medium of oil paints and the development of perspective and realism in detail, light, and colour.

Medicine

Both the quest for human knowledge and the weakening of the Church resulted in significant changes in the Renaissance practice of medicine. The Middle Ages saw only one very important book written about medicine - the second century A.D. work by Claudius Galen. Galen was a Greek doctor who successfully cured the Roman emperor and became very respected. In the second century A.D. the dissection of humans was forbidden, so Galen learned about the human body by dissecting animals like pigs, dogs, and monkeys. His book was fairly accurate but had many mistakes. In the Middle Ages, Galen's book enjoyed a great status and was the core textbook used in medical schools.

The Church forbade human dissection during the Middle Ages because of the doctrine that men were made in God's image. Therefore it would be sinful to cut up a human body because that would show a lack of respect for God. Theology in the Middle Ages also held that you needed your body to get into heaven.

In 1348, the rulers of Florence allowed 20 post mortems on criminals to find out if there was any physical reason to explain why they had committed crimes. A book was published on the results. As the interest in anatomy grew, the Church started to loosen up on human dissection. The method to teach about the human body was for the teacher to sit above the student and read Galen's book as the student dissected the body. Leonardo Da Vinci was the first man to ever make precise human anatomy drawings. However he never published this work.

One of the most important Renaissance medical men was Vesalius (1514-1564). Vesalius proved that there were errors in Galen's book, he was not the first to notice this but he was the first to back his findings up with proof. Vesalius was a doctor following after his father. He was so eager to learn about the human body that he illegally stole executed criminal bodies to dissect when he was a medical student. In 1537 Vesalius became an anatomy professor at Padua University just about the time when the church had begun to realize that the new medical discoveries threatened its power and was trying to restrict them. Versailius understood that in Galen's book there were about 200 mistakes. He wrote a book called Fabric of the Human Body. Which is now considered one of the most influential books in anatomy. Vesalius's book was both criticised and controversial because Galen had such a huge reputation; in many universities his book was banned for decades.

The century after Vesalius had died doctors and teachers of anatomy began to teach from Vesalius's book and imitate the techniques he used to dissect the body. People started to experiment and discover even more about the body. The unearthing of what was really in the body has shaped medical history. By knowing what is going on inside a person people can learn how to cure sicknesses and advance human knowledge completely.

Religion

Throughout the Renaissance, Europe remained very religious; however the power of the Church declined. Many factors such as the plague, the deadly disease that killed 40% of the priests, contributed to the decline in the power of the Church. People thought if God existed why did He allow so many religious people to die as well as common people and why did religious processions, the flagellants (people who whipped themselves so god would take mercy on them) and praying have seemingly no effect on the sickness. The invention of the printing press also contributed to the deterioration of the power of the Church by helping non-religious books to be published and more people to be educated so they would stop believing in what everybody told them. Additionally, the new Protestant Church broke away from the Catholic Church with its new converts turning against the Catholic Church.

In the Middle Ages, the Church wielded great power over society. In many ways the church had more power than the king himself. People believed that life was a test to see if you would end up in heaven or hell. The Church owned almost 1/3 of the land in Europe because wealthy kings would donate land to the Church to ensure the King's entrance into heaven. The Church also operated all schools and libraries, which meant the Church essentially, controlled what people learned.

In the Renaissance instead of highlighting the church, god and heaven and hell people started to believe in humanity (in man) they started to believe that they were good instead of thinking they were bad people. People started to think about new ideas instead of sticking to the old traditional ones like the church believed in. the church in the Middle Ages was corrupt, with enormous wealth and political power. The Christian humanists wanted the Catholic Church to change and become a purer church.

In 1517 a German priest named Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed 95 faults about the church onto a church door He became one of the first reformers. He disagreed with the church that freedom from sin could be bought with money. When the Pope Leo x and the Holy Emperor Charles V demanded that he stop writing and take back all his work. Martin Luther refused and in result was excommunicated from the church. Martin Luther taught that salvation was gained through faith in Jesus Christ instead of being earned by good actions. This greatly challenged the Pope. Martin Luther translated the bible into German from Latin so that people could understand it, he believed that all people baptized as Christians to be a holy priesthood.

