Illusions

The painting above wowed and amazed the people of Renaissance Florence.  It is a fresco (a painting completed on wet plaster) by the young artist Masaccio and is the first painting to use the newly discovered linear perspective.  Many people saw this painting on the wall of a church in Florence and thought that it was an extension into another room.  Masaccio used linear perspective and shadowing of light and dark on the figures to create his illusion of depth.  Masaccio was such a talented artist that it is rumored that he was poisoned!  The competitive art world of Florence, Italy may have been too jealous of his talent.

Our class worked on a scene that created the same illusion of a deep space.  Using different values and complimentary colors, we added shadows to flat circles to make them appear to be round spheres.

We then drew checkerboards using linear perspective, painted the background black, and added stars to make the illusion of infinite space.

Finally, we arranged the spheres so the largest were the lowest on the page, also adding to the illusion of depth.

Ghirberti and Figure Drawing

Continuing our study of Renaissance artists, we looked at the life and work of Lorenzo Ghirberti.  Ghirberti was a trained goldsmith who entered a contest to design a set of doors for the Baptistry at the cathedral in Florence, Italy.  His design won and he spent years completing the doors. 

When Michelangelo saw the completed set, he named them the "Gates of Paradise".  

The panels on the doors show scenes from the Old Testament.  However, the sculpted human figures are proportional, realistic, and Classically dressed.  Ghiberti, like other Renaissance artists, merged the ideas of the Medieval period (Christianity) with Greek and Roman ideas (humanism and an emphasis on the human body).

We began our project by discussing the proportions of the human body.

Students also took turns posing for one another and doing figure drawing.

We took our drawings and created scenes using textures (rice, beans, pasta, dried glue) to build images using a human figure on foam board.

We covered the foam board with foil and carefully pressed the foil around the textures until you could see the image in the foil.

Finally, we covered our foil wrapped images with India ink and used steel wool to buff away the ink from the raised places on the image.

In the end, we got some pretty cool relief sculptures!

Giotto and Emotions

I finished my online course with an "A"- Hooray!  To catch up, here are a few of the projects we have been working on in class.

Transitioning from the Medieval Period to the Renaissance, we talked about the artist Giotto.  Giotto was discovered working as a shepherd in Italy.  His drawings impressed a master artist who took him to Florence as his apprentice.  There Giotto built a reputation as a painter and architect.  His paintings moved away from the stiff, unrealistic human figures of the Medieval period.  He added shadows and emotions to his figures making them feel more realistic and amazing the viewers of his time.

While working as an apprentice, Giotto learned, like other artists, to mix his own paint.  Often paint was made from finely ground pigments and egg yolks.  

We ground our own "pigments" using sidewalk chalk, rolling pins, and muscle.  

We tried to make the chalk as fine as possible by crushing lumps between spoons.

We mixed the ground chalk with white glue (our egg yolk substitute) to make our own paint.

Thinking about the emotions Giotto used in his paintings, we also looked at Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Students chose an emotion (something other than "happy" or "sad").  Then, using the homemade paint, they created an image that communicated the emotion they chose.  They did not have to use a realistic image in their painting but could choose to use simple lines and shapes to communicate their idea.

Can you tell which emotion each student chose?

 

 

Get In On the Action!

Do you have a desire to get involved in our class on Tuesdays and Thursdays?  Do you have any skills, knowledge, or experiences we can learn from?  Below are some topics we have coming up in class.  If you have anything to add to these topics, we would love to have you add to our class experience.  Please feel welcome but don't feel pressured!!!

The Renaissance

The city of Florence, Italy and its role in Renaissance culture

The following artists:  Ghirberti, Masaccio, Durer, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, El Greco, Rembrandt

Significant works by these artists:  The Holy Trinity, The Rhinoceros, The Mona Lisa, The Sistine Chapel, Rembrandt's self-portraits, Return of the Prodigal Son

Frescos

Figure Drawing

Relief Sculptures

Printmaking

Self-portraits from a mirror

Sculpting with clay

A Check-up

We are several weeks into the school year and now is a great time to think about how the class is working.  As this is my first year-round art class with homeschool students, I would love your feedback .  If you have a moment, would you complete the survey below?  It should take you no more than five minutes and your opinions are anonymous.  Of course, you are always welcome to get in touch via email, phone call, or in person!  

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W6K9QH5

Thanks for your help!

What We Have Been Up To: Week Four

During week four, we looked at art and culture during the medieval period.  We discussed Gothic architecture and especially the use of pointed arches and stained glass windows.  

Students designed their own stained glass windows using the letters of their first or last name.  We drew out our designs on sheets of 8x10 plexiglass.  

We finished our designs with colored sharpie.

The complete designs use bold lines and color.  These designs can be put in an inexpensive 8x10 frame.   Leave off the backing and you have a great finished window look!

Coming Up!  We will discuss the artist Giotto and his use of shadow to create the illusion of three dimensions.  We will make paint just as Medieval and Renaissance artist learned to make their own paint.  We will use our paint to make paintings that show specific emotions.  You are always welcome to join us or add in any way to our lesson.  

What We Have Been Up To: Week Three

During week three of art, we began by discussing Greek art and culture.  We especially spent some time discussing the architecture of the Parthenon.  Student practiced using one-point perspective to draw buildings.  

Later in the week, we discussed the Roman Pantheon and how the round arch changed architecture.  Students began designing their dream home.  We began by drawing them out using pencil and covered over our final lines with sharpie.

They added textures and patterns in the large spaces using crayon and finished the piece with watercolor.  The waxy crayon resisted the watercolor and added interest in the big spaces.  Salt sprinkled on the wet paint also created textures in large spaces too.

The paintings came out bright and full of imagination!  One brave student even used linear perspective in hers!

 

This student chose to show his house as a floor plan

Do you see the hobbit hole?