Mary Quinlan-McGrath’s article made her argument seem plausible because she had an answer for every astrological/zodiacal compartment. Her take on the fourteen extra-zodiacal constellations makes sense and ties the whole vault together with Agostino Chigi’s date of birth and conception. After reading this article, I was amazed at how a certain time could be told through astrological constellations and especially within minutes of the correct time. Also, I was intrigued about how medicine and astrology was interrelated and how astrology was important in the practice of obstetrics. For example, doctors who were familiar with astrology could predict the times of birth. I believe Peruzzi was a brilliant designer and held a wide knowledge of astrology. The vault possesses great detail and wonderful colors that pop out to the human eye.
I find this image of the garden loggia ceiling in the Villa Farnesina incredibly intriguing and eye catching. There are so many elements and different scenes depicts in this one panel of the ceiling, that I find it hard to simply focus on one. Obviously the scene in the middle panel of the Cynosura driving the chariot on one side and the scene of Perseus decapitating Medusa on the other side stands out the most for me. I think the imagery and colors in this painting are beautiful and very reminiscent of the Renaissance period. There are some other clear elements in this painting that could categorize it as a Renaissance work of art such as the proportions of the people depicted, the astrological elements that are present, and the fact that it is a painting from a ceiling in Agostino Chigi’s roman villa (painted by Baldassare Peruzzi). I find it fascinating that this entire panel of the wall was constructed to illustrate basically Chigi’s birth date, including the time frame, the alignment of the stars, and his zodiacal sign (which I believe is Leo). One thing I did find a little difficult about the reading that coincided with this image is the way in which the people would determine a person’s actual time of birth and time telling in general (I had to read that part a few times). There is so much more to this image then meets the eye. Some of the clear astrological elements that I could pull from this image would be the fact that Cynosura is also known as Ursa Minor or as it is more commonly known today the little dipper, and each of the blue hexagonal figures that surround the center panel depict each of the zodiac signs and their position in the sky at this point in time (Leo at the bottom, Gemini on the right with the babies on the cloud). I think overall this ceiling panel is extremely intricate and takes some time to understand fully (even after reading this and studying the image for a while I am having trouble fully understanding what they are trying to depict with the astrological symbols, the stars positions, and how they reveal Chigi’s birth date). Still, it is a beautiful image nonetheless.
I found this article to be a little difficult to get through initially, but after reading it through a second time I was able to understand the purpose of the garden loggia ceiling much better. If someone of little to no art history knowledge were to look at this work, they would probably have no idea that it was created to mark a specific man’s, Chigi’s, birth. Being that Christianity was so influential during the time of the Renaissance, it does not surprise me that Baptism dates basically overshadowed actual days of birth. This made timekeeping and zodiac classifications hard to understand to the people at the time. I find it interesting that births were recorded in this way, and that such a heavy emphasis was placed on constellations and astrology.
When associating art with the zodiac constellations, much can be confusing without any background knowledge of both subjects. When I first read this article I was also very confused and had to pick apart the details piece by piece. The main ideas I got from the article were that the artist was trying to incorporate the beliefs of zodiac signs and symbols into a piece of artwork that could be interpreted by others as well. The painting itself is very intricate and almost seems to tell a story. I have noticed that paintings that are set in multiple parts often tell of a story or instructions on a particular subject. This one in particular explains the birth of a man called Chigi. I really enjoyed the way that the artist chose to showcase his story as well as bring in the zodiac pieces. It shows the ideas of how the Renaissance people may of viewed the zodiac and the stars in this time period. When associating the way the people lived, it seems as if the stars were a very intriguing part of what they believed which in turn stimulated the zodiac. I also found it interesting that she explained how medical and astrological practice often interrelated during this time period. This piece could serve as a great example of how the zodiac related to everyday life as well as the art movement.
