Forbes Magazine The History

One of the most widely respected and important American publications of the last century is Forbes Magazine. Forbes Magazine was founded in 1917 by Scottish immigrant B.C. Forbes (who was, at the time, the leading columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain). Forbes was born in Aberdeen shire in Scotland and moved from Johannesburg, South Africa to New York performing various editorial and writing gigs just before he founded this vastly important business publication.

Forbes is published bi-weekly and contains up to 60 original and concisely-written Articles in each issue which evaluate everything from the companies to the people that run them and has both a politically conservative and pro-business slant. Some of the topics covered in each and every issue of Forbes include Articles on the worlds of industry, finance, international business, marketing, law, taxes, science, technology, communications, investments, entrepreneurships, etc. More than 5 million readers worldwide (and seven local-language editions) can attest to the longevity of this publication for the business world.

Coming up on its 90th Anniversary in 2007, the Forbes Empire remains one of the largest and most successful family businesses of its kind in the world. Steve Forbes, once a political candidate for President of the United States of America, is the magazine's Editor-in-Chief and has a column in each and every issue called Fact and Comment which is quite popular with Forbes readers.

Each and every year, Forbes publishes its very popular list of the richest people and the biggest companies on EArth (who also, by the way, subscribe to this most accomplished publication). Absolutely no merger, ad campaign or lawsuit of importance on the planet goes unnoticed by Forbes Magazine and the stories in each issue will always vividly focus on the movers and financial innovators that are shaking things up in the business world. Forbes is also the best of the business periodicals that are published today for discovering new investment ideas and more investor focused than other business magazines. So, if you want to make sense of today's incredibly volatile market, then read and you will be as enlightened as the giants of this most respected of industries are

Don't purchase a Magazine Subscription through my site, you wouldn't want to see my ugly mug on Forbes Magazine next top richest people in the world list.

Author:: David Ch ase
Keywords:: Forbes Magazine
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Artists Books in South Africa

An artists book is a limited edition book that is produced by an artist or by a collective and that has aspects of handmade work in it. The artists book has an edition number and is signed by the artist/s who have worked on the book as well as by the writer of the text if this is relevant. The artists book may be in the form of hand printed lithographs, lino cuts, letterpress or even hand written. They are often made using an unconventional format and unusual binding. There are not that many artists in South Africa who make artists books (it is a time consuming process and is something that the general public are not really aware of).

Artists books allow artists to combine aspects of their artmaking with text in novel and exciting ways. The edition number for artists books produced in South Africa is usually fairly small (100 copies or less). This makes artists books relatively rare and collectable. The can do approach of South Africans has extended to the production of artists' books and has resulted in some unconventional approaches to the concept. Graduates from the Wits Technikon have done some very exciting pieces, which have included handmade paper, sculptural elements, plastic bags, fabric, embroidery and wire work. Artists books produced by The Artists' Press have received international acclaim and can be found in some of the worlds leading libraries.

Any artists book produced in South Africa has to have a copy, or a number of copies donated to the State Library Collection. This ensures that South Africa as a country has an archive of artists books produced in the country. It also acts as a resource for people who are interested in artists books but who cannot afford them.

One of the best and biggest international artists book collections that of a Johannesburg Art patron, Jack Ginsburg, who is also the founder and Director of the Ampersand Foundation. This is a collection of contem porary Artists Books and includes all the ones that have been produced at The Artist Press.

There are a few specialised artists books dealers in South Africa who deal locally and internationally. Clarkes Bookshop in Cape Town sells all kinds of collectable books and can be relied on for artists books. Johannesburg based Thoralds Books caters for the serious collector and have clients across the globe. They focus on work with an Africana emphasis. The Art on Paper Gallery also sells Artists Books and actively supports the idea of democratic multiples which refers to artists books that are produced in a format and at a price that is easily assessable to the person in the street.

