Search:

Home > By Subject > Art Study

Art Study

AmblesideOnline Artist Rotation Schedule

AO's Terms:
* Term 1: Sep-Nov
** Term 2: Jan-Mar
*** Term 3: Apr-Jun

We encourage AmblesideOnline members to follow the schedule as a group for Artists, Composers, Plutarch, Shakespeare, Folk Songs, Hymns, and Nature Study. Staying on schedule together for these subjects enriches our studies as we share resources and experiences.

AmblesideOnline is part of Amazon.com's Affiliate program. If you use our Amazon.com links, we receive a small commission which enables us to cover the costs of keeping the website and curriculum. Amazon.com links are identified like this: ($amzn) or (K), but we have provided links to free and alternate sources as well.

---

Watch a 7-min video of an AO mom explaining how she does Picture Study on YouTube.

2024-2025 TERM 1 Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528; German Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Beethoven, Classical/Romantic)

1. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1498, woodcut.
2. Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat, 1500,Pinakothek, Munich
3. A Young Hare, 1502, Vienna, Austria
4. Altarpiece of the Rose Garlands/Feast of the Rosary, 1506, Narodni Galerie, Prague
5. Praying Hands, 1508, Albertina, Vienna
6. The Knight, Death, and The Devil, or here, 1513-14, engraving
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2024-2025 TERM 2 Caravaggio (1571-1610; Italian Baroque)

(This term's composer: Vivaldi, Baroque)

1. Rest During the Flight into Egypt, c.1595, Rome
2. The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1598-1599, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
3. The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599-1600, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
4. The Conversion on the Way to Damascus, 1600-1601, Rome
5. Supper in Emmaus, 1606, Milan
6. The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1608-1609, Messina, Italy
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2024-2025 TERM 3 Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863; Romantic)

(This term's composer: Chopin, Romantic)

Self-portrait
1. Liberty Leading the People, 1830, The Louvre, Paris
   or, this more modest option, The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople, 1840, Louvre, Paris
2. Portrait of Frederic Chopin, 1838, Paris (more here)
3. Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard, 1839, Louvre, Paris ("Alas, poor Yorick!")
4. The Sultan of Morocco and his Entourage, 1845, Musée des Augustins, Toulouse
5. Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable, 1860, Paris
6. The Lion Hunt, 1861, The Art Institute of Chicago
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

2025-2026 TERM 1 Camille Pissarro (1830-1903; French Impressionist)

(This term's composer: Frederick Delius) (1862-1934)

1. Jalais Hill, Pontoise, 1867, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
2. The Woods at Marly, 1871, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
3. The Entrance to the Village of Voisins, 1872, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
4. Road to Versailles at Louveciennes 1869, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
5. The Factory at Pontoise, 1873, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
6. Le Boulevard de Montmartre, Matinee de Printemps, 1897, Private Collection (Video about this series of paintings) --

2025-2026 TERM 2 Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806; French Rococo)

(This term's composer: Mozart, Early classical)

Biography (with sordid bits left out)
1. The Grand Cascade at Tivoli, 1760, or here Louvre, Paris
2. The Swing, 1766, Wallace Collection, London OR The See-Saw, 1750. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
3. The Music Lesson, 1769, The Louvre, Paris or here
4. A Young Girl Reading, 1776, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
5. Education is Everything, 1780, Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo, Brazil
6. The Visit to the Nursery, before 1784, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (study.)
Further interest: Compare: The Italian Family, c. 1759; The Happy Family, 1769; The Farmers' Children

2025-2026 TERM 3 Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902; American; Hudson River School)

(This term's composer: Mendelssohn, Romantic)

Biography, with links to other works
1. The Wetterhorn, 1857, Private Collection
2. Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
3. Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, 1865, Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
4. Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 1868, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Wash D.C. also here
5. Seal Rock, 1872, New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut
6. Last of the Buffalo, 1888, Buffalo Bill Center, Cody, Wyoming
Further interest (because we couldn't stop at six):
      Sunlight and Shadow, 1862 (study of shadows falling on a church front) M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco
      The Arch of Octavius (The Roman Fish Market), 1858, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco
      Sunset in the Yosemite Valley, 1868
      Bridal Veil Falls, 1872, Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio, USA
      On the Saco, (note the colors) Private Collection
      Wikipedia has a nice collection of high quality works

---

2026-2027 TERM 1 Norman Rockwell (1894-1978; American Illustrator)

(This term's composer: Leonard Bernstein 1918-1990; American)

1. The Four Freedoms (of Speech, of Worship, from Want, from Fear), 1943, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
2. Shuffleton's Barber Shop, (also here), 1950, The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
3. Saying Grace, (also here), 1951
4. Triple Self-portrait, 1960, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts also here
5. The Connoisseur, 1962 or here and/or Picasso vs Sargent, 1966, or here Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
6. The Problem We All Live With, (also here), 1964, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Further Interest: Saturday Evening Post covers; (Girl at the Mirror, Breaking Home Ties, The Marriage License, The Prom Dress . . . )

