Used with the Catholic Heritage Curricula Fourth Grade Lesson Plans
This lovely, well-written art resource offers an excellent introduction to composition, perspective and form; various kinds of art (mosaic, fresco, sculpture, etc.); a brief history of early art (including cave paintings, Egyptian and Greek art); and a detailed account of a number of major artists of the Renaissance and pre-Renaissance (Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael). Through art reproductions, simple line drawings and engaging text, the child will be drawn into a surprisingly in-depth way of looking at a work of art. I was especially impressed by the "Appreciating Art" segments that follow the works of some of the artists. These give step-by-step ideas, questions and hints to get more out of each picture and learn to appreciate the strengths and uniquenesses of each artist.
The individual art reproductions - representing the Master artists listed above as well as examples of different historical periods and types of art, are intended to be placed in the book by the student (there is a miniature black and white reproduction of each piece so the task is quite easy to do). This type of active involvement helps a child to take the material "for their very own" in a way that simply reading and looking at a book doesn't always accomplish. The Catholic material is interesting and well-connected to the subject - especially in a world where most children's art materials are devoid of religious or even classical subjects.
What our family did was to move this appendix into its own binder. We laminated the art reproductions and keep them in the back of the binder to allow our children to match them up with the appropriate spot over and over again (a Montessori sort of thing to do). It also allows older and younger siblings to enjoy this resource. This is a really lovely resource - one of the nicest materials I've come across in awhile. I learned some new things from the text too. Do you know why Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper was so faded in comparison with other works from the same general time period (like the Sistine Chapel)? Or why the very famous pair of thoughtful angel cherubs were placed at the bottom of the Sistine Madonna by Raphael? Well, I won't tell you, but you'll find these and lots of other interesting tidbits in this very nice and highly recommended text.
