Kogarah Library

Hello

Wow, it’s the holidays already and I’m starting to become organised with what I want to do each week.

Yesterday I walked down to Kogarah Library and only found one book that had information on Pope Julius II (PJII) but it wasnt the type of resource that I wanted. But my visit to the library was very brief. I’m going to go back a second time just for a check up that I didnt miss to find and good resources.

The book I borrowed was: A History of the Popes by Nicolas Cheetham

It has a few sections where PJII is mentioned but also Erasmus (whose writing of In Praise of Folly, I am going to use as a resource.) So I did find an interesting book.

I shall also go to hurstville library soon and probably rockdale as well.

I also contacted Katie about going to Sydney Library and she’s still arranging it, so I shall be waiting for her reply.

So till then I will be reading sections of the book I borrowed from Kogarah and writing notes on them, then going to my other local libraries.

Finished my Proposal

Hey

Just to drop by and say that I finished my Proposal for my Major. Thats one thing out of the way!

I have to contact Katie soon so I can arrange with her to go to Sydney Uni Library so we can go together with the other girls in our class and collect our resources that we need. It shall be fun!

I finally decided to focus on Pope Julius II and how he is viewed as the Warrior Pope and Patron of the Arts. And also if they both rebound off each other to give him the power he needed to change Rome as the Central Christian Church.

I’ve also borrowed two refrence books from the Library that will be able to help me throughout my research and I have been scanning websites to help me.

Anyways, I’m just looking forward to the holidays and collecting/ gathering my sources.  Plus writing my notes and summaries of each sources.

Resources and Still Completing Proposal

I have finally decided that I will be focusing on the personality of Pope Julius II and how he was a Patron of the Art and how he contributed to the growth of Catholicism in Rome.

I have been searching the internet for sources and I have stumbled upon a few:

• In Praise of Follyby Desiderius Erasmus
• The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli (author), William J. Connell (Translator)
• Julius II: The Warrior Pope by Christine Shaw — very good
• Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King
• The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone
• The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara Tuchman  
• Princes and Princely Culture: The Patronage of Pope Julius II by Martin Gosman
• The Great Popes through History: An Encyclopedia – ‘Julius II by Nelson Minnich’by Frank J. Coppa   
• Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy by Peter De Rosa 

I shall finalise my Proposal tomorrow and send it to Sir.

Yesterday I had a talk with Mrs Russo about my Major and I told her about my issues concerning my Major and how I was trying to choose if I wanted to focus on the Artwork of the Renaissance or the Personality of Pope Julius II. She was able to give me two choices to think about:

·         Papacy Art vs Reformation Art

OR

·         The Personality of Pope Julius II

Then I talked to another teacher inside the library and I feel really bad as I forgot her name L, but she helped me to see what I wanted to do. She was also able to ask me questions of what I knew. So with her help I was able to focus on Pope Julius II and how he contributed to the papacy and became a patron of art. Which I’m really glad of my choice as I have been able to narrow down my Major.

Well night now. I’m off to bed. More work tomorrow.

Narrowing my Research and Topic Question

With my readings about the Renaissance period and how the propaganda by the Popes enabled the emphasis on Christianity through art and thus making it The Central Christian Church on Earth.

The name of the Pope Julius II keeps popping up and my mind keeps wondering over to his motives and perhaps my Major should be to assess this personality of the Renaissance period and how he impacted on the emphasis on Christianity through art and architecture, like many Popes did during that time.

I have found this book about him:
Julius II: The Warrior Pope by Christine Shaw
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vb2iu3SiAqoC&dq=Pope+Julius+II&pg=PP1&ots=lj-0Aj-SKY&source=in&sig=V-Cv-6_SinASKn-s81qpvsdOPj0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result#PPA1,M1

So hopefully I have narrowed down my area of study and what I would like to investigate.

