If Dr. Seuss were an architect....

This house is called the "Crooked House" and it is located in the Rezydent shopping center in Sopot, Poland. It is 4,000 square meters. The architect is Szotynscy Zaleski (1,2). He was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer(3). The last picture is from Dr.Seuss' illustrations...try comparing them to the "Crooked House".

Street Level

The sculptures below are from the "Street Level" exhibition at ICA Boston.
These artworks both demonstrate the unique culture of the city and critique the downfalls of an urban setting.

The da Vinci Code

Leonardo da Vinci defined the term “Renaissance Man.” He is, in fact, the person who comes to mind when one thinks of a “Renaissance Man.” He was charismatic and could easily befriend almost everyone (but not Michelangelo). He was accomplished in the fields of art, science, music, and engineering, but perhaps the most impressive thing about Leonardo is that most of what he knew or learned of the world, he taught himself (he taught himself how to play the lyre and he even built himself one in the shape of a lion’s head.) He discovered the world on his own terms instead of simply settling for the knowledge that his teachers could offer him. He did not simply learn all that he could that was previously discovered by men before him, he challenged himself to become more than what any human thought that a man could be. He realized his own potential and explored the furthest reaches of his mind. He wanted to know everything, and he had the mental capacity to teach himself.

Leonardo did things that other people did not dare to such as going to morgues in the dark of the night to study the anatomy of the human body. People whispered about how abnormal that was, but he continued to do it until people were openly questioning his sanity and his patron was threatening to stop sponsoring him. He gained valuable knowledge through his midnight studies of the human body. He made sketched of muscles and He was the first person to be called a “genius.” He was also the first person to perfect perspective and foreshortening. Leonardo also had the ability to breathe life into his paintings. As Vasari said, “The eyes have the luster and moisture always seen in living people….Anyone who looked very attentively at the hollow of her throat would see her pulse beating.” The painting that he is describing is the “Mona Lisa.” (fig.1) She has a mystery about her smile and it can be related to the Archaic smile that is shown in ancient Greek sculpture. The woman depicted in the painting was once said to be the wife of Francisco del Giocondo, but now historians maintain that she was the wife of a Florentine merchant. The “Mona Lisa” is one of the most celebrated works that came out of the Renaissance era because of the attention to detail and its lifelike qualities. It is arguably the most recognizable portrait ever made.

He had the amazing ability to capture not just the image of a person, but also their essence in his portraits. He has done the same with his self portraits. (fig. 2) He looks as though he is concentrating on something in deep thought, which is fitting because he was painting himself and was probably in both deep concentration and thought. Leonardo was, as most genius’ are, troubled. During the 1480s, he was especially troubled. His emotions were shown through his paintings. His unfinished painting, Jerome in the Wilderness,(fig. 3) has an eerie, dark feeling to it. Jerome looks as though he is troubled by something and the scenery of craggy rocks surrounding him is less than cheery. To further document this unpleasant time in Leonardo’s life, he wrote in his journal, “all this time I thought I was learning to live; I was learning to die.” However, even unfinished, this drawing shows his genius. He drew it from an unusual angle; it appears as though he is below the level of Jerome. The precision of Leonardo’s drawings of Jerome’s musculature and body can be attributed to his studies of the anatomy of the human body.

Leonardo rarely finished his projects, but his notebooks are further testimony to his genius. In those notebooks, he made sketches that provided the basis of information for anatomists and biologists. His sketch known as Embryo in the Womb (fig. 4) not only provided a diagram of an embryo, but also provided notes on his observations and conclusions. Another sketch of his is the heart. The sketches of the embryo and the heart were most likely drawn during Leonardo’s midnight visits to the morgue. He made drawings of the human skeleton and human musculature. He contributed to the study of anatomy over 200 drawings of the human body. With his Vitruvian Man (fig. 5) he shows how movement affects the musculature of a drawing and he demonstrates perfect proportion.