To look at what artists books are available from the Artists' Press please go to www.artprintsa.com

Tamar Mason, artist and writer focusing on limited edition investment prints in Southern Africa

Author:: Tamar Mason
Keywords:: artists books, limited edition, Lithography, south african art, south african artists, original art
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The Religion of Terrorism

The real causative agents of the Terror in our society are the same people who live among us, born in our or neighbors families, would have been childhood friends, raised amongst us, do anyone wonders what would have compelled them to take such a path of destruction, pain and Terror? May be some inherited this trait from their families; some are derived from external factors like financial gains or just to the point of being famous. Other factors being poverty, ignorance, corruption, political oppression and power seems to be the dominant reasons of all. But how do they do it? So easily how are they able to easily adulterate the minds? By using the pretext of most of the strongest beliefs of human kind Religion

Religion prevails as long as the universe and as everyone who is willingly or unwillingly associated to it. The people who can be really affected by this pretext are extremists by nature, if not, they are molded to become one, in religious context. These days we fear to tread on the road, in the air, in the water, nothing is less than dangerous; every element is breached by Terrorism. The most of who participate in this religious vandalism are unfortunately Islamic. The worlds most wanted Terrorist is a Muslim and he tries to propel the factor Save Islam by following the road of martyrdom; which is actually a road of massacre, which never leads to heaven but always ends up to hell. No Religion preaches to kill th e fellow human. They do it all in the name of God. Nothing can be more disgraceful to preach Terrorism in the name of God. Theyre not glorifying their Religion but only demeaning it in every possible way.

Some nations harbor and support Terrorism and act as a backbone of the Terrorism. Do the leaders of these nations ever give a genuine thought to the aftermaths? Theyre too busy puffing up their Swiss accounts. Do they ever bother to think what are repercussions of such heinous crimes? No, not only theyre earning a tarnished image in the world but also they denigrate the image of their citizens. Those Islamic Terrorist claiming to be the ardent follower of Islam, do they ever realize what are they earning for their own Islamic citizens? Nobody these days is ready to mingle with a Muslim person, no body wishes to employ them or rent them a house, the future will bring more difficulties to survive, making it impossible for them to earn a living, particularly in non-Islamic countries. Everybody will doubt the integrity of a Muslim by the mere fact that the person is an Islamic follower. Is it what they wish for? This is what they want out of their so-called Movements! They claim to be Anti-Christian, they want to kill all Hindus of the world but do they ever bother about the fate of the Muslims? Who in the world will trust a Muslim or befriend them or even talk to them in the near future. This is the fate they have chosen for their fellow Muslims, the path of dejection and hatred. Do they deserve it all? Why are they becoming mere puppets in the hands of those ravagers? They jeopardize the whole Muslim community and the leader faintly realizes it or more to say ignores it.

People who disperse fear, pain, bitterness, grief, agonize and torment the lives of many; can not be the follower of any Religion. Their claim is a mere hoax to deceive weak-minded and realize their own egocentric objective of Ruling the World. They least bother about the devastating effects of Terrorism, tangible or intangible, on Muslims or anybody, theyre busy fulfilling their own unscrupulous motives.

Dont the Muslims suffer in bombings and wars? Do bombs spare Muslims? No, none of the fact in the world defies that Religion can be the basis of Terrorism. Terrorism in no way advocates Religion it only implies agony, grief, malaise, hatred and death.

No matter how much the death rate has dropped since past centuries, certainly this is not the way we ever choose to die. Its always better to die from terminal disease, than to be a victim of Terrorism.

It remains a choice of those minds that still succumb to such follies under the veil of Religion. Its up to those who can easily endanger or rather save the human existence, so that every day brightens with light of peace and love; so that every flower that blooms is not under the shadow of thorns but blooms above thorns; so that dark clouds only bring rains and not the dusty fumes of suffering.

Author:: Garima Mullick
Keywords:: Terrorism, Terror, Religion, causes of Terrorism
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A Short Biography on Some of Europe's Most Loved and Hated Monarchs Pt2 (Mad) King George III

King George III who suffered from porphyria, a maddening disease, was born in 1738 to Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta. In 1761 George married Charlotte of Mecklinburg-Strelitz and together produced fifteen children: nine sons and six daughters.