He also thought that protestant priests be allowed to marry. All of the people who believe in Martin Luther distinguish themselves as Lutherans; the Lutheran church is just one part of the protestant movement. Some other groups include the Methodist church, the Church of England, Baptist, Arminian etc.

These changes in religion affected the renaissance greatly; the Protestants and Catholics fought each other regularly with throughout the renaissance in conflicts like the 30 years war in Germany and St Bartholomew massacre in France. Now there are three major groups in the Christian religion Catholicism, orthodox and Protestantism if these changes had not occurred who knows where we would be now.

In Conclusion the renaissance was an incredible period of change in history, a light after darkness. The legacy of the renaissance remains today; we still visit cities to see the great renaissance architecture and art. We still experiment and observe science just like the scientists did in the renaissance now because of the renaissance we have education that is not only supplied by the church.

William Byrd

Not much is known about William Byrd's origins, but we believe he was born in Lincolnshire, England around 1540. Byrd was an English organist and composer of the Renaissance. He is considered one of the greatest English composers who ever lived, composing about 470 individual works. Byrd mastered almost every type of music that existed during his lifetime, including Latin Motets, Anthems, Psalmes, Masses, Madrigals, Almans, Galiards, Grounds, etc. He was excellent at writing keyboard music and madrigals. He also composed Latin and English church music. Byrd imprinted each type of music that he played with a hint of his own style. He wrote both sacred and secular pieces.

William Byrd is sometimes called "a Father of English Music".

William was born to Thomas Byrd around 1540. He had two brothers and four sisters. He worked as an apprentice to Thomas Tallis, who was at the time the leading composing member of the Chapel Choir Royal. On his earliest compositions, William worked with other singing men John Shepard and William Mundy.

Byrd's first recorded professional job was the Lincoln Cathedral's organist and choirmaster. He kept this occupation from 1563 to 1569. In 1568 William married Julien Birley with whom he had 7 children. It is possible that in 1569 Byrd was accused of playing music that was too ornate at church when Puritanism was in power (Puritans demanded clear and simple music, and thought that elaborate music was a distraction from the word of God).

In 1572, William Byrd became the gentleman of Chapel Royal when the slot opened after the death of Robert Parsons, who drowned in the Trent. This new occupation gave William immensely more opportunity to broaden his possibilities as a composer. He soon became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).

In 1575, Queen Elizabeth gave William Byrd and Thomas Tallis a special license to publish their music at the printing press for 21 years. The two men used the printer Thomas Vautrollier to print Cantiones Sacae, a collection of 38 Latin motets dedicated to the queen. Although, the project turned into a financial failure.

In the 1580's, Byrd became very involved in the Catholic religion and started to spend time with significant Catholics. In 1583, Byrd got into a sticky situation, for he was a companion of Lord Thomas Paget (who conspired in a plot to overthrow the Protestant Queen Elizabeth). William's membership in the Chapel Royal was suspended and his actions were watched more closely. William was probably saved from prosecution from the Protestants because he wrote a lot of music for the Protestant church.

William Byrd died in Stondon Massey a rich man on the 4th of July 1623. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the Stondon Cathedral churchyard in Essex.

I have chosen to write about the piece "Sing Joyfully unto God" more commonly known as just "Sing Joyfully". The song is one of William's most popular and commonly known pieces. It is a sacred choral work or an anthem written by William Byrd as one of his later pieces. The song is written for four to six separate vocal parts. The song is about singing joyfully and loudly to the God of Jacob so we can praise him. The main lyrics are:

Sing joyfully unto God our strength.
Sing loud, sing loud unto the God of Jacob.
Take the song and bring forth the timbrel,
The pleasant harp and the viol.
Blow the trumpet in the new moon!
Even in the time appointed and at our feast day.
For this is a statute for Israel,
and a law of the God of Jacob.