2026-2027 TERM 2 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919; French Impressionist)

(This term's composer: Debussy)

1. La Grenouilliere, 1869, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
2. Les Grands Boulevards, 1875, The Henry P. McIlhenny [travelling] Collection
3. La Loge, 1874, Courtauld Institute Galleries, University of London
4. Girl with a Watering Can, 1876, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
5. The Two Sisters, On the Terrace, 1881, Art Institute of Chicago
6. Girls at the Piano, 1892, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

2026-2027 TERM 3 Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/9-1682) and Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684)

(This term's composer: Bach)

1. Ruisdael: Two Watermills and an Open Sluice near Singraven, 1650-52, also here National Gallery, London
2. Ruisdael: View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds, c.1665, also here Kunsthaus, Zurich
3. Ruisdael: Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede, c. 1670, also here Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
4. de Hooch: Courtyard of a House in Delft, 1658, also here National Gallery, London
5. de Hooch: Woman Peeling Apples, c. 1663, also here Wallace Collection, London
6. de Hooch: At the Linen Closet, also here, 1663, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

---

2027-2028 TERM 1 John Singleton Copley (American, 1738-1815)

(This term's composer: Haydn)

1. Paul Revere, 1768-70, also here Museum of Fine Arts Boston
2. Watson and the Shark, 1778 (Graphic depiction of a real event) National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
         OR The Copley Family, 1776-7 (for more sensitive students) National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
3. The Death of the Earl of Chatham, 1779-81, National Portrait Gallery, London
4. The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782, 1783-91, Guildhall Art Gallery, London
5. The Red Cross Knight, 1793, also here National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.(Lynn Bruce's study notes)
6. Saul Reproved by Samuel for Not Obeying the Commandments of the Lord, 1798, also here Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Further Interest: The Nativity, 1777, also here Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

2027-2028 TERM 2 Édouard Manet (man-AY; 1832-1883; French Impressionism)

(This term's composer: Tchaikovsky)

1. Concert in the Tuileries, 1860-62 (Notes at Artchive)
         OR Luncheon on the Grass, 1863 (some nudity; but arguably his most famous painting; also here) .
2. The Old Musician, 1862, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
3. The Races at Longchamp, 1864, Art Institute of Chicago, USA
4. The Fifer, 1866, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
5. The Railway, 1872; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. NGA Lecture about this painting
6. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère 1881-82; Courtauld Gallery, London (Audio from Artchives; or YouTube video; not previewed).

2027-2028 TERM 3 The Hudson River School: Cole, Church, Cropsey, Durand (American)

(This term's composer: O'Connor)

Thomas Cole, 14 page article by David Quine, Adventures in Art, Cornerstone Curriculum (first appeared in Home Schooling Today.) Used with permission.
1 and 2. Voyage of Life, 1842 by Thomas Cole (1801-1848) (Allegorical series of 4 paintings, always exhibited together.) Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Utica, New York, also National Gallery of Art Washington D.C.
3. The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), 1836 by Thomas Cole (1801-1848) The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY
4. Niagara, 1857 by Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900) National Gallery of Art Washington D.C. also here
5. Heart of the Andes, 1859 by Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900) also here The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY
6. Autumn -- On The Hudson River, 1860 by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900) National Gallery of Art Washington D.C. also here
Further Interest: Cole - Expulsion From the Garden of Eden, 1828, also here Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
      Cole: Course of Empire series of 5 paintings; also here pg 5-14 of David Quine's pdf file includes notes on these paintings.
      Church: Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860 Cleveland Museum of Art, USA; Cotapaxi, 1862 Detroit Institute of Arts, USA; The Icebergs, 1861 Dallas Museum of Art, USA
      Asher B. Durand: (1796-1886) Kindred Spirits, 1849 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Bentonville, Arkansas, USA; also here
There's a beautiful picture book about Thomas Cole called Picturing America:Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art by Hudson Talbott ($amzn)

---

2028-2029 TERM 1 Fra Angelico (1395-1455; Italian Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Hildegard von Bingen; 1098-1179)

1. The Last Judgement, 1432-1435, San Marco, Florence (detail: Heaven)
2. Transfiguration of Christ, 1437-1446, Museo di San Marco, Florence
3. The Madonna with Saints, 1438-1443, San Marco Museum, Florence
4. The Deposition from the Cross, 1443, Museo di San Marco, Florence
5. The Annunciation, 1450, Monastery of San Marco, Florence
6. Massacre of the Innocents, 1450-53, Museo di San Marco, Florence
      OR Adoration of the Magi, 1445, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

2028-2029 TERM 2 Diego Velázquez (1599-1660; Spanish Baroque)

(This term's music: Children's Classics)

