Background
Art historians are like history detectives, they search for information about the history of works of art. The history of a work of art is important for many reasons. Art historians need to find information about a work of art to help determine its value, both in terms of financial worth and in terms of the art's value within the overall history of art. For example, a work of art may not bring a great price on the art market but an art historian may be able to determine that it represents a new idea in the history of art and is valuable as a historical document of technical or cultural change. Some of the information that art historians search for is available in the same places you look for information — books, libraries and the Internet. Art historians may examine religious practices, cultural traditions and economic history all to better understand the circumstances surrounding the production of art in a given time and place. Of course art historians try to identify the artist who created a work of art in order to learn more about it. Information about the life of an artist may be found in historical town and county registries or in cemeteries.
Sometimes art historians only have the work of art to go by and nothing else. Some historical clues can be found in the materials used to create a work of art. For example oil paint was invented during the Renaissance, so an oil painting would not have been created earlier than the Renaissance. Some clues about when a work of art was made can be found using scientific methods. For example, carbon dating can be used on material which was living in the last few tens of thousands of years. While paint might not qualify as "living material," wood does qualify and so any painting on wood or using wood supports can be dated using the carbon method. Despite all of these research methods, one of the most important techniques an art historian can use to discover more about a work of art, is comparing it to other works of art. Comparing one work of art to another is frequently taught to art history students as a way of learning the skills they will need to analyze everything that goes into the history of work of arts. Resource Classroom Time Objectives
Pennsylvania Academic Standards
Materials
Optional Resources Writing Lesson 1. Setting the Stage Art historians often use comparisons to study the history of works or art. The point of the comparison is to understand the meaning in the works of art. In this activity students will compare and contrast two works of art. That means thinking about and recording their similarities and differences. Comparing and contrasting is more than a simple list of similarities or differences of two works of art, it's a way to think about two works of art. 2. The Renaissance Connection So students know how their final work will be assessed, print and handout the assessment rubric. Explain that when comparing and contrasting two works of art, students should start with the way things look. Handout the Compare and Contrast Worksheet and instruct students to fill out sections that seem to address the works of art they are comparing. Encourage students to be as thorough as they can and to add ideas that do not appear on the worksheet. When the students have completed the worksheet, instruct them to write a first draft narrative paragraph that compares and contrasts the two works of art they have chosen. Encourage students to look for some new meaning or see something important that they would not have understood without comparing. When students have completed their first drafts, have them exchange their writing with other classmates for feedback. Remind students that feedback should be constructive and give suggestions rather than criticisms. Remind students that they will be assessed on the feedback they give to their classmates. Allow students time to discuss their feedback with one another. Once the first drafts and written feedback are returned, students should complete a final draft of their compare and contrast narratives. 3. Summary 4. Assessment - Scoring Rubric:
5. Related Activity Vocabulary art historian: a person who studies the history of art. art history: the study of the history of visual arts. artifact: an object made by a human being, for example a tool or ornament, especially one that has archaeological interest. balance: the way art elements are arranged to create a feeling of stability, or instability in a composition. The simplest type of balance is symmetry — an equal, regular arrangement of forms on either side of a central axis. Another type of balance is asymmetry, in which stability is achieved with differing elements that have equal visual weight or equal eye attraction. carbon dating: a method of dating objects which measures carbon generated from once living matter taking in carbon dioxide from the air. composition: the arrangement of shapes, forms, colors, areas of light and dark, and other elements in a work of art. iconography: the collections, description or study of images used in works of art. luminescence dating: measuring the ionising radiation absorbed and stored by an object and its surrounding sediments in order to estimate the date it was made. medium: the material with which an artist works (marble, clay, paint, wood, ink, etc.). proportion: the size of one shape or form in relation to another. repetition: the occurrence of something again in the same form. Regular repetition is a characteristic of pattern. scale: the size of an object; the size of a work of art. space: refers to the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things. Some art forms are three-dimensional (having height, width, and depth) and physically occupy space; others begin with a two-dimensional surface and may create the illusion of space or depth. subject matter: the subject of a work of art, what the work of art is "about." Looking at Art Use this worksheet to help you compare and contrast the two works of art.
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