Leonardo also made many contributions to the world of engineering. In his journals he designed many inventions such as musical instruments, hydraulic pumps, reversible crank mechanisms, finned mortar shells and a steam cannon. In 1502, he created a drawing of a bridge that would span an inlet at the mouth of the Bosphorus River that is known as the Golden Horn. He intended the bridge to be 720 feet long. However, the sultan that he would be building it for, the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II of Istanbul believed that it was impossible to erect such a massive construction. It turns out that Leonardo’s idea was not impossible for in 2001, Norway decided to build a smaller bridge using his idea. Furthermore, on May 17, 2006, the Turkish government decided to build Leonardo’s bridge over the Golden Horn. Leonardo was particularly infatuated with the concept of flight. He studied birds which produced his “Codex on the Flight of Birds” in 1505 which examined the flight behaviors of birds and held his idea’s for flying machines.(fig.6) Some of his ideas included a helicopter and a hang glider. The helicopter was impractical for him, but the hang glider has successfully been built.

Vasari talks about Leonardo’s attention to detail in the horses in his cartoon in the Hall of the Pope. (fig.7) The cartoon tells the story Niccolo Piccinino, who was a commander of the Duke Filippo of Milan. Leonardo drew a group of horsemen fighting for a standard. He studied the anatomy of horses and drew them in his notebooks (fig.8) This cartoon shows Leonardo’s ability to portray emotion in a piece of art. The horses are just as violent and engaged in the battle as the horsemen are. Vasari says in the painting “anger, disdain, and vindictiveness are displayed no less by the horsemen than by their horses, two of which forelegs intertwined are battling with their teeth no less fiercely than their riders are fighting for the standard, which one of the soldiers has seized.”

Leonardo was more than just a “Renaissance Man.” He possessed all the qualities of one such man because he was learned on the subjects of art, athletics, science, mathematics, engineering, music and architecture. He was also charismatic. He was a friend of kings and popes as well as common people. He made invaluable discoveries that impact the worlds of the subjects that he mastered. He was the champion of his time and he, as well as his art, was well-known and it is even more well-known today, but even that was not enough for Leonardo. He believed that he never achieved perfection in his art and that he said on his death bed to the king that he “had offended God and the men of the world by not having worked at his art as he should have.” He may not have given the world the caliber of art that he wanted to, but what he did achieve still warrants the work of a true genius. As Vasari says, “The loss of Leonardo saddened beyond all measure everyone who had known him, for no one ever lived who had brought such honour to painting.”

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High Renaissance Test

1. Alfino and the maiden
Flanders 15th century
Van Eyck

2. Raphael
15th century
Florence
Madonna and the Child

3. School of Athens
Michelangelo
15th century
Florence

4. David
Michelangelo
15th century
Florence

5. Pieta
Michelangelo
15th century
Florence

6. Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo
15th century
Vatican

7. Michelangelo
Judgment Day
in the Sistine Chapel
15th century

8. Michelangelo
Dying Slave
14th century
Florence

9. Moses
Michelangelo
15th century
Florence

10. Michelangelo
Pieta giovanni
14th century
Florence

11. St. Peters Dome
Rome
Michelangelo
15th century

12. Laurentian Stairs
Michelangelo
15th century
Florence

13. Vestution Man
Leonardo da Vinci
Florence
14th century

14. Leonardo da Vinci Self Portrait
Florence
15th century

15. Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
15th century
Florence

16. Lady of the Rocks
Leonardo da Vinci
14th century
Florence

17. Assumption
Titian
15th century
Florence

18. Venus of Urbina
Titian
15th century
Florence

19. The Last Supper
Tintoretto
15th century
Florence

2o. Palladio
San Giullani
15th century
Venice

21. Madonna with the long neck
Titian
15th century
Florence

22. Bronzino
15th century
Florence
Madonna

"Why did you turn off the jazz music?"

One night Jean Girard walked into a popular NASCAR bar. He decided to put his favorite type of music, jazz, on the juke box. Chaos ensued. The jazz music on the juke box was there for "profiling" purposes only."