All the voices sing the same lyrics, just to different tunes and rhythms, to avoid sounding jumbled. The second voice is particularly high and the listener can distinctly hear it while the other voices are lower and make a nice harmony around. The song starts out with only the second voice and then is joined by imitating voices. The song lasts for around three minutes. The lyrics come from the book of Psalms in the Bible. It is sung a cappella, as it includes many singers and no accompanying instrumental music. The song creates some imagery when it says to "blow the trumpet" or "this is a statute for Israel. In the Renaissance, only men would have usually sung this song, as women were generally not allowed into choirs for fear they would distract the men.

Renaissance Art refers to the art in Europe produced during the period of the "renaissance" or rebirth of classical art (Roman and Greek), occurring after the medieval period and before the Baroque period, between the years 1300 and 1520 approximately. Renaissance art saw the introduction of new materials and techniques such as oil paint and perspective.

Much renaissance art has religious meaning (the most copied renaissance painting is "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci, closely followed by "The Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo). Other renaissance art embraced Humanism, that is the belief that mankind is created in God's image and therefore good - as opposed to the emphasis on man's sinfulness of the middle ages. Renaissance art emphasized its classical influences and the idealizing of the subjects in paintings and sculptures. Some renaissance art was also created to display the wealth of the patron. The Catholic Church and wealthy merchants commissioned much of the art created during the period. The aims of the renaissance were to embrace the classical culture in architecture, art, philosophy, etc. The most important concepts behind renaissance art were realism, humanism, idealism, individualism and perspective.

Some of the artists who were part of the Renaissance art movement were Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Donatello, and Botticelli. During the Renaissance, artists saw their social status rise from that of mere craftsmen to highly respected masters. Whereas in the middle ages, individual merit was seldom recognized because of the emphasis on Christian humility, the rise of the philosophy of Individualism meant that artists might be regarded as geniuses.

Leonardo da Vinci

I will be looking at the world-renowned artist and genius Leonardo da Vinci, a man of the Renaissance with unquenchable curiosity, who painted some of the most beautiful paintings of all time, and is called the father of modern science. Leonardo was not only an artist of incredible talent, but also an inventor, sculptor, mathematician, engineer, architect, musician, scientist, anatomist, and more.

This great man was born the illegitimate son of a respected notary and a farmer's daughter in 1452. He received no formal education, but was apprenticed to the artist Verrocchio in 1466 at the age of 14. Verrocchio's workshop was considered at the time to be one of the best in Florence. As well as painting, Leonardo would have been exposed to a vast number of skills during his years as an apprentice, such as chemistry, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, and carpentry, as well as drawing, painting, sculpting, and modeling. Leonardo worked very hard in the workshop. Between the years 1472 and 1475, Leonardo worked together with his master Verrocchio on the painting "Baptism of Christ." In that painting, Leonardo painted an angel carrying Jesus's cloak that was so superior to his master's work that Verrocchio is said to have put down his brush and never painted again. Oil paints were new at the time in Italy, and Leonardo spent much time experimenting with them. The young artist used math to help him paint, and was a great observer of nature, people, animals, and plants. If he saw a person with an interesting face on the street, Leonardo would sketch him. Leonardo da Vinci is famous for having many notebooks. He wrote in notebooks all his life.

When this great man reached 30, he was persuaded by Lorenzo de Medici to move to Milan in order to secure an alliance. Leonardo was extremely interested in machines and technology, and offered himself to the Duke of Milan as a military engineer. Leonardo designed war machines far ahead of his time, like tanks, helicopters and submarines, all of which would not be built for centuries. He was also one of the first to recognize sound waves and to notice that the sun does not move. He was also fascinated by the human body and watched surgeries at hospitals and dissected bodies of the dead.

During his time in Milan, Leonardo painted "The Last Supper," "Lady with Ermine," and "Virgin with the Rocks."

When Italy went into war with France, Leonardo returned to Florence. It was the year 1500. He became the military engineer of Cesare Borgia and traveled around Italy. At that time, Leonardo da Vinci painted what is today's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa."

In 1508, Leonardo da Vinci moved back to Milan, and then to France in 1516 at the request of king Francois I, where he was awarded a stunning manor house (Clos Luce) in the Loire Valley. Leonardo became a good friend of the king, and legend has it that he died in the king's arms.

