Introduction to Art History for High School Part I (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance)

 We will introduce art history and major art terminology that we will use throughout the course. The last half of the lesson is dedicated to an introduction to art history through a discussion of major Paleolithic pieces that predate written history. This week's case study is Stonehenge, through which we will study early monumental architecture and its potential meanings. Students will learn about major sculptural types, including relief and sculpture in the round. 

 We will explore the many cultures of the Mesopotamian world! This week's lecture will focus on the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to static societies and how that impacted the type of arts being produced. Students can expect to learn about religious significance of Mesopotamian sculpture and temples, as well as the impact of the first codes of law through the Code of Hammurabi. This week's case study is the Babylonian Ishtar Gate, rare materials and royal iconography. 

 This week students can expect to learn about the early development of painting, the influence of papyrus scrolls, the development of sculpture, a shift in monumental architecture through the pyramids of Giza, and the role of funerary arts through mummification and the importance of sarcophagi. This week's case study will be the Papyrus of Huenfer, through which we will discuss Egyptian religious practices and how they impact development in the arts. Visual analysis assignment will be introduced. 

 This week we emphasize the abstracted forms of Cycladic sculpture, the mythos of Mycenean sculpture and the Mask of Agamemnon, the painted frescoes of Crete, early Greek pottery of the Orientalizing period, and the basic developments of sculpture through the Archaic period, which lasts through about 480 BCE. Each of these will emphasize a stage of development from previous cultures we have studied, emphasizing the artistic trajectory that is being traced over thousands of years.