A Classical History of Art Student Book

A Classical History of Art Student Book

A Classical History of Art takes the student through more than 5,000 years of art history. From the prehistoric period to the beginning of modern art, this course demonstrates the significance of classical values in the sculpture, architecture, and painting of the West. The student will learn a proper regard for the greatness of classical art and master the dialogue necessary to direct interactions with the Beautiful.

Join Kyle Janke as he explores the key works of each time period, with a particular focus on Greek sculpture, Gothic cathedrals, and the Renaissance. This beautiful Student Book includes chapter introductions, full color images, discussion questions, and more.

A Classical History of Art Student Book works in conjunction with the Teacher Guide, Flashcards, and Instructional Videos.

Product Description
This course has 12 lessons and is intended to be completed over the course of one semester. The curriculum presents the features, terms, and pertinent discussion questions of each period, supplemented by close analysis of major works, lessons in visual composition, and master copy drawing assignments.

Chapter 1: Prehistoric Art
Chapter 2: Egyptian Art
Chapter 3: Aegean Art
Chapter 4: Greek Art
Chapter 5: Roman Art
Chapter 6: Byzantine Art
Chapter 7: Medieval Art
Chapter 8: Gothic Art
Chapter 9: Renaissance Art
Chapter 10: Reformation and Counter-Reformation Art
Chapter 11: Revolutionary Art
Chapter 12: Modern Art

Note: This study of classical art does include images that contain nudity. Please see our note here concerning nudity in art.

CONCERNING NUDITY IN ART This, then, is the goal of acquiring good taste: that students should live according to the fullness of their humanity, finding pleasure in what is truly beautiful, as defined by the created nature of man and not the fallen. The potency of classical art to inspire this has made it an object of adoration throughout the history of the West: in ancient Rome, in Renaissance Italy, and in the Neoclassicism of the American founding. Yet the adoption of pagan values has always posed a problem for Christian educators: An earnest study of classical art includes nudity. What are we to do with the nudity of Greek art? In addressing why the Greeks carved nudes, we should begin by asking why we are clothed. As Scripture makes clear (Genesis 2:25), we are not clothed according to our creation but according to our fall. Our garments signify our imperfection. Of course, we cannot go naked and deny our wrongs, yet we can deny no less our longing that those wrongs should be made right. This is the desire expressed in art—in all art, whether nude or otherwise—that we should be what we once were: naked and unashamed. And while Greek sculpture, being made of stone, cannot perfect the flesh, it can provide an illustrative image of our perfected state. We must be sure to place ourselves on the right side of a fundamental divide between classical and modern art. Modernity reels in a maelstrom of realism, portraying us as we really are. It emphasizes our material nature, rejecting classical assertions and stripping the human form of its divine image and its supremacy over the beasts. It reduces man to matter, which is nakedness indeed. Conversely, classical art shapes matter into the image of a god. This comes much closer to our true nature as image-bearers of our Creator. One who sees in such work only its literal nakedness fails to acknowledge its figurative sense and stumbles into the same rut that mires modernity. We were created to be naked, unashamed, and deathless. Nudity is immortality made visible. While Goodness and Truth lead us to life, it is Beauty that makes us follow. Nude art teaches discernment by emphasizing the difference between true beauty and its counterfeit, enlivening our desire for proper things. The purpose of this curriculum, then, is to understand what art says. Some works degrade our humanity; others elevate it. Classical art is our powerful ally in teaching the greatest virtue, that of proper love.
 

• Age Level = 14 and up
• Book Material = Flash Cards
• Book Publisher = Memoria Press
• Copyright = c2022
• Grade Level = High School
• Condition = New