The violin belongs to the string family. This group consists of instruments with strings such as the viola, the cello, the harp, and the bass. To play music on a violin, its strings can be plucked, like with a harp, or a bow can be drawn across the strings (a bow is a wooden rod with horsehair attached). When a violinist plucks the strings of her violin rather then playing the instrument with a bow, it is called playing in pizzicato, but this technique produces a very different sound and is only used in some pieces. An orchestra may include as many as 30 violins, which are divided into two groups. The first group plays the melody, and the second group plays both melody and harmony. All string family instruments, other than the harp, have wooden bodies, long necks and strings that are stretched from the top of the neck to the tailpiece. The string instruments make up more than half of an orchestra. Being some of the quietest instruments, they are also positioned at the front of an orchestra so the audience can hear them. The violin is the smallest of the string family instruments.

It was rumored that Leonardo de Vinci invented the violin; however this is false. The violin developed over time with many people contributing to its design. Andrea Amati is recognized for making the instrument that resembled today's instrument.

The history of bowed stringed instruments goes back to the ninth century in the Byzantine Empire. One of the ancestors of the violin was called the lyre and was a popular instrument of the Byzantines. In the same time era but in the Islamic world, another similar instrument was used, called the rabab. This was an instrument referred to in documents dating back to 800 AD. It was an instrument made from two silk strings and a bow, but, unlike the violin, was played in the lap. In the 11th and 12th centuries, European writers used the terms "fiddles" or "lira" when talking of bowed instruments. Soon after the rabab was introduced to Western Europe, both bowed instruments spread quickly, possibly giving birth to the violin and most of the string family. As time progressed, two separate stringed instruments evolved the "lira da braccio" held in the arms and the "lira da gamba" held in the knees.

In 1530, the word "violin" appeared in a Brecisian document. This renaissance instrument had only three strings. It grew in popularity in Italy, and, by 1558, the violin had already spread through Europe.

In the early 16th century, the Medici family (a rich and powerful Italian dynasty) asked that an instrument be made that was like the lute in quality but could be used by street performers. Andrea Amati (who was possibly a lute maker) saw how popular the Brecisian violinmakers had become. Amati built his instruments using a mold to make crafting them quicker and more precise, and he made the body more vaulted. His violins became extremely popular with both nobility and street performers.

When the bow of a violin is drawn across a string, the string vibrates and the sound resonates through the violin's hollow wooden body. Depending on which of the four strings is played, the sound changes. If the bow is drawn across a thin string, it makes a high noise, and if it is drawn across a thick string, it makes a lower noise. To produce different notes, the violinist presses down on the string along the neck of the violin.

Charles Sheeler was an American artist and one of the pilgrims of American modernism in the 20th Century. He was born on the 16th of July 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1900 to 1903 he attended the "Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art" then the "Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts". Sheeler had early success as a artist and had an exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery. In 1909 the artist traveled to Paris just as Cubism was at its height. Returning back to America he realized that he could not support himself as an artist and switched to commercial photography instead. In his lifetime Sheeler painted many works. His art is very industrialised.

I will be looking at Jean Arp. Jean Arp was born in Strasbourg to a French mother and German father on the 16 of December 1886. He died on the 7th of June 1966, aged 79. Jean Arp lived in France, Germany and Switzerland. Arp was a poet as well as an artist.

During Arp's artistic career, he worked with the Abstract pioneers, was one of the founders of "Dada", hung out with the Surrealists, went on to found the movement Abstraction-Création and invented biomorphic sculpture. These movements and Arp's simple amoeba-like forms had a huge impact on art. Jean Arp is also known for his collage and printmaking. Although he was an artist, Jean Arp considered himself anti-art, for everything that art stood for, Dada (the group of anti-art artists) represented the opposite. A reviewer from the American Art News called the Dada art movement's philosophy "the sickest, most paralyzing, and most destructive thing that has ever originated from the brain of man." Dadaists hoped to destroy traditional culture and aesthetics I will be looking at an artwork by Jean Arp. Jean Arp was born in Strasbourg to a French mother and German father on the 16 of December 1886. He died on the 7th of June 1966, aged 79. Jean Arp lived in France, Germany and Switzerland. Arp was a poet as well as an artist.

