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”Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”

On By aestheticart19In Historical Figures, Paintings, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Title: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Author: Barbara Krafft

Year: 1819

“Music is my life and my life is music. Anyone who does not understand this is not worthy of God.”

– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Mozart Biography

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756–5 December 1791) was one of the most influential, popular and prolific composers of the classical period.

Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, the young Mozart showed all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of five, he could read and write music, and he would entertain people with his talents on the keyboard. By the age of six, he was writing his first compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a rare musical genius, although he was also diligent in studying other great composers such as Haydn and Bach. During his childhood, he would frequently tour various palaces around Europe playing for distinguished guests.

He created twenty-four operas including such famous works as “The Magic Flute”, “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro”, seventeen masses and over fifty symphonies. Mozart’s work, however, extended to all styles and types of music. He knew how to blend traditional and contemporary elements to create his own distinctive style, which is characterized by thematic and tonal variety, melded with a high degree of formal discipline. Mozart’s compositions live from their melodic, rhythmic and dynamic contrasts.

In 1791, on the 5th of December, Mozart died at the age of 35. However, the cause of his death still remains vague and researchers have listed at least 118 probable causes of his death. Legacy Though Mozart lived only for 35 years, Mozart’s legacy is unparalleled. With almost 600 musical pieces, Mozart’s influence reigns supreme in all the genres of music ranging from symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music to piano solo. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians ever, if not the greatest.

Source: biographyonline.net

” The Acropolis ”

On By aestheticart19In Monuments and Architecture, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most famous ancient archaeological sites in the world. Located on a limestone hill high above Athens, Greece, the Acropolis has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Over the centuries, the Acropolis was many things: a home to kings, a citadel, a mythical home of the gods, a religious center etc.

The Acropolis’ flat top is the result of thousands of years of construction beginning as far back as the Bronze Age.

The term “acropolis” means “high city” in Greek and can refer to one of many natural strongholds constructed on rocky, elevated ground in Greece, but the Acropolis of Athens is the best known.

Today, it is a cultural UNESCO World Heritage site and home to several temples, the most famous of which is the Parthenon.

Source: history.com

” Battle of Vienna ”

On By aestheticart19In Paintings, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Title: Battle of Vienna

Author: Pauwel Casteels

Year: 1683

Medium: oil on canvas

Siege of Vienna, (July 17–Sept. 12, 1683), expedition by the Turks against the Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Leopold I that resulted in their defeat by a combined force led by John III Sobieski of Poland. The siege marked the beginning of the end of Turkish domination in eastern Europe.

The leader of the Hungarian Calvinists, Imre Thököly, appealed to the Turkish grand vizier, Kara Mustafa, to attack the Habsburg capital. With the tacit support of the Hungarian army, 150,000 Turks laid siege to Vienna, succeeded in capturing the outer fortifications, and began to tunnel to the inner walls. The emperor fled the city. Pope Innocent XI tried unsuccessfully to induce Louis XIV of France to aid Leopold against the Turks and then appealed to Poland with a large subsidy. Although Sobieski and the emperor had made a pact of alliance earlier that year, Sobieski was reluctant to come until Innocent persuaded Charles of Lorraine to join a combined army with the electors of Saxony and Bavaria as well as 30 German princes. The 80,000 troops of this relieving army formed along the top of the Vienna hills, and, on the morning of September 12, Lorraine’s and Sobieski’s forces attacked the Turks. By this point, the Turks had made serious inroads into the city’s defenses and are generally believed to have come closer to taking Vienna than they were in 1529. The battle raged for 15 hours before the Turkish invaders were driven from their trenches. The red tent of the grand vizier was blown up, but he escaped while thousands of members of his routed army were slaughtered or taken prisoner. Reports stated that it took the armies and the Viennese a week to collect the booty that was left behind in the Turkish camp.

” The Storm on the Sea of Galilee ”

On By aestheticart19In Paintings, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Title: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

Author: Rembrandt

Year: 1633

Style: Baroque

Media: oil, board, canvas

Location: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston, MA, US

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is the only seascape ever painted by Rembrandt. It depicts Jesus calming the waves of the sea, saving the lives of the fourteen men aboard the vessel. Of these fourteen men, it is said Rembrandt included a self portrait of himself in the boat, next to Jesus and his twelve disciples. On March 18, 1990, the painting was stolen by thieves disguised as police officers. They broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, and stole this painting, along with twelve other works. The paintings have never been recovered, and it is considered the biggest art theft in history. The empty frames of the paintings still hang in their original location, waiting to be recovered.

” Neuschwanstein Castle ”

On By aestheticart19In Monuments and Architecture, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Neuschwanstein Castle turns 150. On September 5, 1869, Bavaria’s fairytale king Ludwig II had the cornerstone laid for the most expensive building project of his time: Neuschwanstein Castle.

Name: Neuschwanstein Castle

Location: Hohenschwangau, Germany

Built year: 1886

Construction Started: 5 September 1869

Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival

Without a doubt, Neuschwanstein Castle represents one of the most popular and most visited castles in the Germany. It was built in the German region of Bavaria, near the town Fussen by the commission of the King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who was known by his nickname “Fairytale King”. He has built this castle to be his residence, and to support the lifetime of work of the German composer Richard Wagner who promoted romanticized view on the medieval renaissance fashion.

Construction of Neuschwanstein Castle lasted for 25 years, and during that period King Ludwig II died and he was not able to see it finished. Construction started in 1868 by clearing the rocky perch on which castle would be built. With the finished road to the construction site, work on the foundation building started in 1869, and central throne room in 1872. After that Gateway building was finished and prepared for occupation (1873), topping of Palas was performed in 1880, interior decoration finished in 1884, castle was opened to the public in 1886 (less than 2 months after the death of King Ludwig II) and finally, castle was finished in 1892 with the completion of the Bower and Square tower.

Neuschwanstein Castle was one of the most expensive castles ever made in Europe, with the construction cost reaching 7 million marks. Its incredible luxury and complicated construction technique imediatley captured the attention of the public, and tourists from all around the world came visiting. This popularity naturally led to the apperiance of the castle in many movies and other art mediums, and the castle itself served as one of the most popular inspirations of “medieval fantasy castle”. This can most notably be seen in the Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which was conceived with the Neuschwanstein Castle as its inspiration.