King George III came to the throne in 1760 and was determined to recover the power lost to the ministerial council by the first two Georges by systematically weakening the Whig pArty through bribery, coercion and patronage. Prime Minister, William Pitt the Elder was toppled by Whigs in 1763 after the signing of the Peace of Paris, and men of ordinary aptitude were then hand-picked by George as Cabinet members to become little more than yes-men. Bouts with madness and the handling of the American Revolution eroded his support and the power of the Crown was gr anted again to the Prime Minister.

In 1763 The Peace of Paris brought an end to the Seven Years' War with France and Great Britain emerged from the conflict as the world's greatest colonial power. England thrived but King George III's ongoing commitment to taxing the American colonies to pay for military protection led to conflict in 1775. The colonists declared their independence from England in 1776, but George stubbornly continued with the war until the final American victory at Yorktown in 1781. The signing of The Peace of Versailles in 1783 ensured British recognition of the United States of America. The stress of these events took their toll on George: his sanity was stretched to the breaking point and his political power decreased when William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister in 1783. George clawed back some of his powers, driving Pitt from office during the years 1801 to 1804, but his condition worsened and he ceased to rule in 1811.

Ten years after the ending of war with France, England joined a continental coalition against French revolutionary forces who sought total French supremacy throughout Europe. By 1797, most of Europe was under French control, with England going at it alone against the oppressive French Republic. The British Navy again proved its worth by defeating French forces at Camperdown, Cape St. Vincent and the Battle of the Nile in 1797, and finally at Copenhagen in 1801. France sued for peace in 1802.

Napoleon BonapArte came to power and in 1803 renewed attacks against England, which lasted until 1814. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, led the army whilst Lord Horat io Nelson, who won the decisive battle off Cape Trafalgar, commanded the British navy. In addition to the war with France, England was also at war again with the United States during the period 1812-14, over the British practice of conscripting American seamen into service in the British Navy.

In 1814, both wars came to an end; Napoleon was defeated and England agreed not to press into service anymore-American sailors.

George's madness ultimately left the fate of the crown in the hands of his eldest son George, Prince Regent. Prince George was put in the unenviable position of attempting to govern according to the increasingly erratic behaviour of his father.

King George III died blind, deaf and mad at Windsor Castle on January 29, 1820.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about King George III.

In my next Article will learn about the life of King Ludwig II Unitl then,

Best wishes and have a great day

StuArt Bazga

Guide to Castles of Europe

A Guide to Castles of Europe was born from childhood dreams and aspirations. It is my hope to educate and stimulate you into exploring these castles for yourselves.

Author:: StuArt Bazga
Keywords:: King George III, British Monarchs, European Monarchs
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The Romantic Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance: Concluding Thoughts

Although in these Articles, I focused on just a few elements of the Harlem Renaissance that I learned from my research, there is so much more to be discovered about this intense, vibrant period in American history. As I stated in my introduction, I knew very little about the Harlem Renaissance before beginning this quest, and there is much that I learned that was not included in these Articles, e.g. the historical and social context that led to the Harlem Renaissance (increased number of lynchings and race riots, tightening of restrictions placed on blacks, the psychological effects of World War I on African Americans, etc.). Besides the people ment ioned in these Articles, I learned quite a bit about many other pArticipants in the Harlem Renaissance who contributed greatly to the movement.

Because of the limits of these Articles, I had to neglect many of the people, white and black, who supported the Harlem Artists, with encouragement, subsidies, or living expenses. But these patrons, such as Charlotte Mason, played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance also and should not be buried in obscurity anymore than the Artists. I have endeavored to give others an overview of the Harlem Renaissance in hopes to pique their interest as mine was. It is up to us to keep these Artists from sinking into oblivion again as many of them did at one time.

Let us not fail them.