During Arp's artistic career, he worked with the Abstract pioneers, was one of the founders of "Dada", hung out with the Surrealists, went on to found the movement Abstraction-Création and invented biomorphic sculpture. These movements and Arp's simple amoeba-like forms had a huge impact on art. Jean Arp is also known for his collage and printmaking. Although he was an artist, Jean Arp considered himself anti-art, for everything that art stood for, Dada (the group of anti-art artists) represented the opposite. A reviewer from the American Art News called the Dada art movement's philosophy "the sickest, most paralyzing, and most destructive thing that has ever originated from the brain of man." Dadaists hoped to destroy traditional culture and aesthetics.

Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest and most influential modern artists of the 20th century. His revolutionary and immense body of art is separated into a few clear categories; the blue period, the rose period, the African influenced period and his most famous and revolutionary contribution to the world of art, Cubism.

Pablo Picasso was born on the 25 of October 1881, to father Ruiz Blasco and mother Maria Picasso Lopez. When he was born, the midwife believed he was stillborn because he was such a weak baby. Pablo was baptized with 23 names; Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, as he was named after lots of relatives and saints. Pablo's first word was "piz" the Spanish word for pencil. Picasso's father was a middle class artist, who mostly painted kitchen pictures and taught art.

Picasso was a child obsessed with art. He grew up in a very female household, with his mother, two sisters, two aunts and a maid. He was the center of the household, being the oldest child and with his father spending more time outside. On paper like in his arithmetic books he saw pictures and doodled constantly. In the number 7 he saw a nose and would draw the figure differently every time. From a young age he was determined to become the greatest artist in the world and most of all, to surpass his father.

Pablo was fascinated with bull fighting, at the tender age of 8 he began to draw dramatic scenes of death in the arena. In 1890 his father began to coach Picasso in drawing. By the age of 13, he started to paint with oil paints, and he drew members of the household like his aunts or sisters. He also expirenced love for the first time and became lovesick with a girl; this ignited his creativity, he often drew the girl as an angel surrounded with cupids.

In 1895 his father recived a job offer in Barcalona and the family moved. Living in Barcelona was a huge difference from Picasso's life in the south of Spain. It was a modern city, full of new ideas and violence. To show off his young son's talent, Picasso's father put him in the local art school, where Ruiz worked as a professor of drawing. After Pablo's paintings were submitted for the entrance exam, the school admitted him straight into the advanced class. His older classmates were amazed with the 13-year-old Picasso and opened his mind to their new ideas about destroying the government. In the art school Picasso was pushed to paint religious scenes. His father intended for Picasso to become an artist who painted large expensive salon paintings or religious art.

At 16 years of age, Picasso was sent to Madrid to further develop his art education and to gain recognition. Unfortunately, he found no artistic modernity in the Royal Academy of San Fernando and became miserable. He sketched life around him constantly. In 1899, the young artist moved back to Barcelona. Picasso started to spend his time with a circle of artists. He had an exhibition in February 1900, however, the critics reviewed harshly declaring his work was sloppy and uneven, still one of his painting "last moments" was chosen to be exhibited at the Spanish pavilion at the Universal Exposition in Paris, France. At the time Paris was the most modern city in Europe.

Picasso and his group of Spanish friends, now partly living in Paris, moved to Momartre (the shabby, artistic neighborhood of the city). To celebrate his 19th birthday, they all went to see his painting at the exhibition. In Spain, the modern painting may have stood out, however, at the World Fair in Paris, it fit right in. To Picasso's fury, the young group of Spanish men who spoke barely any French were looked down upon by the French people.

In the years 1901 to 1904, Picasso experienced his blue period. After the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas in a Parisian café (over a broken heart when his lover, Germain refused to marry him), Picasso became depressed and felt guilty at not being there to help his friend. He started to work feverishly in his dead friend's studio, (where the rent was already paid) to prepare for a one-man exhibition the art dealer Amboise Vollard had offered. Often turning out as many as three paintings a day. He also had a love affair with Germain. The lifeless face of Carlos inspired Picasso to paint with sad, dark greyish blues. He often painted pictures of staving beggars or drunks.