The article that I read was an argument about the birth time of a man named Chigi. The author is arguing that the time is based on a clock that starts at midnight because of the painting. The author explains that a brilliant painter would not just add 2 random zodiac signs if Chigi was born at a time based on the dat starting at sunset. The paining itself is amazing in the fact that it tells the story of birth and conception based on the starts and constellations. It is truly incredible that they could figure out precise time and date based off of stars and constellations; I had no idea that you could do that. I also found it amazing that the artist was able to take a time and date of a birth and have 14 zodiac signs that revolve around that one man’s birth. It was also amazing that stars and constellations were also used in obstetrics to help with the birth and they believed that it helped in a successful birth. That is truly genius and a work of art. The article itself was hard to understand, but i think I pulled out the main points. The painting is beautiful and I could look at it for hours and still find new things in the work.
I honestly had an extremely hard time understanding much of any of this article! But! I did find it quite interesting in the parts I did understand. The fact that planetary positions can tell you a date and the stars can tell you an exact time in hours and minutes is amazing.I also really like the birth scene print. The moon seems to be kind of a big deal to this image. While the mother is giving birth with the midwives the doctors are interested in the moon. I didn’t not understand much about how the discovered the beginning of the day started at midnight or what 21 and 1/2 meant. I would like to know though!
I also found myself a bit perplexed by this article initially, but after considering the subject matter and comparing it to what we’ve discussed in lecture I began to draw several conclusions and comparisons. I found it fascinating how highly valued astrology and birthdays were in Renaissance culture. This fascination with the stars and universe surrounding births seems to align with their view of wonders. Astrology, for example would appear to qualify as a wonder as the stars consistent patterns provided them with wonders which are fairly stable. Yet, the people of the time seemed to follow these star patterns religiously in order to perhaps bring order or reason to the prodigious wonders associated with child birth. Also, it is interesting that obstetricians often practiced astrology. In addition, paying such a great tribute to the astrological signs which coincided with Chigi’s birth reaffirms the significance of astrology in regard to life, and particularly in this case birth.
Art and Science in the Renaissance 
Mary Quinlan-McGrath’s article made her argument seem plausible because she had an answer for every astrological/zodiacal compartment. Her take on the fourteen extra-zodiacal constellations makes sense and ties the whole vault together with Agostino Chigi’s date of birth and conception. After reading this article, I was amazed at how a certain time could be told through astrological constellations and especially within minutes of the correct time. Also, I was intrigued about how medicine and astrology was interrelated and how astrology was important in the practice of obstetrics. For example, doctors who were familiar with astrology could predict the times of birth. I believe Peruzzi was a brilliant designer and held a wide knowledge of astrology. The vault possesses great detail and wonderful colors that pop out to the human eye.
-Keri N.
I find this image of the garden loggia ceiling in the Villa Farnesina incredibly intriguing and eye catching. There are so many elements and different scenes depicts in this one panel of the ceiling, that I find it hard to simply focus on one. Obviously the scene in the middle panel of the Cynosura driving the chariot on one side and the scene of Perseus decapitating Medusa on the other side stands out the most for me. I think the imagery and colors in this painting are beautiful and very reminiscent of the Renaissance period. There are some other clear elements in this painting that could categorize it as a Renaissance work of art such as the proportions of the people depicted, the astrological elements that are present, and the fact that it is a painting from a ceiling in Agostino Chigi’s roman villa (painted by Baldassare Peruzzi). I find it fascinating that this entire panel of the wall was constructed to illustrate basically Chigi’s birth date, including the time frame, the alignment of the stars, and his zodiacal sign (which I believe is Leo). One thing I did find a little difficult about the reading that coincided with this image is the way in which the people would determine a person’s actual time of birth and time telling in general (I had to read that part a few times). There is so much more to this image then meets the eye. Some of the clear astrological elements that I could pull from this image would be the fact that Cynosura is also known as Ursa Minor or as it is more commonly known today the little dipper, and each of the blue hexagonal figures that surround the center panel depict each of the zodiac signs and their position in the sky at this point in time (Leo at the bottom, Gemini on the right with the babies on the cloud). I think overall this ceiling panel is extremely intricate and takes some time to understand fully (even after reading this and studying the image for a while I am having trouble fully understanding what they are trying to depict with the astrological symbols, the stars positions, and how they reveal Chigi’s birth date). Still, it is a beautiful image nonetheless.