It is an old platitude that the more one learns, the less one knows. This is undoubtedly true. I have learned quite a bit about the Harlem Renaissance, but through this research, I see that there is so much more that I do not know about it. This is not an end to my quest; I am now even more intrigued with this period of literary history. The Artists that I have discussed are the ones that most interested me; therefore I plan to continue this discovery of the Harlem Renaissance by beginning with studying the works of those eight Artists. I am pArticularly drawn to Zora Neale Hurston, so her novels and essays will be the first that I explore. I am also especially interested in Langston Hughes' and Wallace Thurman's works, but I hope to examine many others also, pArticularly Jessie Fauset, Nella Larsen, James Weldon Johnson, and Jean Toomer.

The primary issue that my research has interested me most is the theme of 'passing' and transgressing boundaries. This concept is not limited to people transgressing racial barriers, but could also be applied to social, economic, and gendered boundaries. Thus the issue takes on a broader context, one worth exploring in more detail. Why do people attempt to oppose boundaries, and what are the consequences if they do?

Mary Arnold holds a B.A. in literature and history. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers.

Her writing portfolio may be viewed at http://www.Writing.com/authors/ja77521

Author:: Mary Arnold
Keywords:: Harlem Renaissance
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The Man Who Loved Jail

Around my twentieth birthday life became a series of incredible events. Perhaps in retrospect it has never ended. I was living on my own with other guys in houses where partying was the rule and bars were meant to be closed. I had started reading Eastern mysticism and was heavy into music after years of boredom in school. It seemed like the world was much more interesting in every aspect of lifes potentials. I wasn't making much money as an apprentice accountant but I was getting lots of parking tickets. I had just met a woman seven years my senior by the name of Myrna, when I went to the Don Jail for my second visit that year. The policeman asked me if I'd like him to take me in Friday late, so they would have to let me out the same night.

No, I loved it the last time. I learned more in two days in jail than a whole year in school. But thanks a lot; I do appreciate your kindness.

You are definitely different!

So are you!

Myrna had gone to Californi a to spend three weeks vacation with a Salvation Army Major friend of hers and their family. We had not really made love and her divorce was being finalized, so I had time on my hands. The week before I went to jail, a really freaky thing happened when I went to a party in Clarkson. It was a hundred miles from Myrna's home in Bay Ridges. I had been at her Bay Ridges home with her before she moved. I walked into this bachelor pad and saw Myrna's collage hanging on the wall. I pointed to it and told my friend Joe; That looks just like Myrna's.

Under the picture was seated a man who gave me a glare and I suddenly realized it was her husband Jim. She had told me he was a violent man and that she had been afraid he might use his shotgun if he had caught us when we were at her house. It was such a co-incidence I couldn't believe it. I went to Barry Cunningham who was living there and he started to tell me about it before I even asked.

Does he know? I asked before decid ing to stay.

Not yet. He is a bit of a hot head This is pretty 'far out', eh Bob? He'll never believe a kid like you is with Myrna. Frankly it is a little hard for the rest of us to figure out too.

Barry enjoyed making fun of me, but never really believed anything I said, so I had learned to smile and shine him on.

My first time in jail had included frank discussions with some very diverse people. The prison was totally full and I was put in the hospital ward with 31 other people. One of them was on his way to the 'big house' for his second murder. Another was a professional thief in his early forties who had spent most of his life in prison, but enjoyed it. He was extremely fit and worked out all the time in prison. His philosophy was he could steal a lot of money when he was out, and take good care of his family who had a nice home. With no education and free food and board in jail every couple of years he thought he was doing better than most. He never h urt anyone and figured the people he stole from had insurance. Another man discussed how he had turned into a homosexual because he wasn't able to handle the pressure of pleasing a woman. I told him that it sure would be good if sexual dynamics were taught to everyone. My own experience was close to non-existent but I knew I would be a good lover. However, Myrna had told me on the night she left when I tried to please her that I hadn't succeeded. She was averse to cunnilingus and I was certain it would get better, but I couldn't really help him out. Everyone loved to tell me their life stories and this perturbed a younger guy who was in for two months on a drug possession charge. He was the ward trusty and had a knife. He came at me brandishing the knife while the other guys were teaching me bridge.