In 1904, Picasso met Fernande Olivier, a dark haired beautiful bohemian artist and model. Picasso made up his mind to permanently live in Paris, after previously dividing his time between Spain and France. Pablo also changed his style from dark, depressing and gloomy to cheerful and warm. His relationship may have had a part in pulling Picasso out of his depression. Picasso was a possessive and jealous lover, and he often locked Fernande in the house or stole her shoes so she could not leave. Nevertheless, the relationship was happy, and Picasso produced many paintings of pink or orange coloured circus performers and clowns, as well as many portraits of Fernande.

Picasso soon came to the attention of Gertrude and Leo Stein, wealthy American siblings and art dealers. They had worked with many famous artists in the 20th century. They introduced Picasso to the one and only artist he would ever consider his rival, Henry Matisse. Picasso was incredibly jealous of Matisse's originality and his ability to defy classical tradition. The two men were rivals and good friends. Picasso was determined to surpass Matisse.

As his paintings started to sell, Picasso started to experiment more with art. He had decided he would exceed Matisse and become the king of modern art in Paris. He isolated himself in his studio where he sketched hundreds of drawings. He wanted to make something unlike anyone had ever seen, to verify HE was the greatest artist. Picasso went to see an African art exhibit at the Trocadero Museum. He was inspired by the simple, yet strong, tribal masks and carvings and wanted to make something just as rough and raw. He started to distort faces in his paintings, to simplify lines, and to twist shapes. Pablo Picasso's art would never be the same. This would be known as the African influenced period.

Pablo Picasso and his friend George Braque shared the same Ideas about society. They believed that the world had changed more in the last decade than in the last century. The world had industrialized. The two men believed that cinema would take over books and photographs would take over paintings. Picasso and Braque worked closely over the years 1909 to 1912. They developed a style of painting called Cubism. Cubism broke away from the renaissance traditions of perspective and illusion. Rather than painting an object as it appeared, they analyzed the object by depicting it from different angles at the same time.

Although Picasso was never labeled as a surrealist, he had many friends and connections who were. His art was slightly changed. He started to draw monsters and experimented with metamorphosis. For instance he drew the Minotaur from Greek mythology, which was half bull half human. However Picasso was more interested in surrealist poetry. In 1934 he started to write poetry and from 1935 to 1936 Picasso quit painting and focused entirely on poetry.

In 1928 Picasso had started to work with sheet metal and iron for sculpture. In 1931 Picasso left his wife with his mistress Marie-Thérse Walter to live in a country home. There he started to sculpt large heads using Marie-Thérse as his model. He also experimented with found objects.

Picasso remained neutral in World War two like he had always done, since he was Spanish he was not forced to fight. He remained in Paris during the German occupation and worked with smuggled bronze from the French Resistance. He also wrote more poetry.

In his later years Picasso started to make reinterpretations of old masters and other paintings he liked and convert them to his own style. He interpreted paintings from artists including Goya, Manet, Delacroix, Velazquez, Zurbaran, Cezanne, El Greco, Ingres, and Courbet.

Picasso died on the 8th of April 1973 at the old age of 92. His widow Jacqueline rogue committed suicide in 1986 when she was 59, after grief over Picasso's death. Picasso died with 4 children. His legacy lives on to this day. Pablo Picasso painted over 50,000 artworks in his lifetime.

Introduction

Islam and Christianity have size in common. They are the two largest religions in the world. Both derived from Judaism and originated in the Middle East. There are many similarities and differences between the two.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world, overall 2.1 billion people see themselves as Christians. Although, keep in mind that the term Christianity includes many different branches and denominations. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and it may soon overtake Christianity as the largest because of the high birth rate in Muslim communities. There are approximately 1.5 billion people who follow Islam.

