Medieval and Renaissance Art at the Art Institute

Learners study the Mexican Muralist Movement. They view a video and discuss the key names and dates from the Aztec times to the Mexican Revolution. They research art forms in the Mexican Muralist Movement and complete a chart. They write...

The Museum of Modern Art provides this educators' guide to Dada and Surrealism. Featuring the works of such artists as Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Meret Oppenheim among others, the guide is ideal for art history and...

After an overview of Islamic traditions and art, young artists create their own geometric shapes and patterns using only a straightedge and a compass.

Students explore the work of David Ireland. In this visual arts lesson, students watch a video segment about artist David Ireland, study images of his conceptual art pieces, and create their own conceptual art pieces.

Where to begin? The art of the Italian Renaissance is such a rich topic, with new techniques, new styles, and an emphasis on new subject matter. Images created by the greats such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli are...

"Can a museum be a catalyst in a community? Can a museum house artists and allow them to be change agents as communities re-think themselves?" Watch as curator Thelma Golden re-imagines the museum as a think tank and explores the...

How do we come to view objects and artifacts as art? What terms and ideas do we associate with craft instead? The distinction between art and craft may be subtle, but has profound roots in art history and the development of western...

Students study the significance of flowers in art from two periods. In this Medieval and Renaissance art lesson, students research the presence and meaning of botanical illustrations in twelfth, thirtieth, and fourteenth century...

Illustrator Siegfried Woldhek describes how he analyzed over 700 of Leonardo's works in order to determine an image of the face of the famed Renaissance man. Try flipping the lesson and adding your own assessment and discussion questions...

The intent of this unit is to demonstrate some of the traditional arts of the Middle East. Extensive background information on the religion, culture, and nature of Islamic art found throughout the Middle East is provided. Each of the...