Art & Drawing Ladder · High school · Grade 10–12

Art History I: Prehistoric to Renaissance

A high school and college survey from the cave painters to Bruegel: how to look at a work, Egypt, Greece and Rome, Byzantine and Islamic art, Gothic cathedrals, art of Asia, Africa and the Americas, and the Renaissance.

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55 topics in 9 units. Builds on Color and Design. Leads to Art History II: Baroque to Modern. Not sure this is the right course? Find your rung.

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Unit 1 How to Look at Art

6 topics

Formal analysis, subject and style, the media of painting and sculpture, patrons, and how works are dated and attributed.

  1. Formal Analysis: Describe, Analyze, Interpret
  2. Subject, Genre and Style
  3. Fresco, Tempera, Oil and More
  4. Carving, Modeling and Casting
  5. Patrons and Context
  6. Dating and Attribution

Unit 2 Prehistoric Art

3 topics

Cave paintings, carved figures and the great stone monuments.

  1. Cave Paintings
  2. Carved Figures
  3. Stonehenge and the Megaliths

Unit 3 The Ancient Near East and Egypt

5 topics

Mesopotamia, Assyria and Persia; the rules of Egyptian art; pyramids, temples and the tomb of Tutankhamun.

  1. Mesopotamia: Ziggurats and Steles
  2. Assyria, Babylon and Persia
  3. The Rules of Egyptian Art
  4. Pyramids and the Old Kingdom
  5. Temples and the New Kingdom

Unit 4 The Aegean, Greece and Rome

8 topics

Minoan and Mycenaean art, Greek vases, the orders, the Parthenon, sculpture from Archaic to Hellenistic, and Roman building and portraits.

  1. Minoan and Mycenaean Art
  2. Greek Vases: Black-Figure and Red-Figure
  3. The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian Orders
  4. The Parthenon
  5. Greek Sculpture: Archaic to Classical
  6. Contrapposto and the Hellenistic Age
  7. Roman Arches, Concrete and Domes
  8. Roman Portraits and Wall Painting

Unit 5 Early Christian and Byzantine Art

4 topics

Basilicas, the mosaics of Ravenna, Hagia Sophia and icons.

  1. Early Christian Art and the Basilica
  2. The Mosaics of Ravenna
  3. Hagia Sophia
  4. Icons

Unit 6 Islamic Art and Architecture

4 topics

Mosques and their parts, geometric ornament, arabesque and calligraphy, and the Alhambra.

  1. The Mosque and Its Parts
  2. Geometry, Arabesque and Calligraphy
  3. Córdoba and the Alhambra
  4. Carpets, Lamps and Books

Unit 7 Medieval Europe

5 topics

Illuminated manuscripts, Romanesque and Gothic churches, stained glass and the Books of Hours.

  1. Illuminated Manuscripts
  2. Romanesque Churches
  3. Gothic Cathedrals
  4. Stained Glass
  5. Books of Hours and the Late Middle Ages

Unit 8 Asia, Africa and the Americas before 1500

8 topics

Chinese landscape painting and ceramics, Japanese and Buddhist art, Ife, Benin and Great Zimbabwe, and the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca.

  1. Chinese Landscape Painting
  2. Bronzes, Clay Soldiers and Porcelain
  3. Buddhist Art Across Asia
  4. Heian Japan and the Tale of Genji
  5. Temples of South and Southeast Asia
  6. Nok, Ife, Benin and Great Zimbabwe
  7. Olmec, Maya and Aztec
  8. The Andes and Ancient North America

Unit 9 The Renaissance

12 topics

Giotto, perspective and Brunelleschi's dome; Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo; Venice; Van Eyck, Dürer and Bruegel; Mannerism.

  1. Giotto and the New Naturalism
  2. Linear Perspective
  3. Brunelleschi's Dome
  4. Early Renaissance Sculpture and Painting
  5. Leonardo da Vinci
  6. Raphael and Michelangelo
  7. Venice: Color and Light
  8. Van Eyck and Northern Oil Painting
  9. Dürer and the Print
  10. Bruegel and Everyday Life
  11. Renaissance Architecture
  12. Mannerism and the Late Renaissance
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