Christianity and Islam are both monotheistic religions. Both teach that there is only one God/Allah (the Arabic word for God). Both Christians and Muslims (the name for believers in Islam) go to a holy place to pray as a community (a church or mosque). Both set aside one day a week as a day for rest and worship (one of the elements both inherited from Judaism the "Sabbath"). Both observe many religious holidays and ceremonies. They are also both based on holy scripture (writings). The holy book of Christianity is called the Bible. The holy book of Islam is called the Koran. Both Islam and Christianity regard part of the Jewish Torah as scripture (the "old testament" or the "Pentateuch"). Islam also regards part of the "New Testament" of the Bible as scripture, however, Islam believes that both the Torah and the Gospels have had additions and subtractions made that affect their reliability.

Islamic and Christian theologies are also very different. Christians believe in the Trinity - a kind of division of God into three beings (Father/Son/Holy Spirit). Muslims believe there is absolute unity in God and believe that God is sublimely one.

Holy Books

Christians believe that the Bible is the "Word of God" however they believe that people wrote it under inspiration from God in human words. Muslims, on the other hand, believe that the Qu'aran (or Koran, there are different spellings in English of Arabic words) are exactly Allah's words. They believe Mohammed recited exactly what Allah said, without any input of his own.

Islam is much more of a book-centered religion, and they regard the Qu'ran as being immensely more important than Christians regard the New Testament. Muslims see the Qu'ran as highly as Christians see Christ.

Ceremonies/Rituals

Christian
Christians refer to their holy ceremonies/rituals as sacraments. Sacraments include:
Baptism - this is the first and basic sacrament of Christian initiation where a believer is dedicated to God, this is sometimes done when the person is an infant by their parents on their behalf.
Confirmation - is the second sacrament of Christian initiation, generally the person confirms their faith and often this is done before a Christian begins taking communion.
Holy Communion/ Eucharist - is the third sacrament of Christian initiation, Christians eat a piece of bread and drink a sip of wine to symbolize the blood and body of Jesus Christ to remind them that Christ died as an atonement for their sins.
Marriage - Christians regard marriage as a holy sacrament between the husband, the wife, and God uniting the married couple.
Penance/Reconciliation/Anointing of the sick - these are the Sacraments of healing in which Christians seek forgiveness and healing.

The five pillars of Islam
Shahadah=a profession of faith: A Shahadah is a declaration saying that God is one and Mohamed is his messenger. Muslims are supposed to say it at least once in their lives but many say it every day. In English it translates like this: "There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God."
Salat - Prayer five times daily: Salat are the prayers that Muslims must recite 5 times each day. When saying the prayers, a Muslims should face Mecca, the city where Mohammed was born, although originally Muslims faced towards Jerusalem.
Zakat - alms giving: In Islam everything belongs to Allah and Muslims are required to give to charity.
Sawm - Fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan.
Hajj - Pilgrimage to the Holy city of Mecca

Holy places

Islam and Christianity both regard Jerusalem as holy. Christians have also historically made pilgrimages to other cities where miracles have occurred. However, modern Christianity has much less of an emphasis on holy relics and places. For Muslims, the city of Mecca is the holiest city in the world, and every Muslim who is able to do so is required to make a pilgrimage there once in his or her life. Medina, the city where the prophet Mohammed (Muslims always follow the saying of his name with "peace be upon him") moved his followers in the year 622, is also regarded by Muslims as holy.

Beliefs and Rules

Christians have ten rules they must try to follow called "The Ten Commandments" which come from the "Old Testament" and Christianity's shared beliefs with Judaism. Christians believe that Moses went up to Mount Siani, met with God, and brought down two stone tablets with the ten commandments engraved onto them. Christians are also commanded by Jesus to follow what is known as the "golden rule" of loving one's neighbor as oneself. Jesus commanded his followers to love their enemies, to turn the other cheek, and to love one another. These are the main rules that Christianity is based upon, however, there are many other rules in the Bible that Christians must try to follow.
Muslims must follow the rules set forth in the Quran and the Sunnah (which is the life and example of Muhammad). The first book Muslims used was the Torah, the second one was the Psalms, the third one was the Gospel. The rest of the holy teaching of Islam is what Mohammed recited as the Quran (Koran) and the "hadith" or reports of Muhammad's sayings, his actions, his tacit approval of actions, and his demeanor. The moral code and religious rules that come from the Koran and the Sunnah are called Sharia law. These rules are often very specific and cover many aspects of life including inheritance, marriage, divorce and justice. For example, a Muslim man is allowed to have up to four wives at the same time if he can support them all and treat them all equally. If a couple divorces, a child stays with its mother until the age of seven or eight when the child is allowed to choose which parent to live with.
Food

