1. Go over the questions at the top of the handout with students. Make sure they understand what they are looking for. Instruct them to take notes on every picture.
2. View slides. Depending on the ability level of the students, you may want to ask questions to help lead the students to see the most important elements of each picture.
3. After viewing the paintings, give the students about 10-15 minutes to complete the chart at the bottom of the handout. They should use their notes from the slides. Instruct the students to make generalizations or see commonalties among the pictures of the same genre.
4. Discuss with the students their conclusions. The point of the activity is for them to see the differences between the two historical periods. They should note that the subject matter changes from religious to secular, art exists for the sake of art, the perspective changes from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, the symbolism changes from ecclesiastical to more pagan symbolism (use of Greek mythology). You will probably need to help lead them to realize and articulate these changes.
Closure:
5. After going over the chart, give the students 15 minutes to
write a response to the following question. This question should
be used as a check to see if students understood the information
covered so far.
What predictions can you make regarding the differences (cultural, political, economic, religious) between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance?
Extended
Learning Experience
6. You may ask students to assess the validity of using art as
a primary source. For many of them, this may have been their
first introduction to art history and interpreting art. The following
question may be used as an essay topic after the students have
studied the Renaissance.
Do you think art and literature reflect the atmosphere, opinions,
politics and economics of the times?