Ancient Art

André Derain

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Derain’s Fishing Boats and learn about his Fauvist style and use of color; Identify and describe tertiary colors and expressive brushstrokes in this painting; Describe the movement and balance implied by vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines; Draw boats and seascapes; Paint seascapes with boats, using Fauvist brushstrokes and tertiary colors; Critique their own and others’ artwork based on criteria selected for this project.

Neo-Babylonian

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the characteristics of the Striding Lion and learn about city walls during ancient times and the animals that decorated Babylonia’s Ishtar Gate; Identify features of animals that represent power; Describe the use of elements of art, including color, line, form, texture, and space, in this piece; Discuss the rights of museums to own artwork from other places and what value, if any, there is in it; Draw animals using visual metaphors that express the traditions and myths of ancient Babylon; Color the animals with chalk pastels, using highlights and shading to add depth, character, and realism.

Egyptian Mummy

In this lesson the student will: Analyze a picture of an Egyptian mummy cartonnage and learn how artwork served religious purposes; Identify symbols and attributes representing the deceased, and identify common Egyptian conventions; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including color, shape, and line, in this work of art; Describe the stylized features of Egyptian portraits; Draw mummiforms with ancient Egyptian symbols; Use additive and subtractive clay techniques to show stylized features; Create clay mummiforms containing visual metaphors that express the traditions and myths of Egypt.

Egyptian Cup

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the Egyptian painting Presentation of the Cup and learn about Egyptian hieroglyphics and symbols; Identify the conventions of the stylized Egyptian figure pose and its hierarchical placement; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including color, shape, line, space, and value, in this painting; Enlarge figures using grids and decorate with natural pigments; Create artwork containing visual metaphors that express the traditions and myths of Egypt.

Xia Ch'ang

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Bamboo in the Wind and discuss how visual metaphors express the traditions and myths of China; Identify the repetition of brushstrokes, the range of tones, and the natural shapes of bending bamboo; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including line, space, and value, in this painting; Describe the negative space and identify the scholar rock; Paint fish, bamboo, and scholar rocks, using traditional Chinese brushstrokes; Create vertical Chinese-style brush paintings, using tones of black watercolor.

Chinese Dragon

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the Five-Clawed Dragon and learn how textiles can be an art form; Discuss the importance of dragons in Chinese art and how they were used to symbolize the power of the emperor; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including shape, form, line, and texture, in this textile; Design circular compositions using symmetry and balance; Color dragons with oil pastels, using tints, shades, and intensity to show form; Create oil pastel and watercolor dragons in a circular format.

Exekias

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the design of a Greek neck amphora and learn about styles of Greek vases and how they were used; Identify the use of detail, repetition, and pattern on vases; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including color, shape, form, line, and space, in this vase; Describe how the placement of designs affected the balance and symmetry of vases; Draw figures in motion; Design and etch amphoras with illustrations of athletes or Greek mythical characters.

The Parthenon

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the architecture of the Parthenon, designed by Phidias, Ictinus, and Callicrates and learn about its purposes and design; Identify the columns, pediment, frieze, and base of the temple; Describe the symmetry and balance of the temple; Design pediments, frieze designs, and columns; Draw figures for the pediment; Sculpt and etch temples containing visual metaphors that express the traditions and myths of Greece.

Marc Chagall

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Chagall’s America Windows and learn about how this series of stained glass windows commemorated the 1977 American Bicentennial and celebrated the arts; Identify how Chagall used intense color and natural lighting in the stained glass panels; Describe how repetition of color, line, and shape help unify the windows; Draw contour figures and objects using intense colors and black lines; Create stained glass–style windows that illustrate stories.

Jacques Louis David

In this lesson the student will: Analyze The Oath of the Horatii, by David, and learn about Roman times and classical styles of architecture and clothing; Identify the way the architecture in the painting visually divides the story into three parts; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including shape, form, texture, space, and value, in this painting; Describe how color, line, and triangular composition help tell the story; Draw Roman arches and temples using two-point perspective; Create accurate architectural drawings using compasses and rulers.

Roman Portrait

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Portrait of a Man and discuss the differences between idealized Greek and realistic Roman portrait styles; Describe how artists can show the same theme using different media and styles and how styles changed over time; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including color, form, line, and texture, in this portrait; Draw idealized charcoal portraits in the Greek style; Draw realistic portraits with chalk pastels in the Roman style, showing expressive features and form; Create idealized and realistic portraits to show the contrast between Greek and Roman styles.

Sonia Delaunay

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Sonia Delaunay’s painting Rythme 38 (No. 123-A) and learn about Delaunay’s use of geometric shapes in her designs; Identify and describe the use of elements of art, including color, shape, line, space, and value, in this painting; Describe how colors are used to express feelings and create mood; Draw concentric and overlapping circles; Create circle color studies using design and color rules; Critique their own and others’ artwork based on criteria selected for this project.