Download Leonardo da Vinci

History 6
Mrs. Ancona
The Renaissance Project
The Renaissance was a cultural “rebirth” that sparked the beginning of the
modern era. Advancements in painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, literature,
anatomy, and several other disciplines opened the eyes of the world to endless
possibilities of what human beings could accomplish when given the time and
resources to let imagination flourish.
For the Renaissance project, you will select one influential figure from the
Renaissance that you find to be intriguing and inspiring. In the spirit of the
Renaissance, you will be required to use a variety of your skills.
Part I: The Write-Up (100 points)
First and foremost, this project is a written piece that requires you to
answer some basic questions about this Renaissance figure. The written piece will
be at 1.5 pages but no longer than 2.5 pages and will focus on the following
questions:
--What contribution (s) did this person make to society? Describe some of the
works that made the person famous.
--How did this person’s life or background influence his/her achievements? Were
they impacted by other Renaissance figures, or by earlier time periods such as
Medieval or Classical?
-- How did these contributions impact the world at that time? Were they copied by
others? Has their impact extended until today?
We will work in class on structuring a coherent 5 paragraph essay that
focuses on answering these essential questions. The key to this written piece will
be formulating a powerful yet concise thesis statement that clearly states in a
single sentence why these Renaissance figures were important. This foundation
sentence will serve as the basis for the rest of your written piece.
Part II: Citations
In citing historical information, you need to give credit to the sources you
use in a project. With this project, you will learn the proper way to include
quotations and direct evidence in your work.
As part of this project, you will be required to include at least 5 citations
in your piece from at least three sources (including at least one print and one
online source). You may use more than three sources, but five is the maximum. You
will need to include at least one direct quote. As you read and gather information,
you will use Noodle Tools to make electronic note cards to catalog your findings.
You will also be responsible for giving full credit in a works cited page.
Part III: The Creation
Here is the fun part! This is your opportunity to create something in the
spirit of your famous Renaissance figure. You are encouraged to try something
here that appeals to you; it can be something you enjoy, or it can be a fresh
challenge that you find appealing. Remember, we are not expecting you to be
Michelangelo or da Vinci; we simply want you to explore and have some fun with this
aspect of the project. Your grade on this part of the project will mostly depend on
your effort, craftsmanship, and creativity.
Here are some of your choices:
Leonardo da Vinci
1.
Create a painting in the style of da Vinci.
2.
Imagining you are the young inventor himself living during the Renaissance,
sketch a drawing of a modern invention and explain this invention in a few
paragraphs.
3.
Craft a drawing using charcoal.
Michelangelo Buonarotti
1.
Assume the role of a Renaissance sculptor, and sculpt a figure out of clay.
2.
Create a painting in the style of Michelangelo.
Johannes Gutenberg
1.
Create your own font that could be used for a printing press. You can begin by
making the font on flat paper and then try to carve some actual letters out of
soap or linoleum tiles.
Francesco Petrarch
1.
Craft a Petrarchan sonnet on the topic of your choice.
Raphael Sanzio
1.
Paint a portrait of someone of your choice.
2.
Create a painting or drawing in the style of Raphael.
3.
As a competing Renaissance artist, compose a speech criticizing Raphael for
“copying” other artists’ styles.
Niccolo Machiavelli
1.
Create a short skit that involves someone coming to Machiavelli for advice about
how to solve a dilemma. In the resolution of the dilemma, show Machiavelli’s
point of view about how to resolve problems.
2.
Make a board game that is based on Machiavellian principles.
Filippo Brunelleschi
1.
Draw a building of your choice using one point perspective.
2.
Create a floor plan for a building using proportion and scale.
Miguel de Cervantes
1.
Write a short story (2-3 pages) using the theme of Don Quixote.
William Shakespeare
1.
Craft a Shakespearean sonnet on the topic of your choice.
2.
Rewrite a short scene from a Shakespeare play in modern day language. Include
a brief introduction that describes the play, the setting, and the conflict so the
readers/viewers understand the scenario.
3.
Sing a song from one of Shakespeare’s plays.
4.
With a guitar or a recorder, play a song.
5.
Do an interpretive dance to a song from a Shakespeare play.
6.
Compose your own musical piece that might belong in a Shakespeare work and
play it for the class.
Claudio Monteverdi
1.
Sing a piece of music composed by Monteverdi.
Giorgio Vasari
1.
In the spirit of the first “art historian” who coined the phrase “The
Renaissance,” create a pamphlet of several famous Renaissance artists and
critique their works.
Sandro Botticelli
1.
Create a painting in the style of Botticelli.
Sir Isaac Newton
1.
Write a lab report and conduct an experiment as Sir Isaac Newton explaining
how white light can be divided into seven colors of the visible spectrum.
Galileo Galilei
1.
Write a lab report and conduct an experiment showing how objects of unequal
weight fall at the same rate.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
1.
Make a bas relief sculpture out of tin foil. Carve a “scene” on the back with a
blunt tool so that it pushes out into a sculpture.
Albrecht Dürer
1.
Create a drawing in the unique style of Dürer.
Peter Brueghel
1.
Create or draw a painting in the style of Brueghel.
Dante Alighieri
1.
Write and perform a monologue describing an imaginary journey through one of
the nine circles of Hell.
Nicolaus Copernicus
1.
Make a diorama of the solar system and explain your theory.
Lorenzo de Medici
1.
Make a propaganda poster showcasing the wonders of the Renaissance to
convince people to come to Florence.
Judith Leyster
1.
Create a painting or drawing in the style of Leyster.
Diego Velasquez
1.
Create a painting or drawing in the style of Velasquez.
Jan Van Eyck
1.
Create a painting or drawing in the style of Van Eyck.
Thomas More
1.
Write and perform a monologue as More criticizing the current political system
and explaining how to make it a utopia.
El Greco
1.
Create a painting or drawing in the style of El Greco.
Antonio Vivaldi
1.
Perform a selection from The Four Seasons on a stringed instrument; explain
why the selection you perform is typical of Vivaldi’s style of music
Part IV: The Presentation
For the presentation, we will all travel back in time to the Renaissance where
there is a fair being held to allow all of the important figures of the day to come
together and explain their work. You will be required to present your work to the
class as if you were your Renaissance figure. You will give a short background about
your life and why you are important. Then, you will “present or perform” depending
on the project. For example, if you are doing a speech, a monologue, a song, a
dance, a poem, etc., you will perform these in front of the class as if you were truly
the famous person. If you created a physical product such as a painting or a
sculpture, you will simply show and explain your work. Try to get into character to
demonstrate how that person would have thought and acted!
Enjoy this journey through the Renaissance! I am looking forward to seeing
your work!
Notecards Due Date:
Period 1 – Feb. 1, Period 3,4,5 – Jan. 31
Outline and Works Cited Due Date: Pd. 4 – Feb. 3 Pd. 1,3,5 – Feb. 6
Final Essay and Works Cited Due Date: Pd. 1 – Feb. 15, Pd. 3,4,5 –
Feb. 14
Creation Due: Same as Final Essay
*Presentations will begin the day the Final Essays and Creations are due!