African Americans during the early 20th century would have received that kind of reaction if they decided to play jazz music in a bar. However they would most likely have not been in a bar with White people due to segregation and the jazz music would not have been on the juke box. I don't even know if they had juke boxes. Nevertheless, in the early 20th century African Americans in the communities of the southern United States developed jazz music from a blend of African and American music traditions. This blend occurred with African slaves being brought to America. They had their own types of musics and developed spirituals after coming to America. They also learned how to play the European instruments that their owners had such as violins, banjos and other percussion instruments. Some characteristics of jazz music would be its use of blues notes and improvisation. There are many branches of jazz such as ragtime or swing. Jazz artists such as Buddy Bolden or Bunk Johnson started the jazz revolution that led to the mainstream music today. They stepped away from the rigid music that existed and created something individual and organic.

Why don't you come with me little girl, on a magic carpet ride

The art of carpet making is very essential to the Persian people. The art dates back to ancient times. Persian carpets are divided into three different groups: Farsh (anything bigger than 6 by 4 ft), Qualicheh ( 6 by 4 ft and smaller), and nomadic carpets known as Kilim (rough carpets). The first picture is a Qualicheh rug and the second one is a Kilim carpet.

Danke Schoen

Over the years many artists have given thanks to people through music.

Artists such as Wayne Newton, John Hiatt, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Paul Wright and G. Love. Wayne Newton sings a songs called "Danke Schoen". It was featured in many movies such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Meet the Parents", and "Matchstick Man". Danke Shoen is German for "thank you very much". John Hiatt wrote a song called "Thank You Girl". In that song he thanks his girl for saving him from going further down on the wrong path. Keith Urban's "God's Been Good to Me", Martina McBride's "Blessed", and Paul Wright's "From Sunrise to Sunset" are all songs that thank God for how generous and merciful he has been to them. G. Love's "Thanks and Praise" is a song that he wrote to remind people to always be thankful no matter how bad they think their lives are. These are the lyrics to his song:

A fistful of steel in my right hand
And if it be Jah will
I began
Giving thanks and praise
Cause I coulda been
Pushing up daisies
With Babylon trying to phase me
But I evade it you see
Ya if was
Something that had nothing to do with me
Giving thanks for the quest
For one love and one unity
Cause free is what we should be
One people not in captivity
Giving thanks for the sun up above
Shine on everyone
Raise a Jah love
It keeps my black skin black
So you know it’s a factor
Giving thanks for the days that’s past us
Jah provides not because he has to
Giving thanks for what I have Jah
Remember I and I
When you’re passing by and by
Would you ever see an eye
When I give thanks and praise
....
well even if you got the whole damn world on your shoulders
every day you’re still alive
but a little bit older
I just shake it off
Can’t let it get me down
Especially in this crunch time
I won't just wanna sit around and??
I got to keep my shit together
We been walking on this earth forever
I might’ve lost my job
Lost my girl’s touch
But I ain’t in a rush
So hush baby hush
I’m just chilling in the park
Clear my mind
It’s a nice day
The sky’s still blue
The wind is still blowing
The trees are still growing
My baby boy is two
You’re getting bigger everyday
We chilling philly
Around the way where we living
Got the whole world in check
This is just the beginning
So I keep my mind open
Eyes shining bright
I’m an old dog learning new tricks every night
And every time you get cut
You know you might get scarred
But don’t sweat it kid
Just remember who you are
When I give thanks and praise
....
Giving thanks for the birds
and the herbs
and the words I speak
To a superb sound
Giving thanks for the funky dope sound
Giving thanks for the ground
Place stone
Haile Selassie (JAH!)
Jah will being done in the fulfillment of the prophecy
Door to door
King of Kings
All eternity
giving thanks for my health
cause I know that somewhere there’s children starving to death
giving thanks for my friends and my family
I couldn’t make it sometimes
Without them helping me
Someday this world will come up
Babylon taking me through phases
We’re still giving thanks and praise
Gotta give thanks and praise...

Early Renaissance

1.Explain how the term 'revolution' applies to the work of Giotto. Define your terms carefully.

