Month: October 2020

1750-1850

Technology: the Watt engine-new and improved steam engine!

Watt said it’s time for the steam engine 1.1 update.

The invention of the steam engine was no doubt a revolutionary leap towards a thriving industrialized society. James Watt, a mathematical-instrument maker, was the one who made the Watt engine, a revised version of the original prototype——the Newcomen atmospheric steam engine. While Watt attempted to fix a Newcomen engine, He was not impressed with the waste of resources that Newcomen atmospheric steam engine causes and realized that all the luscious energy and heat being lost in the process needed compensation. Watt added another compressor, reducing the steam consumption and upgrading efficiency. He partnered up with a British inventor, John Roebuck, and successfully launched the Watt engine in 1777-1778. Pumping water from mines has never been easier for them!

Architecture: Neoclassical Architecture-going back to Ancient Greece and Rome

Have you ever wondered why the White House and many other important buildings look like this?

Greatly inspired by Ancient Greek and Roman architecture, the neoclassical style emerges in the mid-18th century. The consistent designs of these buildings have many common themes: grand simplicity, geometrical harmony, usage of columns, and classical nobleness. This style is believed to be a reaction to the Rococo and Baroque period, which focused more on ornamental elements and sophisticated designs. Learning from the old masters of architecture was definitely a trend back in the days. Neoclassical architecture spread through Europe quickly, and today we can see these elements being used commonly in governmental buildings, theatres, museums, and other buildings that require a visually grand scale. This is why the Neoclassical form is often associated with power, seriousness, and grandness.

sources:

https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2869.htm

https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/997991/view/james-watt-s-prototype-steam-engine-old-bess-c1778

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Watt

https://interestingengineering.com/james-watt-father-of-the-modern-steam-engine

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Neoclassical_architecture

https://www.mayfairgallery.com/blog/neoclassical-style-guide-art-architecture-18th-century

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-much-is-the-white-house-worth-1471060823

Typography: Gutenberg’s printing press

We just want to read the Bible! give books. now.

Johannes Gutenberg can be considered the father of western printing technology. He replaced wood-based printing with metal text blocks in 1450, which is the first metal movable type. This was a revolutionary step to printing in Germany, as it allowed books to be printed in large quantities of copies.

It is believed that Gutenberg had borrowed money from a business partner who believed in Gutenberg’s innovative idea—-Johann Fust. Fust lent 800 guilders to Gutenberg which kickstarted the printing career (Gutenberg was kinda broke). Gutenberg continued to improve the press while updating new versions of it, slowly but surely perfecting what he had to work with. In 1455, Gutenberg published the 42-line Bible which contained easy-to-read text in gothic font, and even colored illustrations, which was very popular amongst the churches. Great job at finding your first target audience, Gutenberg :).

However, in 1456, Fust grew impatient and demanded the loan to be returned. This issue quickly escalated to court, and Gutenberg lost the trial. In the end, Gutenberg was unable to pay 2,026 guilders (gasp) —- much more than the original amount because of added interests. This resulted in his invention being taken away from him, and the press was handed to Fust (come on Gutenberg, you can do better than that). Fust carried on with this technology and explored new printing strategies and fonts, and it is believed that he credited Gutenberg as he did so. Some also believe that while Gutenberg became bankrupt, he had the freedom to open his own small printing shop, and continued from there. Although Gutenberg isn’t the first person to use printing technology, he definitely made revolutionary advances and brought it success in the western world. I personally think if he dealt with the money before wanting to perfect the technology, he and Fust possibly could have been great partners for a longer period of time and made even better improvements to the printing press.

Art – the Renaissance and the Baroque painters

There’s this Artist who was definitely wild and you’ll quickly see why.

The 14th century is considered to be a rebirth and revolution in the art world by many since some of the most influential artists in art history originated from this era. The infamous father of Baroque painting, Caravaggio, is one of them. When the Italian painter first settled in Rome, he was greatly influenced by previous artists such as Masaccio and Giotto, masters of the Renaissance era. However, Caravaggio’s art shook the art world by using his own naturalistic interpretations.

Caravaggio took Chiaroscuro to the next level by pushing the contrast of light and dark in his works, which is an iconic characteristic of his paintings. Using this technique, he often depicted the biblical events as dark, gruesome, gory, but still natural and realistic to the point where the audience immediately puts themselves inside the image. This was the magic of his paintings. As you can imagine, controversies emerged because Biblical stories were not always pretty in his paintings, and not everyone was a big fan of that.

He went on to influence many great artists after him who also made great impacts on the art world, such as Rubens, Velazquez, and Rembrandt. Without Caravaggio’s works, art would not be what it is today.

As you can probably tell, these people didn’t always look like the prettiest Gods and Goddesses. That’s because Caravaggio wanted the paintings to look natural and believable, so he picked models from people on the street. This is also why his naturalistic style is so different from previous famous artists, as they were mostly about “photoshopping” and idealizing the figures to look perfect.

Sources

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/old-masters/caravaggio.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paintings_by_Caravaggio

https://www.thoughtco.com/johannes-gutenberg-and-the-printing-press-1991865

https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Gutenberg

https://www.google.com/search?q=gutenberg+and+fust&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjdwI3NzrPsAhXXBTQIHS9yBckQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=gutenberg+and+fust&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAA6BAgAEEM6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEB46BggAEAgQHjoECAAQGFDu0kBYxNlAYNvaQGgAcAB4AIABmQGIAeoEkgEDOC4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=6K-GX92sFteL0PEPr-SVyAw&bih=1057&biw=1792&client=safari#imgrc=LzbsTu1Nw7bsgM

If I were to give myself a mark, I would give myself a 7.5/10. I think I tried to get all the points down, but I could’ve written some parts with better language, and it was a bit difficult to find the fitting images especially for the camera (very difficult to find non-repetitive images and I couldn’t find a sample of a photo taken with the original Leica). I also think I could have made the connections a bit clearer though that was also hard because seemingly, these three events have no relation to each other. But I think I have the right idea. In all, It was a project heavily research-based, and less visually-creative based in my opinion. I think sometimes I lack skills in the presentation of my research, even though I’m not bad at learning on my own about these topics and simply attaining the information to myself. The main thing I learn through these projects is how to write and present to show that I know this knowledge. So I think this was mainly a writing exercise for me personally. I learned a lot about these events on my own though.