Most Christians are omnivores, they don't mind eating any kind of meat. Some fast on Fridays and in the 40 days of lent for spiritual reasons. Besides that, they may make their own choices on what they eat.
Most Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink pork, alcohol or blood. Their meat must be killed in a certain way, and before they kill it, they have a special person whose job is to bless it. All the food that Muslims are allowed to eat is called halal.
Clothing

In Christianity very religious people who work in the church like nuns, monks, priests, and some pastors wear special clothing or garments that are like uniforms or costumes for their job.

For ordinary Christians, girls are supposed to wear modest clothing for example not wearing their shorts too high, not wearing tight fitted outfits or not wearing shirts that expose their bras, etc.

In Islam there is no exact material or clothing that men must wear. The outfit just has to cover the body from the belly button to the knees and should not be made out of silk. Muslim men should not decorate themselves with gold rings or other jewelry.

For Muslim women it does not matter what material their clothes are made from, however they must wear clothing that covers the whole body including the hair. It is not necessary that the face or the hands are covered. The clothing cannot be tight anywhere and it cannot be see through.

Language

The Koran is written in Arabic and Muslims believe it should be read in Arabic

The Bible has been translated into most of the languages that exist in the world, and modern Christians do not have a preference for any specific language, although historically, Catholic masses were said in Latin.

Divisions

In Christianity and Islam there are many different denominations. There are approximately 39,000 denominations in Christianity, The Gordon- Conwell Theological Seminary estimates that a new Christian denomination is formed every 12 hours. Some of the main Christian denominations include: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and various Protestant denominations of which the largest is Baptist.

In Islam, Muslims in different sects do not always view each other as Muslims. Sunni Islam is the largest Muslim sect with approximately 940 million Sunnis/Sunnites. Sunni Islam makes up 85% of Muslims around the world. Most of the Muslims who do not belong to the Sunni sect belong to the Shia sect, which is estimated to be 10-15% of Muslims or approximately 163 million believers.

Mohammed's followers divided into two main Islamic groups after Mohammed's death. The majority of the Muslims at the time followed Abu Bakr as Mohammed's successor and became the Sunnis, while the sect now known as Shias followed Mohamed's closest relative - Ali.

The Gherkin building is a famous London skyscraper; it was the first tall ecological building in London, using half the power a normal tower of the same size would use. The 41 floors are used for offices, a shopping arcade, and restaurants and on the top floor a private clubroom with spectacular panoramic views of the city (London's highest occupied floor). It has 76,400 square metres of space. At the time of it's completion the building was the second tallest skyscraper in London, now it lays the 7th tallest.

The Gherkin building is officially known as "30 St Mary Axe", from the street name, however from the time of its construction Londoners have dubbed it the "Gherkin building" for it's resemblance to the fruit. I think it looks a bit like a space rocket. The building has a steel frame and a glass façade with diamond shaped panels. There are no straight edges as it is curved.

The Gherkin building was built after the former Baltic Exchange building was seriously damaged by a terrorist attack from the IRA in 1992. The building was commissioned by "Swiss Re" (a reinsurance company). It was started in 1997 and was completed in 2004. The architectural firm of the project was Sir Norman Foster and partners.

The building has spiraling lightwells to improve natural ventilation and light

The iconic building has won numerous prestigious awards for it's striking appearance and its ecological friendliness such as the RIBA Stirling prize, the London region award, the Emporis skyscraper award, and the 2006 BD World Architecture prize for the most admired new building in the world.

I like the building. I think it is original and eye catching and far more elegant and attractive to a normal skyscraper. I think it is a good addition to the London skyline.