The term revolution applies to the work of Giotto because he revolutionized the way people saw art and especially paintings. His frescoes were something that no one in that time had ever seen before. His paintings were more realistic and every figure in them was doing something different. The Lamentation is a good example of his work. It depicts Jesus after having been taken down from the cross, surrounded by his followers. Every person is doing something different and they all have a different face. The angels show the beginnings of foreshortening, which was the beginning of perspective. Perspective would not be perfected until Leonardo da Vinci. The people in Giotto's works were also three dimensional which was a big step from the two dimensional people in earlier works. Giotto set the standard for Renaissance painters. From his time forward, paintings would never be the same.

2. Choose two sculptures by Donatello and compare/contrast with two sculptures from Ancient Greece or Rome. One of Donatello's must be the Magdalen.
Donatello's David and the Kritios Boy appear similar at first. David is from the biblical story "David and Goliath". He is shown with his foot on the head of Goliath in a triumphant pose. The Kritios boy is a Greek sculpture. He marked the grave of a solider who died in battle. Both sculptures are testimonies to victory. Both are also of young boys, they are both nude, and they are both in contrapposto. However there are some differences, David is made from bronze and the Kritios Boy is made from another stone. The Kritios boy lacks emotion while David seems to have feeling. The Renaissance was all about intellect and feelings.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Donatello's Magdalen is that she is made from wood or it could be her obvious feeling of despair that she portrays. Aphrodite is from Ancient Greece. The only feeling she may be portraying is calm, but that is open for interpretation. Magdalen is obviously in the depths of despair. She has her hands clasped in prayer and she seems to be begging for forgiveness. Aphrodite is standing in the Classical Greek contrapposto stance.

3. Explain how political events had an impact on both Dante and Leonardo's lives and work.

Dante Alighierie wrote The Divine Comedy, The Inferno, and Paradiso. He wrote all of those books in the vernacular Italian. Dante came from a very wealthy and influential family. His father was involved in politics and he supported the pope. Dante fought in the front rank at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289 which made him an important political figure. Charles de Valois and the Black Guephs invaded Florence in 1301 and Dante was exiled until he paid a fine. However he liked being exiled and the papacy paid for a place for him to live. During the time that he was exiled he wrote Paradiso. He remained exiled until he died.

Leonardo is a very important painter of the Renaissance. He liked to go to the morgue and study the anatomy of corpses, and it was weird for people to like to hang out with dead people in the middle of the night. Leonardo eventually had to stop his midnight visits because people were accusing him of using black magic. He depended on people to sponsor his work. He had many wealthy families willing to support him. Without art being so popular at this time he may have never even painted or at least reached the work that he created.
4.Explain how 15th century Florence contributed to the concept of 'genius' in Western Culture.

15th century Florence greatly contributed to the concept of "genius" because it was in this time that that phrase was even coined. During this time people tested the limits of science that no one had dared to do before. They tried new things without fear of punishment or breaking tradition. The artists and scientists of this time challenged each other to be better and to discover more. In western culture we think of a genius as someone who is much smarter than the average person. In that time it meant the same. People such as Brunellechi and da Vinci are truly geniuses. da Vinci had so many things going on in his head, you can tell that through his journals. He revolutionized the way people approached art and science. He seemed to have all the answers, yet still kept his air of mystery. No one will ever know what it like to be one of those geniuses but we use them as an example of what a genius truly is.

5. Research and describe the impact of the 1966 flood of the Arno River. Find pics not available through Wikipedia.

Between November 3rd and 4th 1966, disaster struck Florence, Italy. The Arno River had flooded the city. The muddy waters wiped away many significant pieces of historical art and books. However the Angels of the Mud came to the rescue. They saved many pieces of art and books. The Angles of the Mud was a group of young volunteers. Still, they couldn't save everything. Many pieces of history were lost that day.

Gothic Test

1. Compare and contrast Gothic gargoyles with earlier examples of monsters and beasts.

Gargoyles were used to drop the rain water that fell onto churches' roofs away from the church so as to not create damage to the foundation or flood the basement. The term "gargoyle" came from the French word "gargouille" which means "throat" or "gullet". The French "gargouille" originally came from the Latin word "gargulio" or "gula". The root word "gar" means to swallow. Spanish gargoyles are called "gargola" which comes from the Spanish word "garganta", which meaning "throat". Chimeras are often mistaken for gargoyles. They are sculptures that only serve artistic purposes. They are not used to deter water from the buildings' foundations. Gargoyles normally have grotesque features in order to scare off evil spirits.