Amanda Berardino
I found this article to be a little difficult to get through initially, but after reading it through a second time I was able to understand the purpose of the garden loggia ceiling much better. If someone of little to no art history knowledge were to look at this work, they would probably have no idea that it was created to mark a specific man’s, Chigi’s, birth. Being that Christianity was so influential during the time of the Renaissance, it does not surprise me that Baptism dates basically overshadowed actual days of birth. This made timekeeping and zodiac classifications hard to understand to the people at the time. I find it interesting that births were recorded in this way, and that such a heavy emphasis was placed on constellations and astrology.
Rachel P.
When associating art with the zodiac constellations, much can be confusing without any background knowledge of both subjects. When I first read this article I was also very confused and had to pick apart the details piece by piece. The main ideas I got from the article were that the artist was trying to incorporate the beliefs of zodiac signs and symbols into a piece of artwork that could be interpreted by others as well. The painting itself is very intricate and almost seems to tell a story. I have noticed that paintings that are set in multiple parts often tell of a story or instructions on a particular subject. This one in particular explains the birth of a man called Chigi. I really enjoyed the way that the artist chose to showcase his story as well as bring in the zodiac pieces. It shows the ideas of how the Renaissance people may of viewed the zodiac and the stars in this time period. When associating the way the people lived, it seems as if the stars were a very intriguing part of what they believed which in turn stimulated the zodiac. I also found it interesting that she explained how medical and astrological practice often interrelated during this time period. This piece could serve as a great example of how the zodiac related to everyday life as well as the art movement.
The article that I read was an argument about the birth time of a man named Chigi. The author is arguing that the time is based on a clock that starts at midnight because of the painting. The author explains that a brilliant painter would not just add 2 random zodiac signs if Chigi was born at a time based on the dat starting at sunset. The paining itself is amazing in the fact that it tells the story of birth and conception based on the starts and constellations. It is truly incredible that they could figure out precise time and date based off of stars and constellations; I had no idea that you could do that. I also found it amazing that the artist was able to take a time and date of a birth and have 14 zodiac signs that revolve around that one man’s birth. It was also amazing that stars and constellations were also used in obstetrics to help with the birth and they believed that it helped in a successful birth. That is truly genius and a work of art. The article itself was hard to understand, but i think I pulled out the main points. The painting is beautiful and I could look at it for hours and still find new things in the work.
I honestly had an extremely hard time understanding much of any of this article! But! I did find it quite interesting in the parts I did understand. The fact that planetary positions can tell you a date and the stars can tell you an exact time in hours and minutes is amazing.I also really like the birth scene print. The moon seems to be kind of a big deal to this image. While the mother is giving birth with the midwives the doctors are interested in the moon. I didn’t not understand much about how the discovered the beginning of the day started at midnight or what 21 and 1/2 meant. I would like to know though!
I also found myself a bit perplexed by this article initially, but after considering the subject matter and comparing it to what we’ve discussed in lecture I began to draw several conclusions and comparisons. I found it fascinating how highly valued astrology and birthdays were in Renaissance culture. This fascination with the stars and universe surrounding births seems to align with their view of wonders. Astrology, for example would appear to qualify as a wonder as the stars consistent patterns provided them with wonders which are fairly stable. Yet, the people of the time seemed to follow these star patterns religiously in order to perhaps bring order or reason to the prodigious wonders associated with child birth. Also, it is interesting that obstetricians often practiced astrology. In addition, paying such a great tribute to the astrological signs which coincided with Chigi’s birth reaffirms the significance of astrology in regard to life, and particularly in this case birth.