Medieval and Renaissance Art at the Art Institute

A lot went on in Medieval Castles, and they were an obvious symbol of feudal power. Have learners use clay to make a Medieval-style castle to show what they know about Europe during the Dark Ages. This resource provides basic background...

Feast your eyes on some of the most beautiful and important art of the Renaissance, including paintings, sculptures, and architecture. The slides take care to detail the characteristics of each art form, but the presentation really lends...

Beauty, art, and truth is the creed of the poet, and the Harlem Renaissance was all of those things. Discover the reasons for the great migration north, the poets, musicians, and artists that were part of the Harlem Renaissance. Slides...

The Northern Renaissance is the period of enlightenment that occurred outside of Italy (1500-1615). Explore the visual works of Northern Renaissance artists Bosch, Van Eyck, Bruegel, and Durer in this visual presentation. 

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...

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 instructional activity, students research the presence and meaning of botanical illustrations in twelfth, thirtieth, and fourteenth...

Guide your class on an art adventure sharping with them the changes reflected in Renaissance art. Students will use a T-Graph and a Venn Diagram to compare what they notice in art from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. They will note...

"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...

Why was the prominent figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in medieval paintings commonly painted out of proportion? Discover the deep religious roots connected to European medieval art beginning in the sixth century. This video offers a...