The murderer stood up and glowered at the thin young man as he advanced towards me. You! Stay in the corner or lose your life!

It was amusing to see this man who was older than me cower and shiver in the corner until dinner. He never really recovered during the rest of the time I was there. Another man who no one ever talked to was kept drugged. He was a big black person with muscles like a football player. His case was something everyone else talked about though.

It had taken nine guards to subdue him one time when he was conscious. I was told he threw them off his back like they were little kids. His mind apparently operated in a high hormone state. He also was a sleepwalker. Late on the first day, a man was brought in to the ward who had just returned from Venezuela. He had loaned his car to a friend who had left him with about $400 worth of tickets. He was a professional man who feared everyone else there and stuck close to me. I was about six foot and two hundred and ten pounds with a good physique. His reasons were numerous, and fear would have been his companion regardless of where he was. He stayed on the bunk above me. As we went to sleep the black man got up and came directly to him. I think fear is something animals and people alike can sense. When I woke just before sun-up the man who had been in the bunk above me was gone. Everyone had a good laugh thinking about how he had rattled the bars and paid his way out, rather than deal with the sleepwalker who was reportedly gay.

The second time I was in the 'Don' turned out to be one of the most important events in my life. I was shown into a cell with about twelve single beds and no bunk beds. The prison pipes were alive with the news of my return. It is nice to be remembered but sad that so many people find it necessary to spend so much time in jail. The truth is that jail is safer than the shelters and more interesting than the group homes. Stealing something for throwing a brick through a store window and taking something you need often doesn't result in jail. Sometimes it leads to having money to get drunk with your friends or better things. They don't seek to put drugs down your throat or alienate you with religious dogma and/or analyze you to see if they can make you part of a drug program that removes your libido and zest for life either. Some prisoners and 'street people' are actually smart enough to see that this benefits some rich drug pushers in the psychiatric and drug complex too.

I found that people in jail like to be treated with rEspect and know that their opinion is valued and they can teach smart young 'yuppies' too. If there is one key word in relationships, I was learning that might be RESPECT! No one tries to force someone to do something they don't want to do when they share rEspect, I think. It made me learn a lot about sales and how to become close to new people as well. Fear was definitely the opposite ingredient. I don't know how many people in the supposed real world have as high an ethical or 'brotherhood' component as these friends I made in jail. I even began to wonder if I was in the 'big house' whether I would be able to charm enough people to make it so that I wouldnt have had to offer up my anal virginity or worse. Fortunately my life hasn't made this point clear to me yet.

As I walked to the bed that was to be mine I noticed a book on the floor. It was a compendium of existentialist authors! Sometimes I would answer the often asked question 'What religion are you?' with the high sounding phrase 'I'm a French Atheistical Existentialist.' during this time in my life. I definitely wasn't into some man-made or projected GOD! They call this anthropomorphing in some academic circles. I was surprised to see this b ook along with some other intellectual books on the floor of the bed next to the late twenties man who looked a lot like Cat Stevens.

Are you reading this? I asked after I settled on my bed.

Just refreshing myself. I've read it two or three times before.

What are you doing here?

Fifteen days.

What for? I asked with genuine interest.

It doesn't matter really. Let's just say they called it assault. I sensed it might have been a female/male conflict and knew he didn't want to talk about it.

So what is a clean cut looking military man like you doing in jail? I thought the cops liked to give their own a break.

I am an officer in the Militia and an accountant but I don't do the army thing anymore. I kinda wish I could let my hair down like you. I'm a hippie at heart.

Followers and flower children in the most part. Just do what makes sense; it'll stand you in good stead. The late twenties or early thirties man that I was drawn t o, said wisely.

Yes, I certainly do that. I like Sartre's saying 'Love is absent space. He didn't rEspond and I really wanted him to talk with me. So, you've led a very interesting life, haven't you?