Self portrait, 1640. There is useful commentary on Velazquez here, which discusses many of the paintings below.
1. Old Woman Frying Eggs, 1618, National Gallery, Edinburgh
2. The Waterseller of Seville, 1623, Wellington Museum, London
3. Juan de Pareja, 1630, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY The book I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth B. De Trevino won a Newbery Medal in 1965. ($amzn)
4. Aesop 1639-40, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
5. Joseph's Coat Brought to Jacob, 1650, El Escorial, Community of Madrid
6. Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), 1656, Museo del Prado, Madrid Brief video from Ted-Ed

2028-2029 TERM 3 Edgar Degas (day-GAH; 1834-1917; French Impressionism)

(This term's composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff) (1873-1943)

Self-portrait 1855
1. The Belleli Family, 186, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
2. A Cotton Office in New Orleans 1873, Musée des beaux-arts de Pau, France
3. The Dance Class, 1873-75, also here Musée d'Orsay, France
4. Place de la Concorde, 1875, Hermitage Museum, Russia
5. The Little Dancer, sculpture; executed ca. 1880 or 1881; cast in 1922, 28 copies (YouTube)
6. Before the Race, 1882-84
Further Interest: The Crucifixion, 1861, also here Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, France

---

2029-2030 TERM 1 Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875; French Realism)

(This term's composer: Brahms)

Self-portrait sitting next to an easel, 1825
1. The Bridge at Nantes, 1827 also here The Louvre, Paris
2. Chartres Cathedral, 1830 (retouched 1872) also here The Louvre, Paris
3. A View Near Volterra, 1838, also here National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
4. The Letter, approx. 1865, also here Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
5. Homer and the Shepherds in a Landscape, 1845, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Lô, France
6. Mur (Cotes du Nord), 1855, Private Collection
Corot in the Enchanted Valley - an 8-min video with Corot talking about the two years he spent in Italy which convinced to paint landscapes. In Italian with English subtitles. Features breathtaking videos of the places he painted as well as the paintings themselves.

2029-2030 TERM 2 Jacques-Louis David (ZHOCK lu-WEE dah-VEED; 1748-1825; French)

(This term's composer: Schubert)

Self-portrait
1. Belisarius begging for alms, 1781, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, France
2. Oath of the Horatii, 1784, Louvre, Paris
3. Death of Socrates, 1787, also here Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
4. Portrait of Levoisier and His Wife, 1788, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
5. Napoleon Crossing the Alps at the St. Bernard Pass, 1800, Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, near Paris; David painted 4 or 5 versions of this painting
6. The Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine in Notre Dame, 1807, Louvre, Paris
Further Interest:
      Napoleon In His Study, 1812, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
      Andromache Mourning Hector, 1783, Louvre, Paris illustrates The Iliad
      The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, 1789, Louvre, Paris illustrates Plutarch's Life of Brutus
      David's most well-known painting is probably too dark for younger students: The Death of Marat, 1793, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

2029-2030 TERM 3 Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543; Northern Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; 1525-1594)

Self-portrait; The artist's family: Charity 1528
1. Principles of a Schoolmaster: teaching scene for children, 1516, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
2. Oberried Altarpiece, 1522: Left; Right Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
3. Portrait of a Young Man, 1518, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
4. The Ambassadors, 1533, National Gallery, London, UK
5. The Last Supper, date unknown, also here Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
6. Henry VIII, 1537, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK

---

2030-2031 TERM 1 Mary Cassatt (1844-1926; American Impressionist)

(This term's composer: Dvorak, late Romantic)

1. In the Loge/Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
2. Woman and Child Driving,1881, Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
3. Children on the Shore, 1884, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
4. The Child's Bath, 1893, Art Institute of Chicago, USA
5. The Boating Party 1893/1894, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
6. Young Mother Sewing, 1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Further Interest: Breakfast in Bed, 1894, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, USA
      Mother Berthe Holding Her Baby, 1900, Private Collection
      Child Drinking Milk, 1868, Private Collection

2030-2031 TERM 2 Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337; Italian, Renaissance)

(This term's music: Medieval)

Works for this term are all portions of larger frescos in Italian chapels. Most date from the early 1300's. We encourage you to view large images of whole frescos to give a sense of the scope, scale and presentation of these works. An overview of the Scrovegni Chapel at Padua, Italy.
1. Resurrection of Lazarus also here
2. Birth of Jesus also here; detail
3. Jesus washes the feet of the apostles also here
4. The Allegory of Justice also here
5. St. Francis preaching to the birds also here
6. St. Francis Gives His Cloak to a Poor Man also here
Further Interest: Madonna Enthroned
      Vices and Virtues at Scrovegni Chapel (These personifications offer fodder for observation and discussion. Click thumbnail images.
      Giotto Biography: Amy Steedman's Knights of Art; also ArtArchive
      Ch 15 in Trial and Triumph, and a chapter of Saints and Heroes are about St. Francis of Assisi.