Trying to Complete Proposal

I have been writing notes about the era of the Renaissance from the Collier’s Encyclopedia Books that I have at home and I have found some really interesting names of important people such as a humanist and historian name

-Desiderius Erasmus
- Niccolò Machiavelli 

I have also been researching the Library of the University of Sydney and I have found these books so far:

Art, faith, history : a guide to Christian Florence / [Timothy Verdon] ; translated by Timothy Verdon and Stephanie Johnson.
link: http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search~S4?/dChristianity+and+art+–+Catholic+Church./dchristianity+and+art+catholic+church/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&FF=dchristianity+and+art+catholic+church&3%2C%2C12

Also from the historian Christopher Celenza

Piety and Pythagoras in Renaissance Florence: The Symbolum Nesianum, Studies in the History of Christian Thought, 101 (Leiden, Boston, and Cologne: Brill,

I am also still trying to work out my topic question and it has something to do with Art vs the Church or Christianity.

*Note:  new Roman Popes (Nicholas V, Julius II, Leo X) were ambitious, energetic and often corrupt men and it is said they had a vision of Rome as the centre of the Christian Church on Earth.  And they turned Rome into a fabulous and powerful new city.

Perhaps I should do something on how the Church in Rome placed an emphasis of Christianity through art and architecture to create a city as a political motive to state that they were the central Christian Church on Earth.

-      Plus the Popes and Catholic Church see Saint Peter as the successor as Bishop of Rome, thus Christian churches interpreting Rome as the Central Christian Church on Earth.

So perhaps I should do something on:

Was the Renaissance period a Political and Religious movement for Popes to express and create a city through art and architecture that Rome in Italy was the Central and Capital Church of Christianity on Earth?  

Renaissance- Forming Questions

I have been looking at Art books on the Renaissance period inside the Art room and I have been able to write down notes and familiarise myself with the movement. These have been the books I have found:
- The Art of the Italian Renaissance by Konemann (1994)
- The Artbook by Phaidon (1994)
- The Panorama of the Renaissance by Thames and Hudson
- Art – The World of Art, from Aboriginal to America Pop, Renaissance Masters to Postmodernism by Professor Robert Belton and Christopher Rotho (2002)
- Rome, Art and Architecture by Konemann (1999)  

I have also started to form more questions to ask due to my notes I have taken:

• Was the emphasis of Christianity through artwork, politically motivated?
  -Why?
• Why use art to put an emphasis on religion?
• What did historians say at the time?
• Who was responsible- the artists or the bureaucracies?

I also have to use 10 sources. I have been thinking of using 5 Artists from the Italian Renaissance era and I am still trying to figure out the others – probably historians at the time and also now in the present.

The Artists so far whose artwork on Christianity I would like to use are:

• Michaelangelo
• Leonardo Da Vinci
• Raphael
• Durer
• Titian

Lastly I have to explore the Politics of the time- which was obviously the Church- and as well as The Reformation was taking place.

Changing Topic

Yesterday during class I came to the conclusion that I will be changing my topic from the Macedonia Dispute to the Golden Age of the Renaissance Period and how during this movement an emphasis was placed on religion through art, and why. Sir was able to help me establish what I wanted to investigate and he supported me with my change of topic.

I have been reading material about the Renaissance period and it was at it’s Golden Age in the 16th Century. Questions to ask and look at:

• How reflective were the Renaissance Religious Artworks on Ordinary peoples Religious Beliefs?
• What artworks represents biblical text?
• Why did they place an emphasis on religion through art?
• Should I only look at the Frescoes and Sculptors of religious art, or perhaps also look at the architecture?
• Religious Beliefs in Christianity: The Crucifixion, Resurrection, Trinity, Heaven and Hell.

I am really glad I changed my topic as my other one was too broad and it was hard to narrow down. I am excited to persevere with this new topic and investigate this area of interest.  

I shall be reading more books and writing notes and trying to form my main topic question. I also have to hand in my Proposal next week on monday so I will be working on that for the week.