Download Example of Volunteer Introduction to Renaissance Exhibit

The Renaissance
Example of Volunteer Introduction
Recommendations before the class arrives:
1. World globe available to locate Italy
2. Volunteer writes definition of Renaissance on a chalkboard, as well as a
time period:
Renaissance = Rebirth
1200 – 1700
300-800 years ago
3. Volunteer is prepared to point out the following pieces to show students
during introduction
2. Madonna
1. Presentation in the Temple
4. Autoritratto (self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci)
15. Last Supper
8. Mona Lisa
12. Giant Catapult
7. Pieta
17. Creation of Adam
Introduction:
Welcome to the Renaissance Mini Art Museum. My name is Lady (name), and I
live in Florence, Italy, one of the art centers of the Renaissance period. Can
someone please show me where Italy is on this globe? (Child points out Italy on
globe to the class). That’s right. And here is Florence, northeast of Rome, where
a lot of the Italian artists painted. Do you think I’m an artist in Florence? (Wait
for response.) Well, if you answered yes, that’s nice of you to think so. But
because I’m a woman I was not allowed to be an artist, but I have an equally
important job to run the household and the masters’ studio.
The period known as the Renaissance was roughly from 1200-1700 AD, or about
300-800 years ago. Who can tell me what Renaissance means? (Wait for
response. Answer is on chalkboard.) Yes, that’s correct. Renaissance means
“rebirth.” Do you remember when we studied the art of Rome, Greece and
Egypt? Well, after the Roman Empire collapsed, nomadic tribes called barbarians
took over a lot of western Europe, and everyday life was difficult. For about 500
years, during the early Middle Ages, people weren’t as interested in art or
literature. In fact, unless you were a religious person, most people did not know
how to read or write during this time.
Then, in the 13th century in Italy, there was a “rebirth” of interest in the arts,
and this period is called the Renaissance. This was a period of re-awakening,
both to the culture that had flourished in ancient civilizations, and also to
discovering more about the world around them.
(Show picture of Madonna, #2) Why do you think art during this period was
usually about religion? If you could not read or write, how would you tell a story?
(Wait for response.) Yes, art was used to tell stories about religion, which was
important to the people at that time. Notice how this Madonna looks kind of flat,
or 2-dimensional. In the 14th century when she was painted, people didn’t know
a lot about anatomy. Later in the Renaissance, this would change.
Many of the artists’ had patrons. A patron is a wealthy person who
“commissions” or pays the artist to do the art work, and he often had a great
deal of control over the subject of the painting. Sometimes a patron might ask to
change the painting if he didn’t like it. (Show picture of Presentation in the
Temple, #1. Point to the group of people standing behind Mary and baby Jesus.)
Who are these people in this painting? (Wait for response.) Do you think they
were really there when Jesus was a baby? Probably not. These people are
dressed like they lived during the Renaissance, and they are probably members
of the patron’s family! A lot of times, the patron would require the artist to
include members of his family in the painting. Since he was paying a lot of
money for the painting, he figured his family should be in the painting, too! Also,
many of these paintings were done for churches. Why do you think that is? (Wait
for response.) Are churches going to be standing for a long time? Yes, often for
hundreds of years. The patron would want the artwork he paid for, with his
family in it, to be seen in the church for many generations.
(Show Autoritratto, Self Portrait of Leonard da Vinci, #4) Who is this man? (Wait
for response. Sometimes students say “God!”) This is Leonardo da Vinci. He is a
remarkable artist and is called the Renaissance Man, a compliment that means
he was a person well educated in a variety of subjects. He studied architecture,
anatomy, mathematics, engineering, sculpture, painting, poetry, literature,
music, geography, botany and hydraulics.
(Show picture of The Last Supper, #15). Do you recognize this painting? This is
one of the more famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. It was originally painted
on the wall of a dining hall used by monks in a monastery. The paint
unfortunately began to flake shortly after he applied the final brushstrokes.
