So...I have been working on selecting artists and pieces for my elementary school children to learn. I want them to be able to recall biographical facts about the artists and to be able to identify the pieces (and interesting facts about some of the pieces) on sight. We will mostly study Christian artists, to observe what God enabled them to achieve and how their faith affected their work. We also learn about art techniques by studying the artist who developed them and important pieces that showcase them. Some of the artist we study will not be Christians, but in those cases, there must be a compelling reason to showcase art that wasn't created to honor God. Care needs to be taken with these artist to show the results of their presuppositions.
Thus far I have only outlined a year's worth of study. Here is what I have so far:
Byzantine and Romanesque (illustrated manuscripts, Bayeux tapestry, mosaic)
Gothic Art (stained glass, cathedrals)
Cimabue
Giotto de Bondone (Lamentation, Death of St. Francis, Adoration of the Magi)
Donatello (St. Mark, David in marble, The Penitent Magdalene (I really like this sculpture; I can really empathize with her need for a Savior), the Feast of Herod)
Fra Angelico (Annunciation, Madonna and Child with Angels, Christ Resurrected and Maries at the Tomb, Crucified Christ with St. John the Evangelist, etc.)
Jan van Eyck (Arnolfini, Rolin, Ghent, Crucifixtion and Last Judgment)
Heironymous Bosch (Death and the Miser, Ship of Fools, Christ Carrying the Cross, The Last Judgment)
Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Study of Hands, Lady with an Ermine)
Albrecht Durer (Portrait of Mother, St. Michael fights the dragon)
Leonardo da Vinci's faith is the subject of much debate. Many believe that he was a sodomite, but I am skeptical of these reports because it serves the homosexual agenda to claim a great man as one of their own. He may have been a sodomite, but I will need more than an accusation which never resulted in a conviction and a series of apprentices (a very common practice at the time) as proof before I would believe such slander. But, whatever the truth is, he was instrumental in the development of techniques for showing distance and for softening the lines in portraits. He was also a very dedicated and diligent worker. It is these positives that I am attempting to showcase in the pieces I chose to study.
I will add to this list later. Now I am going to move on to history and geography for the first year.
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2 comments:
From the post: "Some of the artist we study will not be Christians, but in those cases, there must be a compelling reason to showcase art that wasn't created to honor God. Care needs to be taken with these artist to show the results of their presuppositions."
A distinction needs to be made between art that honors God and artists who intend to honor God. Contemporary christian music shows you that artists who intend to honor God can fail miserably at it. Such work is not worth one's time. Similarly (though less often, perhaps), one could find artists who did not intend to honor God but whose work gives glory to God, or was used by God in a clear way to accomplish His historical purposes, in spite of the artist's efforts. (Mussorgsky? Faulkner?)
It may be difficult to decide which category a piece fits into. But surely the distinction above should factor into that decision.
An excellent point. Thanks for your comment.
You are right that something is not automatically good because it was made by a Christian, and conversely, is not automatically worthless if not made by a Christian.
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