Lesson Point
Lesson Point
Lesson Point
Renaissance
Lesson Plans
Class: Language Arts Theme(s):
Arts & Architecture Patrons & Lifestyle
Imagine that you never saw a picture of anyone you knew. No photographs of friends and family, no advertising posters or billboards, no one familiar on television or in the movies, no painted or sculpted portraits of real people, only people who no one had seen for centuries like Jesus and the saints. That's what life was like in Europe before the Renaissance. The portrait that we know today, a picture that captures the likeness of a person, was revolutionary during the Renaissance. 1200 years before the Renaissance (around 100 A.D.), portraits of the rulers of ancient Rome were sculpted on metal coins and spread throughout the Aureus of Septimius Severus, countryside. Coins were easy to carry and easy to distribute, reaching citizens far with a portrait of Julia and wide to announce and identify images of the leaders of Rome. Once ancient Domna, ca. Rome stopped producing these images, portraiture in Europe disappeared until 93-96 A.D Italians first began to Severan, Roman; Gold; Diam. represent images of real 0.78 in. (2 cm) people in the 1300s. They Gift of Joseph H. Durkee, modeled the portraits on 1899 (99.35.218) the coins recovered from The Metropolitan Museum ancient Rome. In Florence of Art artists like Giovanni del Biondo began painting portraits of sitters turned in three-quarter view. When these paintings reached Florence, they were very much admired. Unlike the profile, which did not add much to the individuality of the portrait's subject, the three-quarter pose broke down the barriers between the subject and the viewer by allowing the subject to look out of the portrait directly at the viewer. This new communication between the subject and the viewers of the portrait opened the door to portraiture hat explored the character of a person as well as the way he or she looked. A portrait of a person's face became a metaphor for the person's self, and to have your portrait painted, meant your image might live beyond you. The idea was so appealing that merchants and tradesmen, not just royalty and church Giovanni del Biondo leaders, began to commission portraits of themselves Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Alexandria, and their families. detail, About 1379
Tempera on panel Allentown Art Museum
the Renaissance
ONNECTION
Lesson Plans
This Portrait of a Boy, in threequarter pose, is from Venice, Italy around 1499.
Follower of Bartolomeo Vivarini Portrait of a Boy, About 1499 Tempera type on panel
During the Renaissance, artists began to paint portraits of themselves to advertise their skill and promote their images as talented and sensitive observers. The new Renaissance innovations in portraiture spread all over Europe and the portraiture that developed in the Renaissance remains much the same today. While we may use new materials and techniques like photography or video, capturing the essence of another person, both the way they look and the kind of person they are, is an idea that began in the Renaissance.
the Renaissance
ONNECTION
Lesson Plans
CLASSROM TIME
One or two 40 minute periods
OBJECTIVES
Students will: Creatively apply the written word to produce an essay from two differing points of view. Practice observing and analyzing the details of a work of art. Learn to formulate individual opinions based on observation. Understand how differing opinions can be based on analyzing a work of art (or person or event) from another person's point of view. Learn to use facts to back up an argument or prove a point.
MATERIALS
LCD Projection or large display-sized reproductions of any one portrait in the Renaissance Connection -- Portrait of a Boy (Follower of Bartolomeo Vivarini), The Standard Bearer (Dosso Dossi), Portrait of George, Duke of Saxony (Lucas Cranach), Portrait of a Gentleman (Girolamo Romanino), Portrait of a Lady ( Netherlandish Master), Portrait of Anton Fugger (Hans Maler), Portrait of a Venetian Commander (Domenico Tintoretto), Captain of the Infantry, Marching Left (Hendrik Goltzius), Portrait of Durer (Erhard Schon) and Bean Eater (Annibale Carracci) Different Points of View Writing Assignment Sample Blackboard or white board
OPTIONAL RESOURCES
The "Background" section of this lesson, reproduced as a student handout.
Allentown Art Museum
the Renaissance
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Lesson Plans
the Renaissance
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Lesson Plans
Criteria
Facts
Limited Achievement
Includes objective, indisputable facts ("The sky is blue and gray.")
Sound Achievement
Includes a multitude of facts and descriptions.
High Achievement
Includes accurate facts and descriptions based on observation and information about the work of art from the Renaissance Connection Includes opinions and rationale, based on observable evidence in the work of art. Thoughts and ideas of artist and subject are persuasive and express a specific point of view. Punctuation, grammar and spelling are correct. Fonts are readable, text and graphics are placed logically.
Opinions
Includes opinions ("The sky is beautiful") Includes thoughts of both artist and subject. Spelling is correct. Fonts are readable and text is placed logically.
Includes opinions and rationale ("The sky is beautiful because...") Includes a multitude of thoughts and ideas of both artist and subject. Punctuation and spelling are correct. Fonts are readable, text is placed logically and document contains at least one graphic image.
VOCABULARY
portrait: a painting, drawing, bust, photograph, or other representation of a real person, living or dead, especially of the face. profile: a representation of somebody's face as seen from the side. three-quarter pose: a representation of somebody turned part way between a profile and a full frontal view of the face.
the Renaissance
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Lesson Plans