FAS 201 Introduction To Humanities: Investigative Essay
Warren T. Williams
Professor Michael Briere
FAS-201 Introduction to Humanities I
4 December 2013
Investigative Essay
This investigative essay is a draft copy of the two selection of visual arts from the Classical and the Renaissance period. The two art works are: (1) the Cathedral of Reims an architectural work and (2) The Sculpture of Slavery in Zanzibar. Both selection represents fine art work from two different time periods.
The Cathedral of Reims
Cathedral of Reims, also called the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims. The cathedral located in the city of Reims, France, on the Vesle River east-northeast of Paris. The Cathedral of Reims was the site of the coronation of French kings. It was the center of an important "cathedral
complex" and the representation of Heavenly Jerusalem for the people of the Middle Ages. It was also the symbolic center of the Archbishop 's power, as Primate over the bishops of several dioceses in Northern France. Erected between 1211 and 1516, in accordance with an architectural program of immense artistic richness, the Cathedral of Reims survives as one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic art. This unity is emphasized by the use of nearly identical window types in the aisle and clerestory stories, as well as the complementary rose windows in the west facade and central portal and those in the transepts’ facades. Reims is richly decorated with elegant masonry sculpture (particularly the exterior) and exceptional stained-glass windows, making it one of the artistic masterpieces of the French High Gothic period. I think the Reims Cathedral is a great architectural structure because of the many types of art work display on the exterior walls of this cathedral that really draw my interest on this building an elegant designs.
The Sculpture of Slavery in Zanzibar
The Sculpture of the chained slaves represents the long dark history of Zanzibar. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Zanzibar also called Stone Town was one of the largest slave ports. The slavers hacked their way from Bagamoyo on the Tanzania mainland coast into the African interior, as far west as the Congo. The slavers traded, bribed chiefs, pillaged and frequently kidnapped to meet the high demand for slaves. Those who survived were put into plantations, or were sold to European and American merchants, and shipped in appalling conditions to the Americas and the Caribbean. The statues represent the fact that the slaves were chained together and forced to carry ivory to the coast. Some of the contrasts that the sculpture of the chained slaves represent the wrong doing of people who were not of the white race and represents how much profit slavery in Zanzibar was during that time period.
I was drawn to the statues of the chained slaves in Zanzibar, because my family history may have
some ancestors from the period time who may have been a slave from one the African slave who
was shipped to American. I want to find out more about the piece because it gave me more sense
of what happened in the 17th and 18 centuries period. I actually want to learn more about this
time period, because I am working on a family history project, trying to trace back my family
history.
References http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/496515/Reims-Cathedral http://www.reims-cathedral.culture.fr/history.html www.zanzibarpackage.com/slavery-zanzibar www.zanzibar.net
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Professor Michael Briere
FAS-201 Introduction to Humanities I
4 December 2013
Investigative Essay
This investigative essay is a draft copy of the two selection of visual arts from the Classical and the Renaissance period. The two art works are: (1) the Cathedral of Reims an architectural work and (2) The Sculpture of Slavery in Zanzibar. Both selection represents fine art work from two different time periods.
The Cathedral of Reims
Cathedral of Reims, also called the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims. The cathedral located in the city of Reims, France, on the Vesle River east-northeast of Paris. The Cathedral of Reims was the site of the coronation of French kings. It was the center of an important "cathedral
complex" and the representation of Heavenly Jerusalem for the people of the Middle Ages. It was also the symbolic center of the Archbishop 's power, as Primate over the bishops of several dioceses in Northern France. Erected between 1211 and 1516, in accordance with an architectural program of immense artistic richness, the Cathedral of Reims survives as one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic art. This unity is emphasized by the use of nearly identical window types in the aisle and clerestory stories, as well as the complementary rose windows in the west facade and central portal and those in the transepts’ facades. Reims is richly decorated with elegant masonry sculpture (particularly the exterior) and exceptional stained-glass windows, making it one of the artistic masterpieces of the French High Gothic period. I think the Reims Cathedral is a great architectural structure because of the many types of art work display on the exterior walls of this cathedral that really draw my interest on this building an elegant designs.
The Sculpture of Slavery in Zanzibar
The Sculpture of the chained slaves represents the long dark history of Zanzibar. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Zanzibar also called Stone Town was one of the largest slave ports. The slavers hacked their way from Bagamoyo on the Tanzania mainland coast into the African interior, as far west as the Congo. The slavers traded, bribed chiefs, pillaged and frequently kidnapped to meet the high demand for slaves. Those who survived were put into plantations, or were sold to European and American merchants, and shipped in appalling conditions to the Americas and the Caribbean. The statues represent the fact that the slaves were chained together and forced to carry ivory to the coast. Some of the contrasts that the sculpture of the chained slaves represent the wrong doing of people who were not of the white race and represents how much profit slavery in Zanzibar was during that time period.
I was drawn to the statues of the chained slaves in Zanzibar, because my family history may have
some ancestors from the period time who may have been a slave from one the African slave who
was shipped to American. I want to find out more about the piece because it gave me more sense
of what happened in the 17th and 18 centuries period. I actually want to learn more about this
time period, because I am working on a family history project, trying to trace back my family
history.
References http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/496515/Reims-Cathedral http://www.reims-cathedral.culture.fr/history.html www.zanzibarpackage.com/slavery-zanzibar www.zanzibar.net
Abstract (if your paper requires an Abstract)
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[Type Title of Your Paper Here] [Start typing paper here]
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