2030-2031 TERM 3 James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903; American born)

(This term's composer: Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf; 1739-1799)

1. Black Lion Wharf, 1859, also here (or other etching
      such as Unsafe Tenement, 1858, The Pool, or St James Street, 1878)
2. Symphony in White No. 1: The White Girl, 1862, also here National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
3. The Last of Old Westminster, 1862, also here Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
4. Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay, 1866, Tate Britain, London, England (Wikipedia says Whistler, who was on an American ship, painted the Chilean merchant fleet at their moorings the night before the bombardment. See also The Morning after the Revolution, Valparaiso)
5. Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 (Whistler's Mother), 1871, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
6. Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1874, Detroit Institute of Arts

---

2031-2032 TERM 1 Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640; Belgian Baroque)

(This term's composers: European Baroque - Telemann 1681-1767; Corelli 1653-1713)

1. The Fall of Phaeton, 1604-1605, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
2. St. George and the Dragon, 1606-07, Museo del Prado, Madrid
3. Descent from the Cross, 1617 and 1618, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
4. Summer, Peasants going to Market, c. 1618, Windsor, Royal Collection
5. Isabella Brandt, (Rubens' first wife), 1621, British Museum, London
6. Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment, and Their Son Peter Paul, c. 1639, also here The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY --

2031-2032 TERM 2 Winslow Homer (1836-1910; American)

(This term's music: Copland, Gershwin; American)

1. Prisoners from the Front, 1866, also here The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
      OR Home Sweet Home, 1863, also here National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
2. Snap the Whip, 1872, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
3. Breezing Up 1873-76 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
4. The Fog Warning, 1885, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
5. The Fox Hunt, 1893, PA Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
      OR Deer in the Adirondacks, 1889, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
6. The Turtle Pound, 1898, Brooklyn Museum, NY also here --
For further interest:
   Dressing for the Carnival, 1877 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

2031-2032 TERM 3 Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564; Italian Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Beethoven, Classical/Romantic)

1. Pieta, 1498-1499
2. David, 1501-1504, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence front; hand (detail)
      OR Moses, c. 1513-1515, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
3. Doni Tondo, 1507, Uffizi, Florence
4. Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512, Vatican City (Rome)
5. Creation of Man, 1512, Vatican City (Rome)
6. Libyan Sibyl, 1510-1511, Vatican City (Rome); study --
   Click to view various portions of the Sistine Chapel
Further Interest: Michelangelo by Diane Stanley; Michelangelo and the Renaissance, by David Spence (one page may need editing.)

---

2032-2033 TERM 1 John Constable (1776-1837; English landscape)

(This term's composer: Carl Maria von Weber; 1786-1826)

1. Boat-building near Flatford Mill, 1815, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2. Wivenhoe Park, 1816, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
3. The Hay Wain, 1821, National Gallery, London
4. Yarmouth Pier, 1822, Berger Collection, Denver Art Museum
5. Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds, c. 1825, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
6. Stonehenge, 1835, Victoria And Albert Museum, London --
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here. ^[NOTE]

2032-2033 TERM 2 Jan Vermeer (1632-1675; Dutch Baroque)

(This term's composer: Purcell, Baroque)

Biography and Essential Vermeer Catalog.
1. The Milkmaid, 1658, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
2. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, 1664, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
3. Woman Holding a Balance, 1663, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
4. The Art of Painting, 1668, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
5. The Geographer, 1669, Staädelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt
6. The Allegory of Faith, 1670's, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here. ^[NOTE]

2032-2033 TERM 3 John William Waterhouse (1849-1917; Pre-Raphaelite)

(This term's composer: Gabriel Faure)

1. A Sick Child brought into the Temple of Aesculapius or here 1877, Private Collection
2. The Lady of Shalott or here, 1888, Tate Britain, London
3. The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius, 1883, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
4. La Belle Dame Sans Merci, 1893, Private Collection
5. Jason and Medea, 1907, Private Collection
6. Penelope and the Suitors or here, 1912, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here. ^[NOTE]

2033-2034 TERM 1 Pieter Bruegel the Elder (pronounced BROY-guhl; 1525-1569; Flemish Northern Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Mozart)

1. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus c.1554-55, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
2. Children's Games 1560, details Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
3. Tower of Babel 1563, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
4. Landscape with the Parable of the Sower 1557, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, USA also here.
5. Hunters in the Snow 1565, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
6. Peasant Wedding c. 1568, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2033-2034 TERM 2 Gustave Courbet (1819-1877; French Realism)

(This term's composer: Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)

Do not google Courbet images; a few are graphically inappropriate.
1. Stone Breakers, 1850, Destroyed during World War II
2. Sleeping Spinner, 1853, Musee Fabre, Montpellier, France
3. The Wounded Man, 1844-1854 (self-portrait), Musee d'Orsay, Paris
4. Felsiges Flusstal (Rock River Valley), 1865, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
5. The Return of the Deer to the Stream at Plaisir Fontaine, 1866, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
   OR Deer Taking Shelter in Winter, 1866, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France
6. The Cliffs of Etretat After the Storm, 1870, Musee d'Orsay, Paris --
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2033-2034 TERM 3 J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851; English Romanticist)

