Art- Principles of Design - Term Paper Example

This paper will first discuss Luis Barragan’s Torri Satellites in the context of Modernist architecture. Then it will proceed to Benvenuto Cellini’s metal sculpture of the salt-cellar for King Francis I, created during the Renaissance period. Finally, the essay will turn its focus on Albrecht Durer’s metal craft entitled, Melencolia I created during the Italian Renaissance movement. Luis Barragan is one of the most renowned architects due to his firm devotion to modernism of the 20th century.

Given this primary devotion to a new feat in the history of architecture, it can be said that Barragan’s philosophical leaning when it comes to the context of his field is towards the propagation of this new movement in architecture. It is with such philosophy that his works are transformed into structures of simplicity, elegance and unorthodoxy- one that is very new to the eyes of the people. Barragan is one of those who revolutionized the Modern Movement which began in the 1920s. The architect shares the same approach to this new phase of architecture with his colleagues like Lina Bo Bardi, Jose Antonio Coderch, Fernando Tavora, and Jorn Utzon (UNESCO 144).

In 1957, Luis Barragan created his memorable piece, the Torri Satellites, which became well-known in the world. A joint-effort between him, the painter Jesus Reyes Ferreira and the sculptor Mathias Goeritz catapulted Barragan into the international line-up of architects and making him a recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture in1980. The epitome of the Modern Movement of architecture is ever present in Luis Barragan’s Torri Satellites. This 4-piece structure is erected in a high class zone; each piece is a symbolism of utter simplicity because of its simple triangular cylinder.

This is very modernist in nature – the very style that explains Luis Barragan’s talent for architecture. Also, the color of each tower patterned in primary shades of red, blue and yellow with the addition of a simple white for the last tower all explain how the concept of the Modern Movement caters minimalism in its designs (Ulloa 4). Going back several centuries in the annals of art history, Benvenuto Cellini was an exceptional goldsmith who surpassed the precepts of metal craft and was transformed into a painter and sculptor, thus a full-bred Italian artist of the early Renaissance period.

All of Cellini’s mastery, his high class metal crafts and his intricate designs as both sculptor and painter, can be seen in a single work that he had created for King Francis I of France, the famous salt-cellar. It is in this salt-cellar that one can see the intricacy of Cellini’s style and the careful use of iconography as part of his designs. The salt-cellar for Francis I was one to be considered as Cellini’s exceptional works because the piece of art was a small-scale figure. The tight attention to detail and the symbolism attributed thereof was the highlight of Cellini’s masterpiece.

The minute scale of Cellini’s piece was not a hindrance for his artistic capabilities to show. The salt-cellar for Francis I was a perfect example of the fusion of pre-Renaissance to the Renaissance precepts of art. Pre-Renaissance focused on the material value of an object which gives it the proper indication for social status. Renaissance, on the other hand, focused on the artistic value of an object. Cellini’