Ancient Art

I selected the video on the Luttrell Psalter in part because the video on the Illuminated Manuscript wasn't working.  I love books; this is something that everyone in my life comments on.  I own a lot of books, I read a lot, and I'm compared often to fictional characters with the same traits.  This video seemed close to the one on the Illuminated Manuscript - it was about the illustrations in medieval books and I had never heard of the Luttrell Psalter before.  I really enjoyed this video - the artwork was fascinating and I enjoyed the descriptions behind each one.

Key concept from More Human Than Human: Humans don't really like realism in their artwork; they want exaggerated perfection.  What constitutes this has changed throughout time/history, but trend continues into modern media today.

Key concept from Art & Life in the Middle Ages: the Luttrell Psalter.  The whole video shows the illustrations in the Psalter.  Shows not only illustrations of the Biblical stories contained within, but also has strange depictions of everyday life and some depictions of saintly stories.  

The first video related to the readings in the text by delving into a specific feature of ancient art - while the book covered more general themes.  The video specifically looked at how the human form was depicted in different cultures throughout ancient times, and explored the reason behind the specific exaggerations that were often depicted.  The second video really delved into what the drawings in an illuminated manuscript represented - what stories they told, what symbols they contained, etc.  The book makes only a passing mention on illuminated manuscripts in its section on the Early Middle Ages, but that's maybe one of the most fascinating things from the Middle Ages.  I have a fondness for the beauty of illuminated manuscripts.

I pretty much explained how the videos added depth to the text I was already reading - that's how it relates, is to add depth in the first place.  But I really liked these videos.  They were less dry and had more interesting subject matter than many of the others I've been made to watch.  The narration for the first video was interesting and engaging and I enjoyed the exploration of the development of the human figure in ancient art.  While the narrator for the second video was a little dry, I was absolutely fascinated by the art that was shown - I loved getting to see it close up - and I learned a lot about the culture of the Middle Ages and how it related to the art in these kinds of books.  I almost want to watch that video again.