(This term's composer: Schumann, Early Romantic)

Wikipedia
1. Fisherman at Sea, 1796, Tate Britain, London
2. Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps, 1812, National Gallery, London
3. Rome from the Vatican, 1820, Tate Britain, London
4. The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1835, Cleveland Museum of Art
      OR The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1834, Philadelphia Museum of Art
5. Fighting Temeraire, 1839, National Gallery, London, with commentary by Ruskin; once voted best painting in Britain by popular vote.
6. Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844, National Gallery, London
Turner was John Ruskin's favorite artist. Here's just some of Ruskin's writing about Turner --
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

2034-2035 TERM 1 Titian (1485-1576; Italian High Renaissance)

(This term's composers: Wagner and Offenbach, German Romantic)

"Titian was one of the giants of Renaissance art, whose revolutionary handling of surface and colour transformed the language of painting." (from AbsoluteArts).
1. The Descent of the Holy Ghost c.1545, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
2. The Supper at Emmaus c.1535, also here The Louvre, Paris, France
3. Madonna and Child with St. Catherine and a Rabbit 1530, The Louvre, Paris, France
4. Portrait of Clarissa Strozzi 1542, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
5. Portrait of Emperor Charles V at Muhlberg 1548, Museo del Prado, Madrid
6. The Three Ages of Man c. 1513, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Further Interest: Assumption of the Virgin (Assunta) 1516-1518, Venice, Italy
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2034-2035 TERM 2 Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519; Italian High Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Russian Nationals)

These files are huge, one as large as 107MB; some computers may have trouble loading the large size.
1. Ginevra, 1474-1476, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
2. The Virgin of the Rocks 1483-86, The Louvre, Paris
3. Lady with Ermine 1483-90, Czartoryski Museum, Kraków, Poland
4. The Last Supper 1498, Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
5. Mona Lisa 1503-06, The Louvre, Paris Wikipedia
6. Self-portrait in red chalk c. 1512, Royal Library, Turin, Italy
Further Interest: Katie Meets the Mona Lisa, by James Mayhew.
      Canadians: Mayhew's picture book appeared in Chickadee magazine, in a special art issue which still shows up regularly at yard sales.
      Video: "Leonardo: A Dream of Flight," one of The Inventors' Specials by Devine Entertainment.
      Study of Cat Movements and Positions 1517-18, The Royal Library, Windsor Castle, England
      A lovely website of DaVinci's art
      Notebooks, translated into English
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2034-2035 TERM 3 Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669; Dutch Baroque)

(This term's composer: Handel, Baroque)

Self-portraits
1. The Night Watch, 1642, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (also here; Flash mob re-enacting the painting)
2. The Raising of the Cross, 1633, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich (also here)
3. Shipbuilder Jan Rijcksen and his Wife, 1633, Buckingham Palace, London, England (also here)
4. Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer, 1653, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Smarthistory)
5. Supper at Emmaus, 1648, also here The Louvre, Paris, France
6. The Prodigal Son, 1660's, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia (also here)
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

2035-2036 TERM 1 Jan Van Eyck (1395-1441; Flemish Northern Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Saint-Saens and Berlioz, Early Romantic)

The Crucifixion and The Last Judgement are two of Van Eyck's most important and well-known works; however, they're gruesome, so alternatives have been suggested along with them.
1. The Crucifixion, 1425-30 Brussels, Belgium OR Birth of John the Baptist, 1422, Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, Turin, Italy
2. The Last Judgement, 1425-30, Brussels, Belgium OR Madonna with Child Reading, 1433, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
3. Adoration of the Lamb (From the Ghent Altarpiece, 1425-30)
4. The Annunciation, 1434-1436, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
5. The Arnolfini Wedding, 1434, National Gallery, London
6. Man in a Red Turban, 1433, National Gallery, London
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2035-2036 TERM 2 Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510; Florentine Renaissance)

(This term's composer: Bach)

1. Fortitude, c. 1470, Uffizi Gallery, Florence (also here; CM describes this in Vol 4, Book 2, pg 41)
2. Primavera, c. 1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence or, this more modest alternate detail
3. Madonna of the Magnificat 1483-85, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
4. The Birth of Venus, c. 1485, Uffizi Gallery, Florence or, this more modest detail
5. A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts, c. 1484, Louvre, Paris (also here)
6. Calumny of Apelles, or, more modest detail, 1494-95, Uffizi Gallery, Florence (described in CM's Vol 4 Book 1 pg 151)
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2035-2036 TERM 3 Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840; German Romantic)

(This term's composer: Liszt)

1. The Cross in the Mountains 1808, Gemaldegalerie, Dresden, Germany
2. The Wanderer above the Mists, 1817-18, Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
3. Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, 1818-19, Stiftung Oskar Reinhart, Winterthur, Switzerland
4. On Board a Sailing Ship, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
5. Moon Rising over the Sea, 1821, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
6. Woman at a Window, 1822, National Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2036-2037 TERM 1 Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890; Dutch Post-Impressionist)

