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Introduction to Art History for High School Part I (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance)
Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Beginner Level
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
Aligned with National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS)
**ATTENTION PARENTS** Due to parent requests, a handful of sections of this class run twice a week over five weeks, instead of once a week for ten weeks. These sections run on Mondays and Wednesdays exclusively. The following start dates are for these twice per week sections: 7/15 In this class, students will explore the development of artistic production throughout world history over the course of ten weeks, starting with paleolithic art and ending with the Italian and German Renaissances...
10 lessons//10 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1Introduction to Art History and Arts of the Paleolithic and Neolithic PeriodWe 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.Week 2Lesson 2The Arts of MesopotamiaWe 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.Week 3Lesson 3The Arts of Ancient EgyptThis 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.Week 4Lesson 4The Arts of Ancient Greece (Part 1)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.Week 5Lesson 5The Arts of Ancient Greece (Part 2)We continue our analysis of artistic development in Greece primarily through sculpture! Sculpture was one of the most important artistic methods of expression throughout the Mediterranean and today we will evaluate how sculpture developed through the Classical period and into the Hellenistic period of Greece, through 30 BCE. This week's case study will be the sculpture of the Parthenon, and we will discuss the controversy of the Elgin Marbles and repatriation.Week 6Lesson 6The Arts of the Roman Republic and EmpireStudents will be looking at the shift in artistic practices in the Roman period, particularly their struggle with bronze work and their unique taste in portraiture. This week's case study will look at the Equestrian Portrait of Marcus Aurelius as a way of evaluating a shift in stylistic tendencies in portraiture, emphasizing old age as a way of humanizing their Emperors. The close of this lesson will focus on how the rise of Christianity impacted the arts.Week 7Lesson 7The Medieval Arts of EuropeStudents will learn about the effects of the spread of Christianity on art during this period and spend a majority of the class discussing Christian architecture and sculpture. We will focus on the famed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris as a case study during this lesson, where students will learn about how these monumental churches were built, the importance of the sculptural elements inside and out of the churches, and about the process of making stained glass.Week 8Lesson 8The Arts of the Byzantine EmpireStudents will focus on the Byzantine Empire, which was the only part of the Roman empire that survived after 500 CE. Students will focus heavily on the influence of Islamic cultures in the Byzantine Empire, and will learn the differences in architecture between Mosques and Cathedrals, using the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as the primary example. Students will learn about the rule of Justinian and how his rule affected art production--primarily through mosaics.Week 9Lesson 9The Italian RenaissanceStudents will learn about how the Renaissance happened and the importance of humanism at this time. They will primarily discuss painting and discuss the shift to more realism within images, starting with the works of Raphael. Then, we will discuss representations of the human body during this time, comparing Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Michelangelo's images on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Students will discuss the differences in art production in different parts of ItalyWeek 10Lesson 10The Northern/German RenaissanceStudents will learn about the differences in artistic development in Northern Europe at this time, focusing on paintings by artists like Jan Van Eyck and Albrecht Durer--through which students will learn about the shifting role of the artist in society. Further, students will be introduced to the idea of genre painting, or painting of everyday scenes and discuss why this might be important. Students will learn about art for the masses this week and discuss the importance of the printing press.
- --The characteristics of art of different movements and cultures
- --How to think critically about art and images that are presented to you
- --How art fits into a larger historical context and how world events shape art production
- --How to talk about and describe art, both verbally and in written form
I have been teaching art history for seven years now and have a Master's Degree in Art History. I started my career teaching at the university level and in museums and have been teaching art history on Outschool since 2018. I developed this introductory series for middle and high schoolers so that they could have a foundation for talking about the arts earlier than at the college level and be exposed to history in a new way!
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Homework
Frequency: includedFeedback: includedDetails: Each week, students will respond to questions that correlate with the week's topics in 1-2 paragraphs. There are two larger writing assignments--one visual analysis where the student describes a work of art in detail and one short research paper where the students select an artist and explore their biography and one of their works in relation to their biography.Assessment
Frequency: includedDetails: Learner progress is assessed through in-class discussions, online discussions, and written assignments.
This class is ideal for those with unique learning needs. Students will be provided with study guides after each class for continued support and have access to all recordings for each week. Students can opt out of assignments if preferred.
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Artwork may contain nudity or violence. Christian art will be discussed heavily in Weeks 7, 8, and 9 because of the nature of art commissions and production during the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in History from University of Colorado at Boulder
Hello Outschool families! My name is Molly McGill and I am so excited to be teaching on the Outschool platform and sharing what I love with students from all over the world. I earned my Masters in art history from the University of Colorado, where...
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Group Class
$16
weekly or $160 for 10 classes1x per week, 10 weeks
50 min
Completed by 146 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
3-12 learners per class