A Time

A perfect specimen of the Flemish oil painting style with its attention to the tiniest details, the picture under the title The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger is truly a masterpiece embodying the ideas and world vision of the XVI Century.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Time-Travel to the Renaissance Epoch: Behind the Velvet Curtain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With a distinct scent of the German, namely, the Augsburg (Bavaria) culture, this piece makes one plunge into the 1533 and see the world through the prism of the then philosophical ideas. Indeed, if there is anything that can intertwine the Bavarian and the Flemish, this is the painting by Holbein. With help of his peculiar style, the two cultures came as close as ever, making the philosophies of the two countries merge. Taking a closer look at the picture, one can notice that time proved completely helpless to make any damage to it. Each de tail is still there, perfectly outlined and impeccably expressed. It is truly unbelievable that the size of the picture correlates with its grandeur and magnificence – the canvas make 81Ãâ€"82.5†. Created with careful strokes of oil paint on oak panel, this masterpiece is shot through with the spirit of the Renaissance. Depicting the two ambassadors, the painting makes an impression of a piece of the Renaissance life frozen for a moment for the people of the future to see it. Depicting numerous details, the painting creates an impression of a part of real life snatched from 1533 and put into the frame of the XXI century. On a second thought, the picture can tell much more than merely the historical traits of the epoch and the details of the Renaissance epoch. Helping the spectator understand the art of the Renaissance from within, the picture reveals the ideas and philosophies of XVI century together with the temper of the artist and the thing a that inspired him and g uided on his way to creating this masterpiece. It is obvious that the picture is rectangular, which is the most frequent and the most logical picture shape. Since the piece embraces the entire room and the two people in it, it cannot be square – to show the spaciousness, Holbein uses the rectangular and two-dimensional shape.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It must be also mentioned that the use of the light in the picture is quite unusual. With help of the shadows and spots of light, the author emphasizes the most important parts of the picture an places the less significant ones into the background. Thus, the two ambassadors are in the limelight of the picture in the literal sense of the word, whereas less important details are left in the periphery. One more peculiar thing about the painting is the color casts used y the author. With help of the dark-green background, Holbein created the atmosphere of calm meditations and the air of political secrets. It is remarkable that the other colors, including the shade of red, are dark as well, with the white color being the only exception. Although it is clear that tae painting must have a hard and somewhat rough texture, it seems as if the painting were made of velvet. Looking at the dark-green curtains, one cannot help feeling the wish to touch the material and see it swaying in the candlelight. Though this is merely an illusion, the painting does leave a feeling of something extremely soft and refined. Despite the fact that at very first sight the picture might seem a bit shallow, further on it reveals the special depth that the spectator had no idea about previously. Since the people in the picture are set in a single line, the illusion of a flat image is retained for a while; however, as time passes, the spectator catches the play of light and shadow that create additional spaciousness. Leading in the backg round of the picture and beyond its actual boundaries, this spaciousness sets the imagination of the spectator loose, making him/her see the world of the XVI Century in its beauty and innocence. With help of the lines in the picture, Holbein makes the impression of the striking reality complete. It is peculiar that the even and straight lines of the table and the devices in the picture are combined with the natural curves and roughness of the curtain, the folds of the ambassadors’ dresses, etc. Altogether, this draws a distinct line between the world of nature and the artificial world of the mankind. What strikes most in the painting is that it looks completely real. Each detail, each shadow and line makes the spectator dive deep into the Renaissance epoch. Even the eyes of the ambassadors seem live and haunting. Looking wise and breathing with the new ideas and scientific innovations, this piece of Renaissance culture can take one five centuries back. With help of this amazi ng picture, time traveling becomes possible. With help of this amazing piece of the XVI Century Renaissance art, one can feel the pulse of the great scientific discoveries and even greater expectations. For a moment, it seems that the world has held its breathe to meet the future – the XXI Century.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Time-Travel to the Renaissance Epoch: Behind the Velvet Curtain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay on A Time-Travel to the Renaissance Epoch: Behind the Velvet Curtain was written and submitted by user Wra1th to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Locke And The Rights Of Children Essays - Rights, Empiricists

Locke And The Rights Of Children Essays - Rights, Empiricists Locke and the Rights of Children Locke firmly denies Filmer's theory that it is morally permissible for parents to treat their children however they please: "They who allege the Practice of Mankind, for exposing or selling their Children, as a Proof of their Power over them, are with Sir Rob. happy Arguers, and cannot but recommend their Opinion by founding it on the most shameful Action, and most unnatural Murder, humane Nature is capable of." (First Treatise, sec.56) Rather, Locke argues that children have the same moral rights as any other person, though the child's inadequate mental faculties make it permissible for his parents to rule over him to a limited degree. "Thus we are born Free, as we are born Rational; not that we have actually the Exercise of either: Age that brings one, brings with it the other too." (Second Treatise, sec.61) On top of this, he affirms a postive, non-contractual duty of parents to provide for their offspring: "But to supply the Defects of this imperfect State, till the Improvement of Growth and Age hath removed them, Adam and Eve, and after them all Parents were, by the Law of Nature, under an obligation to preserve, nourish, and educate the Children, they had begotten." (Second Treatise, sec.56) Apparently, then, Locke believes that parents may overrule bad choices that their children might make, including self-regarding actions. Leaving aside Locke's duty of self- preservation, his theory permits adults to do as they wish with their own bodies. But this is not the case for children, because their lack of reason prevents them from making sensible choices. To permit a willful child from taking serious risks to his health or safety even if he wants to is permissible on this theory. Parents (and other adults as well) also seem to have a duty to refrain from taking advantage of the child's weak rational faculties to exploit or abuse him. On top of this, Locke affirms that parents have enforceable obligation to preserve, nourish, and educate their children; not because they consented to do so, but because they have a natural duty to do so. 2. The Problem of Positive Parental Duties The first difficulty with Locke's theory of childrens' rights is that the positive duty of parents to raise their children seems inconsistent with his overall approach. If, as Locke tells us, "Reason teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions." (Second Treatise, sec.6), it is difficult to see why it is permissible to coerce parents to provide for their offspring. In general, in Locke's scheme one acquires additional obligations only by consent. Even marriage he assimilates into a contract model: "Conjugal Society is made by a voluntary Compact between Man and Woman " (Second Treatise, sec.78) We should note that in section 42 of the First Treatise, Locke affirms that the radically destitute have a positive right to charity. "As Justice gives every Man a Title to the product of his honest industry so Charity gives every Man a Title to so much out of another's Plenty, as will keep him from extream want, where he has no means to subsist otherwise." But this hardly rules out relying on voluntary charity if it is sufficient to care for all those in "extream want." Quite possibly, this right would never have a chance to be exercised in a reasonably prosperous society, since need would be minimal and voluntary help abundant. Moreover, it is hardly clear that the duty to provide for the extremely needy rests only on some sub- group of the population. This passage seems to make it a universal duty of all of society's better-off members. For these two reasons, then, it would seem hard to ground positive parental duties on the child's right to charity. For if the number of children with unwilling parents is sufficiently tiny, and the society in which they are born sufficiently rich, the preconditions for exercising the right do not exist. Moreover, there is no reason for parents, much less the parents of a particular child, to have a duty to that child; more plausibly, all