(This term's composer: Mahler, Bruckner)

1. The Starry Night, 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York City
2. The Chair and the Pipe, 1888, National Gallery, London
3. The Night Café, 1888, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
4. Self Portrait as an Artist, 1888, Paris, Arles, St. Remy, Auvers-sur-Oise (part of a traveling exhibit?)
5. The Vase with Sunflowers, 1888, Paris, Arles, St. Remy, Auvers-sur-Oise
6. Bedroom at Arles, 1889, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Further Interest: The Yellow House (be sure it's the picture book by Susan Goldman Rubin)
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2036-2037 TERM 2 Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520; Italian Renaissance)

(This term's composers: Ralph Vaughn Williams, Edward Elgar; 20th Century British.)

Biography. Note: If you use the Wikipedia biography, preview it first.
1. The Knight's Dream, 1504, National Gallery, London
2. St. George and the Dragon, 1504-6, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
3. Galatea, 1512, Villa Farnesina, Rome
         OR Young Woman with a Unicorn, 1506, Galleria Borghese, Rome (more here)
4. Sistine Madonna, 1512-1514, Dresden, Germany
5. The Miraculous Draft of Fishes, 1515, The Vatican, Rome (more about this series here)
6. Ezekiel's Vision, 1518, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

2036-2037 TERM 3 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925; American)

(This term's composer: Grieg and Sibelius)

Biography
1. Oyster Gatherers of Cancale, 1878, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
2. The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
3. The Breakfast Table, 1884, also here Fogg Museum of Art, Cambridge, MA. The woman is Violet, Sargent's younger sister.
4. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6, Tate Britain, London (also here)
5. An Artist in his Studio, 1904, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
6. Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892-3, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Further Interest: Theodore Roosevelt, 1903, The White House, Washington, D.C.
       Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife, 1885, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

2037-2038 TERM 1 Tintoretto (1518-1594; Renaissance)

(This term's music: Renaissance)

Self portrait
1. Crucifixion, 1565, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice; study
2. Christ Before Pilate, 1567, also here Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice
3. The Adoration of the Magi, 1582, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice; study
4. Portrait of a Man, 1586-1589, State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
5. Paradise, 1588, Doge's Palace, Venice
6. The Last Supper, 1592-1594, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice --
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2037-2038 TERM 2 Claude Monet (1840-1926; French Impressionist)

(This term's composer: Ravel)

Biography
1. Terrace at St. Adresse, 1866, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
2. Women in the Garden, 1866, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
3. Jean Monet on His Hobby Horse, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
4. Woman with a Parasol: Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (see also here)
5. Tulip Fields in Holland, 1886, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
6. The Waterlily Pond, 1899, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (Similar image here)
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

2037-2038 TERM 3 Georges Seurat (1859-1891; French Post-impressionist)

(This term's music: Opera Overtures)

1. Rock-Breakers, Le Raincy, 1882, also here Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena, CA, USA
2. Man Cleaning His Boat, 1883, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, UK
3. Bathers at Asnieres, 1883-84, National Gallery, London, UK
4. Sunday on La Grande Jatte 1884, Art Institute of Chicago, USA
5. The Eiffel Tower, 1889, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, USA (also here)
6. The Circus, 1891, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Download a pdf file of this term's six prints here ^[NOTE]

---

Just as a small point of interest, our policy of only using works of art that are available online for picture study means that our rotation is subject to change--in the early days when we chose further ahead, we found that we had to do the search work all over again at term time, because the websites we had chosen had moved their pictures around, so the links didn't work anymore.

Picture Study Resources

We are compiling additional art, music, and poetry suggestions for those who would like to supplement or alternate works by a more diverse group of artists. View this work in progress.

Note: PDF files for AO's picture study are being made available for you to download and print yourself from "A Humble Place"; you can access the PDF files of pictures by clicking the "Individual Artworks Only" link by each artist's name. The "Picture Study aid" link is an additional optional resource and may require you to submit your email address or make a purchase, but the "Artworks Only" link is provided with no strings attached.

If your local copy store asks for proof that you're not violating copyright restrictions when making prints from these works, printing and showing this page might help: Copyright Law for Teachers. This blog post discusses the status of historic paintings, especially in England, where copyright laws are stricter than in the U.S.:- Public Domain Painting and its Image.

Art Websites

WikiArt's Alphabetical Listings; Olga's Gallery also has a great collection.
Classic art coloring pages (Beware searching this site; searching for Bruegel brings up horror coloring pages!)
Pronunciation guide for Dutch names

Suggested Books

If you own one of these and wish to use it to supplement, you can view their Table of Contents for help in planning.
Great Pictures and Their Stories by Katharine Morris Lester (graded readers in an 8-volume set) Table of Contents
A Child's History of Art by Virgil Hillyer: Chapters listed with dates/historical periods.