An example of a beast used in earlier architecture is a lamassu. The lamassi were used to protect and support ancient doorways in Assyrian palaces. They normally combined different animals to make one big, intimidating monster. Below is an example of one that is a combination of a human and a winged lion. It was made during the Neo- Assyrian Period (883-859 BC).

The Sphinx in Egypt (fig. 3) is another example of beat used in earlier architecture. It faces the rising sun and is said to protect the Giza Plateau. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped a sun god and the Sphinx became the center of solar worship. It has the body of a lion and the head of a human. The Pharoah Khafre commissioned the project and it is said that it is his head that is protrayed as the Sphinx's head.

These beasts are different in that some of their purposes were varied. The main use of a gargoyle was to deter water from the foundation of the church; they acted as a gutter. The lamassi were used to protect the gates of the city. The Sphinx was used for worship. However, some of their purposes were very similar. The gargoyles were used to ward away evil spirits. The lamassi were used to intimidate and keep intruders out of Assyria. The Sphinx was used to watch the horizon and protect the Giza Plateau.

2. Giving visual examples (pictures), explain the difference between French and English Gothic churches.

French Gothic churches were built before English churches. The goal of a French Gothic church was to let in as much light as possible. They acheived this through making their churches long and narrow so they could make the windows surround the nave. They also had to make the walls thinner so that they could put more windows in. In order to make the walls thinner they had to develop a way to redistribute the weight of the roof so that it did not all press on the walls. They did this through the groin vault ceiling and most importantly, flying buttresses.

English churches were more ornate. They were also much bigger. Their churches were wider and shorter. They rarely featured flying butresses; if they did it was only for decoration. They also developed the Pendant vault ceiling which is unique to English architecture.

The first example is Notre Dame de Paris cathedral. It is a great example of French Gothic architecture because it has the flying buttresses and is long and narrow. It is also much higher than an English church would be.

The second example is Westminster Abbey in England. It is not nearly as tall as the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and it is much more ornate. It features the pendant vaulted ceiling.

3. How do Gothic French churches demonstrate a change in theology from the Romanesque? Cite the examples of at least six churches.

The Romanesque era began with the barbarian invasions. The Roman Empire fell and anarchy ensued. A plague broke out. People feared that Judgement Day was upon them. The architecture of this time reflected the dark times they faced. Churches were used as fortresses to protect people from the invading barbarians. The walls were laid with thick stones. There were little to no windows in most churches. Almost all of the art work produced in this era depicted Judgement Day or scenes relating to the end of the world. Those artworks were used to remind people to follow Christ and focus on getting into heaven.

The rise of Charlemagne brought a new era. With a stabilized government, people did not have to fear invasions. People stopped focusing on death and the end of the world. There was no longer a need for fortress like churches. Churches were built with thinner walls in order to put lots of windows in. The groin vault ceiling allowed for the weight of the roof to not be put on the walls. Also, the flying buttress was invented by Villard de'Honnecourt. That also aided in the use of windows in churches because it took some of the weight off of the walls. This era also saw the rise of ornate churches. They were flambouyant and almost ridiculous.

St. Michael's in Hildesheim, Germany is an example of an early Romanesque church. (fig. 1)It is very fortress like church with few windows. St. Sernin in Toulouse, France (fig. 2) is another example of a Romanesque church. It has a barrell- vaulted ceiling, it's fortress like and it has few windows. However, the ceiling is higher than most other Romanesque churches which illustrates the change towards Gothicism. St. Etienne in Caen, France(fig. 3) is an example of a church that shows the transformation from Romanesque to the Gothic era. It has a groin vault ceiling and a very high ceiling that is characteristic of a Gothic church. However, it is not ornate or light enough to truely be a Gothic church. Notre Dame de Paris (fig. 4) is an example of an early Gothic church. It has a very ornate facade and it is massive especially in height. It has a large rose window which is very characteristic of Gothic churches and it has stained glass windows all over the church. It also introduces the flying buttress. The Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France (fig. 5) is an example of a church in high Gothic. It has a rose window and a highly ornamented facade. It has many windows and a very high groin vaulted ceiling. St. Chapelle in Paris, France (fig. 6) encompasses what the Gothic era meant. It is known as the "cathedral of light". It lives up to its name. It has stained glass windows from the floor to the ceiling.

