Final Project

 For my room, where all of my works of art will be displayed, I decided that what could be better than looking at works of art in a work of art.  I decided to take different pieces of the Colosseum I decided to take pieces of the different Colosseum such as the column arches paintings and sculptures portrayed on the walls to rebuild a one-third replica of the enormous arena. Even being one third the size of the original Colosseum would be approximately the same size as a large classroom, if not slightly bigger. The replica of the Colosseum will still be preserved since there are still actual pieces of the work of art in the replica. It will be displayed as its own room, where all of the other pieces of art are displayed throughout the inside of the arena.  One of the many beautiful works of art is the Bayeux tapestry. This is tapestry is not a tapestry at all, it is actually an embroidery. This long, strip of linen reached a length of two hundred thirty feet by twenty inches. It illustrates events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the conquest of the Norman Invasion. It consisted of eight different colors along with many men, dogs, horses, and other symbols and meanings. The Bayeux Tapestry will be hanging on display along the wall of the Colosseum.

                Another fascinating work of art is Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture.  Andrea Palladio was a skillful architect from the sixteenth century. His main focus was churches, palaces, and villas. One of Palladio’s unique skills was building his structures perfectly symmetrical. Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture will be preserved and displayed on a podium which is a piece of one of Palladio’s famous structures, the Villa Rotonda. I’ve decided to take a small piece of the building so others could see the detail put into the smallest piece from a large work of art.

                Finally, there is the Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse. This collection of poems are known as Sanskrit poems, which are unique poems that have to do with the sexual and erotic aspects of love. The collector of these fascinating poems is a Buddhist monk by the name of Vidykara. This anthology was typical of its era due to the alliteration, assonance, and lack of rhyme. The alliteration portrayed in the poems had the same consonant sound. For example, the words “scent of the sweat” would be the alliteration used in the poem, Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse. The assonance in the poems would have the same vowel sound. For example, the words “wished to kiss” would be the assonance that is portrayed in the poem.  This type of work was unusual for its time because Indian poetry has more of a sexual and erotic perspective rather than a romantic perspective. Since this work was unusual for its time, this type of poetry was not really seen until the mid 600<sup>th</sup> century. People saw it as a new perspective on love and not the romantic aspect of it. People today find this work very important. It shows that Indian anthologies in the earlier times have demonstrated amazing progress and have influenced many poets and authors to create such successful work. These erotic poems describe the beauty of a woman’s body or facial features and describe the actions that want to be done, such as to kiss her lips. I would like to preserve these erotic poems by putting then in a glass case and projecting them on the walls of the Colosseum. The Colosseum’s artistic trends were its sculptures, paintings, and structure. For something as large and well preserved as the coliseum it is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture. I feel that is most significant for future generations to know about the Colosseum is how to construct a building that has stayed up for years and has had very few reconstructed areas. The lack of high tech tools they used and still were able to construct such a strong architectural structure is astounding. The Colosseum has become a huge part of artistic history. If future generations knew how to construct a structure that is as strong and well preserved as the prodigious Colosseum, our future generations are going to be on the path of great success with architectural artistry. The cultural trends of its era had many different events that went on in the Colosseum, such as the gladiator fights. The Bayeux Tapestry was the beautiful design of this embroidery. It was so interesting that the conquest of the Norman Invasion and the Battle of Hastings is portrayed on the embroidery. It had eight different colors with hundreds of men, horses, dogs, and many other animals. Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture was so beautiful with its symmetrical and precise structures and the gorgeous sculptures and paintings portrayed along the inside and out. The cultural trends from Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture is the beautifully constructed buildings that he depicts in his book. The fact that he had designed and built them himself, and they’re still standing and still preserved is astonishing. His book describes how he built something so magnificent and what all materials he used. Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse portrays this collection of poems in erotic words. These poems were very sexual for its time due to the descriptions of a woman’s body and what is wanting to be done to it.  The tone in which it was written was very different for its time as well. Vidyakara was a monk that collected a set of poems that are about the sexual and erotic aspects of love.

                In the era in each work of art, there were a couple of major innovations. One of the Colosseum’s major innovations would be that many arenas in today’s society model the Colosseum’s beautiful structure. These types of arenas are mainly athletic arenas, such as football stadiums and soccer stadiums. Each stadium that models the Colosseum are extremely large. Some even open at the top like the Colosseum, the Dallas Cowboys Stadiums. Another major innovation from the Colossem would be that in today’s society, many homes and buildings model the Roman/Greek appearance. Many homes and buildings have artwork displayed upon the walls and in other parts of the structure.

                A couple of major innovations from the Bayeux Tapestry were that the embroidery had been modeled from the style and design of the embroidery, with different types of material, on furniture, blankets, rugs, and other types of décor. Another innovation from the Bayeux tapestry would be the medieval style that some people use in their homes today. Some almost use the exact models for decorative places for their homes.

                Some innovations from Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture are certain paintings and drawings of architecture that some artists like to sketch or paint today. Palladio’s architecture mainly consisted of structures with columns in the front or entrances of the buildings. With this, another innovation from Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture had come about; the classical American home that would consist of the triangular top with columns in the front entrances. Palladio’s work involved precision and perfection to all parts of his artistry. He studied the liberal arts and found that he was a natural in architecture. His advisors got him accustomed to the liberal arts and ended up appointing him to reconstruct their abodes. They brought him back to Rome to study and measure ancient buildings with them. Alberti’s work was more than just constructing buildings to him; it was a way to create meaning. Palladio’s art was based on symmetry and equilibrium, as for Alberti, his art consisted of geometrical perspectives and ideological designs. Palladio’s artistry is most significant for future generations to know about because it inspires people and expands their views on designs, architecture, and Roman artistry. Future generations need to be influenced by such unmitigated architecture considering it has inspired other and introduced them to different styles and cultures. Thus, having more auspicious architects willing to construct buildings that simulate Palladio’s architectural artistry to embellish today’s society.

                The Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse is a collection of Sanskrit poems. Some innovations made from this collection of poems were that other new erotic poems and new studies on Indian literature had been made. Another innovation from the Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse was new styles and interpretation of reading. There are many artist and poets that had been inspired by this collection poems that some artists would paint or sketch some of the descriptions of the women described in the poems. The Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse, also known as “Subhasitaratnakosa,” is one of the many collected pieces of poetry that consisted of 1739 verses from a Buddhist monk by the name of Vidyakara. During the eleventh century, the anthologies of Sanskrit poetry started to rise. This anthology consisted more on the erotic love rather than the emotional love. The details that are described in this poem are based on physical passion and the female beauty. During the life and time of India in the fourth through eleventh centuries, many accomplishments had come about. There were ruling hereditary chiefs followed a code of chivalry that set them apart from the lower classes. The caste system, which was a system to keep higher and lower social classes divided up properly.

                When people arrive to visit my museum, I envision each piece of art very interesting and envision them not only looking at just the beauty, but having them really get a feel of how these works of art were portrayed in its original era. Every piece of art has its own story and I feel that when people come to interact with the pieces of art I have displayed, they will know the culture and reasons behind their beauty. After all displays have been looked at, each person will get a DVD of their entire tour. I feel that the Colosseum, the Bayeux Tapestry, Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture, and the Treasury of a Well-Turned Verse will inspire all that tour the museum.