Temples and churches in Rome and Greek - Essay Example

Parthenon and Chartres Cathedral Art plays a crucial role in the society because of the historical significance that it holds. Artworks give valuable information on culture, people, and past life. Over the years, art has evolved leading to exquisite pieces, which hold history, identity, and wealth. This led to art theft over the years, due to demand, and appealing beauty. Artists were recognized and respected highly since they had the imaginative aspect and representation skills to create appealing artistic features. During the Medieval, and Renaissance periods, rulers wanted to create an identity in churches, castles, and homes to create lasting beauty and a sign of artistic wealth. Temples and churches in Rome, and Greek had the most appealing sights built under the supervision of artists. The Parthenon and Charters Cathedral have played a significant role in preserving art over the years. Consequently, they have attained World Heritage site appeal under the mentorship of UNESCO world heritage body. Many scholars, tourists, curators, and art enthusiasts visit these sites to view different forms of art. The Pantheon and Charters Cathedral should be recovered because they hold special worth in a society in terms of the status significance, cultural and historical heritage, and symbolic representation. Another name for Chartres Cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres, found in France, and is one of the best French Gothic architecture and preserved by UNESCO. This cathedral was constructed between 1194 and 1250, and had minor changes done in the 13th century. The Cathedral housed tunic of Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Sancta Camisia since 876. The dedication of the cathedral was done for John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. This building had a lot of social and economic impact in the medieval bishopric, making it the center of the economy. It was at the center of town, leading to the rise of other buildings, hence bringing along the social and economic culture of the people. Businesses dealing with textiles regular trade fairs, and fuel sellers. Money trading business boomed in the area, thanks to this famous cathedral. Visitors traveled from far and wide to have a view of the cathedral leading to the major income for the establishment (Summerson 41). However, the income generated brought about negative attributes in church leading to hatred and gambling among bishops and the local taxing institution at that time. The cathedral had a religious impact in the region leading to pilgrimages and early Christian martyrs. The cathedral played a significant role in spreading Christianity to the locals and creating an image to other nations on the religious beliefs of Christianity. In the 12th century, the Cathedral became a notable institution in holding religious festivities and religious festivities. There were four fairs held which included feast for the Virgin Mary, the presentation, annunciation, assumption, and nativity. Many christens saw the cathedral as a center for hope, restoration and a place to learn the art, reading, writing, and religion. Bishops took the opportunity to convert people to Christianity while educating them. During times of war, calamities, and spread of diseases, this cathedral acted as a refuge center and hospital to take care of locals (Henig 56). Since inception, there have been four reconstructions done to the Cathedral. This is a recovery form, which was done to ensure art preservation, culture, and statue collections remained presented and carried to future generations. Several events happened, which led to massive recovery and turned the cathedral into the artistic work of art. In 1134, there was a massive fire incident, which destroyed most of the towns and some parts of the cathedral. The place was damaged, but most of the artworks painted, stained windows were salvaged from the fire. In June 10, 1194 lightning struck leading to the destruction of the crypt, façade, and west towers of the cathedral. Reconstruction process commenced in 1260; it was dedicated to Kind Lois IX and his family (Oleson 23). Prior to reports of looting and destruction of art, and west towers, it was confirmed that the cathedral was not destroyed nor looted during the French revolution. Though filled with modern art, visitors can still view medieval art, and Gothic art presented in the cathedral to date. The Pantheon was commissioned during the region of Augustus in 27BC- 14 AD and later rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 126AD. It is a roman temple and known as a notable institution and one of the preserved art presentations of all times. Since the 7th century, the Roman Catholic Church and also known as Santa Maria Rotonda used this temple. This temple consisted of many artworks, statues, and resonations in stone carvings. The rulers at that time dedicated the temple to the Catholic Church, which played a significant role in turning the place into an art of work and artistic venture. Many visitors coming from different parts found the art of work interesting and translated some of the famous carvings, and architecture, still used to date in different artistic settings and representations. The Pantheon constitutes the Baths of Agrippa, and Basilica of Neptune. During the medieval times, 609, Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to the then Pope Boniface, IV, which became a full Christian church, also known as Santa Maria and was used by martyrs. During the medieval times, most buildings were destroyed during war, but the Pantheon was spared due to the significant role it played (Claridge 96. However, in July 663, Emperor Constants II brought down some of the parts of the building made from metal, and other ornaments. This included the roof, and some of the gods, and sculptures of former rulers. Most of the bronze, tiles, and ornaments were taken back to Constantinople. During the Renaissance period, the Pantheon was dedicated as tomb, and buried famous painters like Raphael Sanizo, architects, kings of Italy, and bishops. In the 15th century, art changed to paintings, which were predominant in different corners of the temple. Melozzo Da Forli was the most famous painting Annunciation. The Pantheon had a Christian modification, which was commissioned by Pope Clement XI in 1700-1721 and Alessandro Specchi did the designing. However, the building has undergone massive reconstruction (Claridge 98). This led to the displacement of some artistic work in particular the Elgin marbles, which have a huge significance in the ancient history of the Roman Empire. In the 1930’s, most of the Greek campaigners started the recovery process with the bid of accessing the historical art. Recovery of the Elgin Marbles taken over 200 years ago is still in the British museums. Despite this, the Pantheon is one of the most preserved ancient monuments and serves as a tomb of Italian monarchy from 1870-1946CE Preservation of art, cathedrals, and ancient buildings creates a culture and identity of the people. Many locals visit these museums and preservations in order to seek inspiration, learn the culture, and the way of life in the past. Painters, artists, and historians visit these centers to view historic paintings and carvings and learn the rich culture. However, the recovery of paintings and carvings shall increase the value and reclaim the glory to the temples. Works Cited Claridge, A. Rome. Oxford University Press, USA, 2010. Henig, M. A Handbook of Roman Art. Cornell Univ Pr, 1983. Oleson, J.P. The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Oxford University Press, USA, 2009. Summerson, J. The Classical Language of Architecture. The MIT Press, 1966. Read More