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fig. 5

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4. Is stained glass an art form in the order of painting? Give specific visual examples in your answer.

I think that stained glass in not an art form in the order of painting. I would relate it more to a mosaic. Yes, the artist paints the glass, but they are not illustrating a picture using the paint necessarily. Stained glass is just like a mosaic because you use painted glass to create a picture and in mosaics you use painted tiles to create a picture or pattern. The huge rose window in the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral is an example of how the painted glass is used to create patterns or a picture in the window. The mosaic of Justinian from San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy uses painted tiles to portray the idea.

5.Explain syncretism in the example of il Duomo, the Florence Cathedral and it's surrounding buildings.

Il Duomo, the Florence Cathedral and it's surrounding buildings all have characteristics of the Romanesque, Gothic and early Renaissance eras. The building of il Duomo began during the Romanesque era. It has thick walls without many windows, but they didn't have the technology to complete the dome so they just covered it. During the Gothic age they built the dome using groin vaults. Therefore, it is both Romanesque and Gothic. The polygonal baptistery of St. Giovanni is Romanesque because it has a fortress like appearance and few windows. However the doors of the baptistery are from the early Renaissance era. They were made by Lorenzo Ghiberti. He introduced perspective into the gilded bronze doors that depicted scenes from the Bible.

il Duomo


Baptistery of St. Giovanni

St. Florence Cathedral

"The Gates of Paradise"

Islam Test

1. How is the spread of Islam in the early Middle Ages to the 16th century both similar and dissimilar to the expansion of the Roman Empire from the Punic Wars to the reign of Hadrian? How are the similarities and differences understood through Islamic vs. Roman art and architecture?

Much of the differences between the two cultures has to do with their different religions. Both Islam and the Roman Empire were spread out, however the Romans secured the land in their empire through bloody battles. The Romans started expanding their empire through the first Punic War in 264 B.C. They fought the Carthaginian Navy on the sea and the land battles took place in Sicily. The war ended in 241 BC with a treaty between the Romans and the Carthaginians which gave Sicily to Rome, forcing the Carthaginians to move to Spain. In 218 BC the Carthaginian king, Hannibal led his army into Italy; beginning the Second Punic War. It ended in 202 B.C. with Rome acquiring large amounts of land. Then Rome asked Carthage to move farther south into North Africa. Carthage refused and Rome declared that it was war. They destroyed everything in Carthage and consolidated it into the Roman Empire. Hadrian's rule began in 117 AD during which he reformed the empire. His reign ended in 138 AD.

Islam did not spread because of battles or military conquest. It spread over much of Europe and the Middle East. It was the spread of the religion that made Islam so popular. Islam would have continued to spread, but Charles Martel stopped the spread of it into France which was Christian. Islam then began to spread in Spain, but the Spanish Inquisition ended that.

There are some similarities between Roman and Islamic art. One of those similarities is mosaics. Romans used mosaics on floors and later walls and ceilings in the Byzantine era. Islamic people used mosaics to decorate their walls. Fig. 1 is a picture of a Roman floor mosaic from Cyprus. Fig. 2 is a beautiful deatailed Islamic mosaic that is found in the Umayyad Mosque. Both cultures also used the arch. The Roman arch is a smooth curve, but the Islamic arch is known as an "onion dome" because it gets wider and comes to a point at the top. Fig. 3 is a Roman arch and Fig. 4 is an Islamic arch.

2. a. Compare / Contrast the Taj Mahal with St. Basil's in Moscow. b. Compare / Contrast the Hagia Sofia with the Dome of the Rock.