Online Texts

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, by Elbert Hubbard: A rambling discourse on what the artists were like; probably most suitable for Years 6-12. Two of the volumes are about artists.
Volume 4: Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Meissonier, Titian, Van Dyck, Fortuny, Ary Scheffer, Millet, Reynolds, Landseer, Gustave Dore.
Volume 6: Raphael, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Thorwaldsen, Gainsborough, Velasquez, Corot, Correggio, Bellini, Cellini, Abbey, Whistler. (Other volumes)

Lives of the Artists 10 Volumes written in the 1500's by Giorgio Vasari. [Volume 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] "The world is debtor to Vasari. He was not much of a painter and he failed at architecture, but he made up for lack of skill by telling all about what others were doing; and if his facts ever faltered, his imagination bridged the break. He is as interesting as Plutarch, as gossipy as Pepys, and as luring as Boswell." (Elbert Hubbard). Also here. Suitable for older students. Also Stories of the Italian Artists from Vasari by EL Seeley.

Great Artists series by Jennie Ellis Keysor; suitable for younger children
Volume 1: Raphael Santi, Murillo and Spanish Art, Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Durer (online at Project Gutenberg)
Volume 2: Antony van Dyck, Rembrandt van Ryn, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Rosa Bonheur
Volume 3: Michael Angelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, Venice the City of Titian, Early Venetian Art, Titian, Antonio Allegri da Correggio
Volume 4: Joseph Mallord William Turner, Jean-Bapiste-Camille Corot, Sir John Everett Millais, Sir Frederick Leighton
Volume 5: Giotto Bondone, Fra Angelico, The Beginning of Realism in Italian Painting, Andrea Mantegna, Guido Reni (online at Google Books)

Knights of Art by Amy Steedman (for fairly young children) has chapters on Giotto, Fra Angelico, Masaccio, Fra Filippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi, Pietro Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Giovanni Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Paul Veronese

Search Project Gutenberg's online collection of books on art and artists.

Parents' Review articles that discuss art appreciation:

On Exhibitions; read quote below from this article about our purpose in picture study, and what to avoid.
Art and Literature in the Parents' Union School
Picture Talks
Thoughts on Flemish Painting
The Story of an Old Picture
How to Show Children Our National Gallery
Music and Art in PNEU Schools

Wendi's Notes on Picture Study With Charlotte Mason

Though it isn't always possible or practical, if you want to choose your own artist for picture study, it often works well to look first at the artists who worked during the time period you are studying for history. However, keep in mind that if this is your only criteria for every selection, you will find some eras offer sparse options, and others have an embarrassment of riches. Once you have a list of artists to choose from, apply these principles to the artworks and narrow your selection to abut six works by a single artist.

In selecting our pictures, we should keep these things in mind (these are either quotes from, or adapted from, Charlotte Mason's works):

1. The pictures should have a refining, elevating influence.

2. They should express great ideas, and this is more important than the technique.

3. The great ideas our art prints express might include "the great human relationships, relationships of love and service, of authority and obedience, of reverence and pity and neighbourly kindness; relationships to kin and friend and neighbour, to 'cause' and country and kind, to the past and the present."

4. Our art prints ought to put "our children in touch with the great thoughts by which the world has been educated in the past, and to keep . . . them in the right attitude towards the great ideas of the present" -- And bring us into the "world of beauty created for us by those whose Beauty Sense enables them not only to see and take joy in all the Beauty there is, but whose souls become so filled with the Beauty they gather through eye and ear that they produce for us new forms of Beauty."

Do our choices expose the children to those works of art which seek to "interpret to us some of the meanings of life?"
" . . . Fra Angelico will tell us of the beauty of holiness, that Giotto will confide his interpretation of the meaning of life, that Millet will tell us of the simplicity and dignity that belong to labour on the soil, that Rembrandt will show us the sweetness of humanity in many a commonplace countenance.

The artist -- " Reaching, that heaven might so replenish him, Above and through his art ," -- has indispensable lessons to give us . . . the outward and visible sign is of less moment than the inward and spiritual grace." Technique, no matter how brilliant, is not a substitute for expression of beauty, or one of those 'meanings of life' interpretations.

Let us choose pictures using this as a guideline: "Nothing can be a work of art which is not useful, that is to say, which does not minister to the body when well under the command of the mind, or which does not amuse, soothe, or elevate the mind in a healthy state." -- CM quoting William Morris

The works of art we choose should represent 'master ideas,' which the painter "works out, not in a single piece, but here a little and there a little, in a series of studies." The artist is "a teacher, who is to have a refining, elevating effect upon our coarser nature."

Our prints can also be chosen to help the children develop a love for the commonplace beauty of every day things -- "For it is true as Browning told us, -- For, don't you mark, we're made so that we love First when we see them painted, things we have passed Perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see . . . . we learn to see things when we see them painted."

