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Gesualdo and da Vinci
Hey everyone, welcome to our Renaissance tour! Today we are testing our new device, the auto-tour guide! Recently, we�ve been losing a lot of staff, and we figured we should try something new! The auto tour guides are animatronics that activated as you pass by them, ready to tell you all about the history of their lives and the movers and shakers they lived with! Go on, head into the exhibit, have fun!
�Hey, you there! You look fairly ignorant. You look like you need to be educated, sit down. Where are you going? I said sit DOWN! HMPH! You should pay more attention to the words of your elders! Honestly, children these days�I am willing to bet all that I possess that you know next to nothing of the Renaissance. �See, I told you. Listen to me; I have a story for you�Carlo Gesualdo! A famous musician, but not for his music. Though he was a composer of the late renaissance, he is in actuality known for his acts as a MURDERER, performing what are arguably the most famous killings in all of recorded music history. Listen and I will be more than happy to tell you of them.
The story goes on to say that in 1586 Gesualdo married his first cousin Donna Maria d�Avalos, Daughter of the Marquis of Pescara. About two-years afterward, she started off on a love affair with the Duke of Andria, Fabrizio Carafa. Though the public was full knowing of the matter, Gesualdo was blind to her actions. This continued until October 16 of 1590, whence upon returning to his home from a hunting trip, he caught her in his bed with the duke, in the midst of an act of sexuality. Evidence and reports on the murder are not lacking, as the records of which have survived to this day, completely undamaged. According to said reports, he then proceeded to (either himself, or his servants, a few of which testified against him) stab Maria in her genitalia repeatedly, screaming out, �She�s not dead yet!!� After this, he SLAUGHTERED the duke, the corpse inflicted with multiple wounds from a sword, and a large hole in his skull caused by a firearm. When the body was found, he was in Maria�s night dress. It is not well known what happened afterward. The next known records of Gesualdo tell us that he moved to Ferrara in 1595, during which he wrote very emotional music, specific emphasis being placed upon words that showed his lament, and grief, and guilt. He used a type of word painting in his work, an extreme leap forward for his time. This technique would not be used again until the late sixteenth century. His most famous �sacred� composition is his set of, �Tenebrae Responsories�, which are madrigals on sacred texts. They concerned the death and betrayal of Jesus Christ.
Whoa! Where are you going? I still have more to tell you about, this story is not over! The Renaissance is a major historical event; one cannot summarize it in one story. However�I can see that you are anxious to go. Only one more story for today, then. This man is a genius, and his work is known throughout the world. His name is Leonardo da Vinci. Ah, so you recognize that name? Still, this is nothing truly special. Many men and women know OF him, but very few know ABOUT him. DO NOT FIDGET, listen!
Well then�Leonardo da Vinci is famous not only as a painter, but also as an inventor, a visionary, a scientist, and a universal genius. He was many, many years ahead of his time! He created concepts for things such as the submarine, a tank, a machine gun, calculators, programmable automatons, and more! He kept notebooks throughout his life, which contain such sketches and instruction for the use of complex devices that can only dreamed of in his day. His studies of anatomy have pushed medical science to an all new level, allowing for new methods in surgery to be implemented, such as the transplant of organs, or the repair of the human heart. Without da Vinci, this world would be a much different and much more dangerous place. Oddly enough, though his works help us so much today, he was persecuted in his life time for his lifestyle choices and his methods. He was a homosexual, vegetarian man, which was not widely accepted in his day. He opposed even drinking milk, as he saw it as stealing from the cows off spring. He was a very different and unique man, which aided him in becoming such an important historical figure. He is considered also to be one of the greatest artist�s of all time. Surely you have seen pictures of his work, such as the Last Supper, or the Mona Lisa? The Mona Lisa�s ambiguous smile has provoked much speculation on Leonardo. Some have even guessed that the painting is secretly he, painted as his client! It also believed that he was a heathen, believing that Jesus Christ was not mankind�s savior. He is thought to have believed that the savior was actually John the Baptist.
Da Vinci al- What�s that? Are you TRULY so anxious to leave?! Fine, go, leave me! I will just stay here, stuck to this wall, speaking to silly passersby such as yourself! HMPH! Not a man alive who really cares anymore, they all need to be more respectful and��*CLICK*
Well, that was fairly excessive, heh�I think I�m going to be making a call to the supplier, this model�s a little�longwinded, huh? Maybe something less�crotchety..? Yeah, that sounds good. Well, we hope you enjoyed our auto-tour, and that you�ll come again soon! See you next time everyone! Wow, this thing is annoying�George, you are going straight back to the manufacturer, that is for SURE.
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