The Taj Mahal (fig. 5) was built over a period of 22 years in the 16th century in Agra, India. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Both the emperor and his wife are buried in the crypt of the Taj Mahal. The architect is Usted Ahmad Lahuauri. He used the technique of letting each element stand by itself while perfectly joined with the main building called arabesque. It almost completely built out of marble and is influenced by Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.

St. Basil's Cathedral was built in 1555-1561 in Moscow Russia. (fig. 6) It was built to commemorate Tsar Ivan (the Terrible)'s victory over against the Tartan Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan. It is built over the tomb of its namesake, St. Basil the Blessed. Postnik Yakovlev was the architect.

They both feature the onion domes and ornate designs. The Taj Mahal is a mosque and has four minarets. The cathedral features four super imposed domes (not including the main unifying dome) that symbolize the four evangelists or the four corners of the earth. (fig. 7) Both structures are built over the tomb of the namesake or inspiration of the building.

However, perhaps the most obvious difference in the two buildings is color. St. Basil's is vibrantly colored, while the Taj Mahal is monochromatic because it was built using marble.

The Hagia Sophia (fig. 8) was originially built by Constantine in the 4th century to be a church during the Byzantine era. In the years 532 to 537 the emperor Justinian rebuilt the church after it was burned down during the Nika riots of 532. In 1435 Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer conquered the city of Constantinople and converted the church into his imperial mosque. He made a few renovations. He built a madasa (religious school) near it, erected four minarets, and covered the Byzantine mosaics with plaster (Muslims do not use religious icons. In 1934 the Turkish president Kemel Ataturk turned it into a museum, which is what it is today.

The Dome of the Rock (fig. 9) was built by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik in the years 688- 691 AD. It is not a mosque, but a shrine. The shrine was built over the stone (fig. 10) that Muslims believe is the spot where Muhammad ascended into heaven. Jews believe that it is the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Abraham. It is renowned for its golden dome. It also features beautiful mosaics.

Both buildings feature a large central dome and ornate interiors, i.e. mosaics. Both buildings feature the Roman arch. However, the main difference is the exteriors. The Hagia Sophia has a plain exterior, simply stone. The Dome of the rock's exterior is covered with beautiful mosaics.

3. What is the importance of 'the word'? Please choose three examples of Islamic calligraphy and compare / contrast with three examples of Roman inscription.

"The word" was very important to both the Islamic peoples and the Romans. The Islamic people practically base their whole lives around the word. They pray five times a day and are required to memorize the Quran. In both cultures the word is the documentation of their history. The Quran tells of the history of Islam and Roman inscriptions in sculpture tell the history of the ruler or what happened in the battle that the statue or structure was erected for.

The "word" is also an art form for the Islamic people because they do not believe in portraying religious figures visually. They have paintings of verses from the Quran posted in their mosques and on other religious structures. Their writing is classified as calligraphy. That may be because their society is not militaristic for the most part, so their writing was not as rigid or uniform.

For example, There are Roman inscriptions all over Roman statues and buildings explaining why the statue is there, such as the inscription on the column of Trajan. (fig. 11) The Islamic people place a higher importance on their faith and this example of calligraphy from Hagia Sophia is of a verse from the Quran. (fig. 12) The differences in the purposes of the word that is used by either culture illustrate the differences in the cultures themselves.

The Islamic people took great care in their language, they spend hours hand embroidering the words from the Quran on the covering that will be used on the Mecca every year. (fig. 13) Roman inscriptions were used in temples to inform people who the temple was dedicated to. Such as the inscription on the Temple of the Emperor Antoninus and Faustina. (fig. 14) The inscription says, "Divi Antonino et Divae Faustinae Ex S.C." meaning, “To the divine Antoninus and to the divine Faustina by decree of the Senate.”

Because the Islamic people do not believe in portraying Muhammad or other religious figures through artwork, they place paintings of verses from the Quran in their mosques. (fig. 15) Romans did not have any books such as the Quran from which they could draw verses, however they did have stories about their gods. Ovid is an example of a writer who wrote down the ancient stories passed down through tradition.

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