Excerpt from my A+ Art History Value Paper

uhhh i don't know if it's actually A+ or A but it got the highest possible mark in my education system and i want to share it because i enjoyed writing this and my blog is my happy writing space. yes, i even enjoyed writing my last paragraph and conclusion (this piece) which i worked on for SEVEN HOURS STRAIGHT TILL 11:30PM :)

Botticelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo all present original works that defy the expectations set for artists at the time. Their works are cornerstones for new artists. The Mona Lisa influenced new portrait styles, as seen with Raphael’s work and mass modern interpretations and renditions of it. Raphael’s Maddalena Doni is posed almost exactly as the Mona Lisa, but he did not copy it one-to-one; instead, he used Leonardo to enhance his own skills by referencing aspects. The Primavera influenced a focus on secular artwork and artists like the Pre-Raphaelites, who centered on naturalism. One of their most famous works is Ophelia by John Everett Millais, which has a naturalistic grace similar to the Primavera. Michelangelo’s work inspired awe in the Florentine populace and was revered as a turning point toward anatomical accuracy for sculptors. While all of these pieces are intellectually rich, they demand different engagement from viewers. Only two are revered as timeless mysteries, and they register differently. The Mona Lisa works on a psycho-emotional level. The subject, Lisa del Giocondo, was stated to be amused while Leonardo was painting, “to avoid the solemnity of most formal portraits.” (Strickland, 2007, p.34)  The result is a living painting. Leonardo’s sfumato builds an illusion of three-dimensionality through hazy gradiations, turning portraiture into a psychological spectacle. In contrast, the Primavera is allegorical and ideological. Layered in classical and Neoplatonic symbolism, the Primavera reads as an introspective to love and Florentine ideology. Where The Mona Lisa draws the viewer into thinking about her interior life, The Primavera expands into a world of ideas and prompts reflection. David, however, is a clear narrative of David slaying Goliath reinterpreted. A more straightforward meaning of courage and will, compared to Botticelli's and Leonardo’s abstract work. These three pieces reflect the range of Renaissance genius across different media. As stated previously, Leonardo’s sfumato provides an otherworldly quality and expansive atmosphere that draws the viewer in, a radical and alluring methodology for the Renaissance. Botticelli’s Primavera is more decorative, with idealized, elegant, and elongated figures. It also has a dreamy, truly mythological arrangement across a flat plane, which reads as very classical compared to the Mona Lisa’s atmospheric depth. Finally, David’s aesthetic experience is entirely different as a three-dimensional piece. David's technical finesse is inseparable from its aesthetics, as it is a material limitation turned into a mastery. The contrapposto, precise anatomy, and scale provide an imposing experience and assert physical presence.
Together, these works seek to push the boundaries of art into ideas, emotions, and lasting, ever-changing interpretations. The Mona Lisa is valued for its perpetual surrounding with mystery, from being lost to her puzzling smile. The Primavera is valued for its spiral of various meanings, from a secular narrative to ideological expression. David is valued for its idealization of human potential, figuratively and literally. Their differences show value in that human thought has no single form. Their value has stayed consistent because it was never about the beauty that lay in the eyes of the beholder; it was always something much deeper. The Mona Lisa stays timeless with her ambiguity, and people will always be fascinated by facial expression, especially one like hers. The Primavera demands something rare from the viewer, emotion to feel and understand, but also rationale to decode and comprehend. David’s value stays consistent as one-of-a-kind and a pinnacle achievement, whose very presence is symbolic enough. Even though it has been centuries, these values have seldom changed and reveal that the most complex pieces captivate us and are the most meaningful. With art, there always seems to be a pattern of mystery and admiration because we are drawn to what we cannot fully understand. These works endure because they were made by people who understood art’s primary function: to capture and convey thought, and to make the viewer think too.

finished reading? thank you. if possible, please give me some advice about essay writing for the future! i would really appreciate it. my teacher says i'm very authoritative with my words and i do see myself as straightforward, but i actually wish to be more wondrous and almost painterly with words like in cool novels.