(Show picture of Mona Lisa, #8) And this woman is another of Da Vinci’s famous
paintings. Do you know her name? (Wait for response) She is Mona Lisa, and
some say her smile is sad, others say she looks happy. What do you think? Do
you think Da Vinci painted her outside or inside? (Wait for response) It certainly
looks like she was painted outside, but we know that paintings in the
Renaissance were usually painted in the artist’s studio because tubes of paint
were not invented until the 19th century. Paint was not portable, and it was
difficult and messy to carry it outside. The artist had to imagine or remember
what the scenery, the trees and landscapes would look like if the subject were
outside. There were no photographs, movies or television to help them recreate
the scenery. Often they would made sketches or “studies” and refer to them
when they were ready to complete the final work.
(Show picture of Giant Catapult, #12) Da Vinci was also an inventor, and he had
ideas for things that were not invented until hundreds of years after his death.
One of the drawings he designed was an airplane. What do you think this is?
(Wait for response.) Yes, this is a catapult. (Point to writing on right side of
picture.) What’s wrong with this writing? (Wait for response.) Yes, it’s in Italian.
But it’s also called mirror writing because it is written from right to left and in
reverse. If you were to look at this writing in a mirror, and you could also read
Italian, you would be able to easily read what it says.
Why do you think Da Vinci used mirror writing? (Wait for response.) He wasn’t
trying to be secretive. He had a practical reason. He was left handed. What did
people write with during the Renaissance? (Wait for answer: quill pen and ink.)
What happens when you are left handed and you use ink to write?
(Demonstrate: Use chalk to write “Da Vinci” with left hand on chalkboard. Your
hand will smear the chalk. Show your hand to the students.) Da Vinci had some
very important ideas to share with the world. By writing from right to left and in
reverse, he was assured he would be able to communicate them clearly!
(Show picture of Pieta, #7) Another important artist during the Renaissance was
Michelangelo, an Italian Renaissance sculptor, artist, architect, poet and
engineer. Even though he could do all of these things, sculpting was
Michelangelo’s favorite art form. Who are the people in this marble statue? (Wait
for answer: Jesus and Mary) Who do you think is taller in this statue – Jesus or
his mother, Mary? (Wait for responses) The Pieta, which is in St. Peter’s Basilica
in Rome, is a perfect example of art illusion through balance and perspective. If
you said Mary is taller than Jesus, you are right. In fact, if Jesus were to stand
up and be of normal human height, Mary would be 16 feet tall standing next to
him! Mary’s legs have to be really long to hold a grown man across her lap. But
because of the balanced illusion that Michelangelo created, you don’t even notice
the difference in their heights.
The pope asked Michelangelo to paint frescoes on the ceiling and walls of the
Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome. Michelangelo at that time preferred
sculpting to painting – in fact he had never done a fresco painting – but when
the pope asked you to do something during the Renaissance, it was a good idea
to do it!
(Show Creation of Adam, #17) Who are these two men? (Answer: God and
Adam. Hold picture above students, parallel to the floor like a “ceiling.”) This
painting would be on the ceiling above you. The entire Sistine Chapel ceiling is
the size of a tennis court. Remember what we said about using paintings to tell
stories? Michelangelo painted over 300 Biblical figures on the ceiling on the
Sistine Chapel, telling the stories of the creation of Adam and Eve, Noah and
other Old Testament stories. On the wall over the altar, he also painted the Last
Judgment. The chapel took him 4 years to complete, lying on his back on a
rickety scaffold.
Now I want you to be Michelangelo. Your pencil is your paintbrush. Please lean
back and hold your arm high in the air as though you are painting the ceiling.
(Dim lights in classroom.) Why is it dark in here? Were there electric lights in the
Sistine Chapel? No. What did they use for light? Candles! What do you think the
candles over hundreds of years did to the paintings? They turned them very
dark. In fact, in the 1970s the paintings were so dark from the soot of candles
that over the last 20 years the Sistine Chapel paintings have been completely
restored. If you were to view them today, they are once again as vivid and bright
as when Michelangelo first painted them.
Some of you have put your arm down! You better keep painting! You have 4
more years to go. The pope is not going to be very happy with you because he’s
paying you a lot of money to paint these frescoes! You better put your back into
it and some more paint on your brush. What’s the effect of gravity on your paint
when you hold it over your head? That’s right. The paint falls in your eyes. It is
said that Michelangelo’s eyesight was damaged from paint getting in his eyes
from the Sistine Chapel.
OK, you may put down your paintbrushes now. We are going to start our
scavenger hunt to explore the other works of art in the Renaissance collection.