They want you at the bars. Who are you? I heard something on the pipes that sounded like 'the guy who loves jail is back'; is that you?

I went to the bars at the front of the cell and talked to an older guy who had been in the hospital ward a couple of months earlier. I barely remembered having talked to him, but he was the retired guy who would throw a brick through a store window and sometimes wait for the police to bring him to jail. He told me that about seven people I knew who were back in jail. They wanted me to know they remembered me. I thanked him heartily and shook his hand through the bar s with both of mine. I told him to thank the other people for their having remembered me and that I could have avoided jail by doing what the cop had offered. He knew that the others would like the fact that I valued what I had learned and experienced that much. As I walked back to my bed I smiled a lot. I knew I had made the right decision to let life bring me whatever was waiting for me, it felt like another good thing was about to happen.

So, my name is Bob Baird. I'm here for the weekend and yes, I am the guy who loves jail. I don't believe in paying parking tickets for unmarked zones, and there is no other place to park near where I have lived. More illegal taxation without representation.

Maybe we should have another tea party?

Are you from the States?

No. But I spend a lot of time there. I am an actor and writer.

What's your name?

I use different names. Kyle Edwards or Ed Kyle - Whatever you like!

Kyle. I like that! So you are a writer. I've written some thoughts about the dimensions of energy that surround us and even a sort of journal/biography but I know I can do a lot better.

It is a real craft that requires a lot of dedication and a tough skin to handle all the rejection. I'm working on one right now, in my head.

It was fifteen minutes later that I realized I had been working on his book with him. He said very little and listened with no particular sense of amazement that I was reading his mind. I had read all there was on ESP and parapsychology but still didn't accept it was a fact without personal experience. It was a watershed event for me.

Say Kyle why don't you read my mind. I've almost finished your book. Can you do that too?

Sure, it just takes a little trust and willingness to make a mistake now and then.

He waited for a minute then began to give me advice on sex and my relationship with Myrna. It was very specific and somewhat embarrassing for him to kn ow how inexperienced I was. That would have been enough to say that my trip to jail had been better than the last time. Much more was to transpire as a result of Kyle and his influence. It is only recently that I have a better idea of the extent of it. That is thirty years of thought. I hope the reader takes a little less time to accept the possibility of these things. However, I expect some people will reject the possibility or be left saying the same things I had said before this ESP event. I need to experience it myself!

That kind of skepticism is fine, if the mind doesn't seize up and deny its' powers of observation and relationship with the soul. Before I say what it was that makes this such an important event in my whole life let me tell you some more about Kyle; who I stuck to like a leech the whole time I was there that weekend. He didn't want to tell me how to get in touch with him after I left. I am sure he was a little worn out by my enthusiastic pursuit of his wisdom. Some of what he told me was too incredible to put my mind around. Don't be afraid to admit you feel the same way, and yet don't close the mind to the possibility. That is all I have asked the thousands of people I have shared this event with over the last thirty years. Kyle had been a paraplegic at the age of five. One day in his Quebec home with his nurse in attendance, a fire truck went by.

Kyle look it's a fire reel!

He rose from his wheelchair to her absolute surprise. Later at the age of eight or nine years old he participated in the Canadian National Diving Championships. He won the junior and intermediate title and was allowed to compete with the seniors. In the process of this competition he banged his head on the platform. The X-rays showed that he was a paraplegic, the doctor ordered a new set and they maintained a close scrutiny to ensure no further foul up happened. The new X-rays were identical. Kyle never graduated from high school yet h e became a teacher in the prairies. He was an animal trainer and his description of his ability to relate with animals was something I had read about and Crocodile Dundee did with animals in the movie which came out two or so decades later. This is the key ingredient in the rest of this story. I guess that sounds a little like the radio host Paul Harvey.

