Tag: 16th century

The First Female Sculptor Within Italy During the Renaissance

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Properzia de Rossi, who was born in Bologna, Italy in 1490, aspired to become a sculptor and was the first female marble sculptor within Italy during the Renaissance of the 16th century. Although de Rossi left no diaries, fragments of her early work are still available during the modern day. Despite marble sculpting being viewed as a masculine art form during the Renaissance in that it required muscle to perform and an intelligent mind to create, both of which women were not thought to possess during this period. Because of this, de Rossi found her medium in other art forms, most notably her “Madonna of Mercy” within the Grassi Family Crest work which was a silver crest with 11 nectarine buttons which were carved intricately with small images of religious piety. By 1525, aged 35, de Rossi entered a contest for the main cathedral basilica of Bologna, San Petronio, of which she won. The piece was named “Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife” which depicts a fallen women who’s breasts are exposed, rising off of her bed to try and claim her husband as he leaves. It was believed during the period that it was unthinkable for a woman to study the male nude form through nudity. Because de Rossi’s sculptures were so accurate, it was assumed she knew too much of the male form and therefore she was dammed for her talent. In 1530, de Rossi died penniless and alone, a retched end for a great artist who was pushed out of society due to the sheer beauty and creativity of her work. Had de Rossi not been a victim of her time, she would have been celebrated with the most revered male Renaissance artists

The Development of Japanese Tea Gardens and Tea Houses

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The Japanese tea garden is the antithesis of the Buddhist Zen garden and originated in the 9th century after tea was imported into Japan from China. Buddhist monks would drink Chinese tea to keep themselves awake during long meditation sessions. Over the subsequent centuries, tea drinking became an elaborate practice which was highly ritualized with samurai, geishas, and monks all serving tea using these same concepts. Japanese tea gardens developed during the 16th century with direct influence from the concepts of tea ceremonies, designed and constructed to surround tea houses

The First Person to Theorize How Stars are Situated Within the Universe

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Prior to the 16th century, it was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe with a belt of stars which rotated around it, exactly the same way in which planets orbit the central star of any solar system. These stars were believed to be fixed in their position as the constellations observed upon Earth do not alter greatly in their position or intensity in terms of what the human eye can perceive. Thomas Digges was the first person to propose that the stars are placed at different distances and in different positions, not in a ring of stars which stayed fixated, but rather in an infinite universe as distant points of light. Digges built upon the work of Nicolaus Copernicus by changing Copernicus’ original visual sketch of the planets and their orbital paths in that he removed the stellarum fixarum meaning “fixed stars” in Latin, and built a model in which stars were completely different in their distance relative to the Earth, with brightness controlled by how far or close a particular star was in proximity

The Mathematical Inventions of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi

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The mathematical concept of algorithms were developed by and subsequently named after Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (pronounced “moo-ham-mad ih-bin moo-sah al kwar-iz-me”), an Islamic scholar who lived during the 8th century. The concept of algorithms arrived in Europe in the 12th century and al-Khwarizmi’s name was translated to Latin which is where the term “algorithm” is derived. al-Khwarizmi also introduced the western world to the decimal system and introduced reduction and balancing methods (e.g. like and unlike terms) causing al-Khwarizmi to become referred to as the ”father and founder of algebra”. The term “algebra” is derived from the Arabic term “al-jabr” which means “reunion of broken parts”. al-Khwarizmi invented and used algebra to solve quadratic equations and it has been stated throughout history that the ideas that al-Khwarizmi developed, helped usher in the European Renaissance during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries

Maria Gunning; The Woman Who Was Thought to be the Most Beautiful Woman in London, England During the 16th Century

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George William Coventry, the 6th Earl of Coventry, married Maria Gunning who was said to be the most beautiful woman in London, England, so beautiful in fact that grown men claim to have fainted when in her presence. Gunning wore a heavy layer of lead and mercury based makeup which caused blood poisoning and began to eat away at her skin. It is reported that Gunning only had the light of a tea kettle in her room, because she was so devastated by the damage done to her face by the makeup she wore. Venetian Ceruse, also referred to as “Spirits of Saturn”, was the 16th century cosmetic skin whitening agent which Gunning used. Venetian Ceruse was in great demand and considered the best available cosmetic during the era. The problem with lead and mercury based cosmetological products is that this compound contains acids which eat away at the skin and cause further blemishes which then in turn require even more concealer be used, causing a vicious cyclical scenario (e.g. further blemishes lead to more makeup, and more makeup, leads to ever further blemishes). It is believed that Queen Elizabeth I also used Venetian Ceruse to achieve her iconic pale beauty standard

The Reason Islam Has Dominated Indonesia

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In Indonesia, during the 16th century (although various sources of contrasting Islamic documentation state Islamic traders brought Islam to Indonesia in the 8th century), Islam had mass appeal to the general population. Islam strictly forbade discrimination and idolation of any monarchy or royal bloodline, and gave the common people the same opportunity to ascend to paradise as their rulers did. Islam does not have an intermediary when dealing with divine power which further made the religion attractive to the native islanders. These values made Islam more liberating in comparison to Hinduism and Buddhism which were the dominant religions at the time. The most recent mass conversion to Islam was during the fall of communism in Indonesia in 1965. Massive and brutal murders of Communist Party of Indonesia members occurred in the late 1960’s as the accepted convention at the time was that communists were atheists and atheists were therefore communists. The safest method to ensure survival during this turbulent time, especially for the indigenous Javanese who adhered to local indigenous religions, was to declare themselves Muslim so they would not be mistaken for communists and by default, atheists