When I left the 'Don', I saw a cat near the sidewalk ahead of me. It was an orange and white tabby that didn't move out of my way nor did it come for rubs from my outstretched hand. It winked at me with one eye and I received a flash of enlightenment. The knowledge of what exists in the lowest form of life is ruled by the same principles and rules that impact the more complex creatures. Knowledge is not comprised of words or logical constructs and when fully integrated it appears quite simple. That is the nature of principles. Seeing or feeling the white light in Yoga has an element of this, as does the Near Death Expe rience. This was more than that!

In a mere fifteen seconds my head was filled. I may only have been able to incorporate a small portion of what it offered yet it seemed almost to be the kind of divine illumination that many ecstatic religions report. It was something I pondered upon for many years. My current attitude about it is that it was not the level of knowledge that I would have gotten at the most complex level of life, but rather one or more steps beneath that. James Redfield's book the Celestine Prophecy told a nice story that incorporates the knowledge of the Enneagrams. Around the early 1920's Jesuit priests brought this knowledge out of Persia. It is probably related to the Magi of Zoroaster and the three wise men of the Bible.

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

Author:: Robert Baird
Keywords:: Enneagrams, Celestine Prophecy, ESP
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Renaissance

The word Renaissance means rebirth, this period was also called Age of Discovery and the revival of Learning. Renaissance means the moving of the European culture and re-discovering of the past Middle Ages.

The term High Renaissance applies to a short period of time at the end of 15th century beginning of the 16th century. One of the main characteristics of this period was that masters used their artistic skills along with intellectu al ones. The fact that the High Renaissance was so short is explained by impossibility of transferring the genius of the masters to their pupils.

In Italy the Renaissance appeared in the late 14th century. The developments of art and thought managed to transform the culture of Italy and define the course of Western civilization. This movement could not be called an anti-Christian, but instead of continuing focusing on gods and religion, the individuals started to cultivate personal excellence, recognition of persons achievements and tried to explore their own personalities. The scholars paid much attention to clas sical learning, but they looked more deeply on the classical texts and valued their meaning. Their goal was to get the lessons about life, civic duties and self-expression from those texts and to study them critically, not just as pieces of never changing wisdom. At the times when the Renaissance appeared in Italy, the country was politically divided. There were wars among Italian states and from 1494 to 1559 between France and Spain. Early 15th century symbolizes the rise of humanism in Florence. The goal of this civil humanism was to train aristocratic people for public affairs.

The Renaissance was based on dis tinguishing the human form and natural world. Alberti and Vasari articulated this break by, respectively, establishing the principles of mathematical perspective and defining the Renaissance as a distinct age, a cultural rebirth after the period of medieval decay (Leonardo da Vinci, 1994 Funk & Wagnalls Corporation pp.2-5) The characteristic feature of the early Renaissance was, that all the sculptors, painters and architects paid most attention to the human figure and its proportions. Ghiberty and Masaccio used the principles of linear perspective; on the other hand, Donatello was closer to a classical tradition of fre e-standing sculpture. The painters Fillipo Lippi, Botticelli, Chirlandaio used a lot of various techniques such as sensual color, sculptural precision of line and Flemish influenced realism. In Florentine architecture of this period with the help of art a great emphasis was given to a status of a person in the society, homes of wealthy people were decorated by artists. Private life became the same decorative as public life.

The artists presenting the so called High Renaissance, managed to collect all these innovations and to apply them to style of classical balance, simplicity and harmony. Leonardo da Vinci was the pioneer of new style in painting, he developed circular motion and pyramidal design and arranged figures harmonically. Michelangelo introduced some kind of new degree of emotio nal and physical tension to sculpture. Raphael managed to bring the pyramidal design to its highest peak in his Madonna-and-Child paintings. The revolutionary was the idea of using oil paints, brought by Venetian style. Music was not transformed a lot, Italian composers still used the sacred and secular music in medieval polyphonic styles.

Overall, the Renaissance changed the medieval thought and world view, the scholars and artists of this period presented the modern outlook. Very important was their idea of progress, i.d. going from bloom to decay and to rebirth.

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Author:: Aaron Schwartz
Keywords:: Renaissance
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