Our art prints should help our children develop an affinity for, an attraction to, the beautiful, the lovely, the pure, the refining -- because "education is concerned to teach him what pictures to delight in."

To go to the source, and you should go to the source, please see Charlotte Mason's own books, in particular:
Vol 1 pg 308-311
Vol 2, page 262
Vol 3 pg 77, page 209, page 239, page 353ff
Vol. 4, pages 2-3, page 42, page 44, 48-49
Vol 5 pg 231-236
Vol. 5 p 312-315
Vol. 6, pages 213-217
Vol. 6, page 275
Vol. 6 328-329
Picture Talk, Parents Review, Vol 17, 1906
Picture Talk, Parents Review, Vol. 12, 1901
Impressions of Conference Work with Class II (scroll down for two paragraphs about a specific picture talk given) A similar explanation and example is offered here.
Art and Literature in the Parents' Union School (the art/picture study section is midway down the page)

Thank You!

---

I have done several things with the art study, including pulling it up and looking at it on the computer. I also use my right mouse button sometimes, click on it, and select 'set as wallpaper.' This makes the picture the background or screen saver on my computer.

Then we see it every day. I have also printed the pictures out on photo quality paper, saving it to disk, using an art program (like print shop) and fiddling with the settings. I am not good enough at this to explain how I did it to somebody else, however.

Something else I've done with the prints is to sometimes fiddle with the settings and print it as a coloring book, or print it in only black and white and have the children trace it. Sometimes we study it and then they turn their backs and describe it to me. Sometimes we study it, and then I ask them to pose as the picture (not doable with landscapes!) sometimes after looking at it intently, I ask them to sketch it, roughly, for me, explaining the main idea is not to duplicate it perfectly but to give the idea of where things are in the painting.

HTH,

Wendi

---

Q. "I am having a very hard time with the art appreciation time with my kids. I cannot look a picture and be able to tell what the artist was feeling or trying to portray."

Before becoming a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom, I was a graphic artist. Here is my $0.02 worth of advice ...

There are only two basic reasons an artist creates (well, three, if you include making a living!).
1) An artist creates to express himself, a thought, a feeling, a memory, etc.
2) An artist creates to draw the viewers in and to encourage them to consider the artists' expression and/or how the viewer him/herself feels about the artwork.

So, when viewing an artist's creation, remember this:
1) Try not to worry too much about what the artist was thinking. (You will find that info in good art books, which you can share based on your children's maturity level and comprehension abilities.)
2) For now, concern yourself only with what you and your children are thinking and feeling while you view the artwork!

For example, one of my province's claim to fame is the artist and writer Emily Carr. My daughter and I could view a piece of her artwork ... say, "The Little Pine" . . . Then we might start discussing it... 'What does this picture remind you of?' 'What do you think of this picture?' 'Do you like it?' 'I feel - , when I look at it.' 'Is it daytime? Nighttime? Stormy or clear weather?' At the same time - interspersed with her commentary, I would share my own ideas without pushing my viewpoints on my daughter. 'When I look at "The Little Pine", it reminds me of going Christmas tree hunting when I was a kid - and finding that perfect tree! Those streaky lines in the sky make me think of a windy night. Or maybe the nights we have seen the aurora borealis dancing in the sky! And the sweeping green colours make me feel like the tree is growing. It is alive! I like this picture. I like it better than some of Emily Carr's other tree pictures, which seem so dark and brooding. This picture seems brighter and happier to me.'

(Coincidentally, I have learned upon further research, that Emily Carr was wanting to express the vitality of West Coast forests! I always find it amazing when I discover the painter's expression and my interpretation were similiar. I, too, sometimes don't feel like I "get it"!)

My 6 yo daughter usually decides on her own to draw or paint a picture, inspired by the art we have been enjoying together. On days that she doesn't, then she easily takes part when she sees Mommy getting out extra paper! It is really enjoyable to try our hand at creating a drawing based on what we have seen.

Lately my daughter and I have been enjoying Beatrix Potter stories. We discussed the illustrations, what we thought was happening. She is very good at narrating back in her own words what I have read aloud. After a couple of days of reading from our Beatrix Potter book of stories, she pulled out paper and began drawing her own pictures of our pets (wearing clothes), engaged in human activities. The drawings are terrific - and I would think so even if I wasn't her mom! <g>

The more-experienced CM ladies could step in here... my impression from Charlotte Mason was that she wanted the children to learn to enjoy art because it was relevant and interesting to them - and a normal part of their life. I believe that she encouraged Art Appreciation as it naturally develops the childrens' observation and narration skills. As the children mature, they will be able to comprehend the 'stories' behind some of the artwork. This links together history, literature and art in a meaningful way.

I encourage you to take your children to an art gallery. Even our city of 76,000 people has two art galleries, including a Native Indian gallery of art. Check - sometimes an art gallery's admission is 'by donation only' or they have an 'admission-free' night.

No art gallery where you live? Your public library or civic buildings may have art on the walls - inside! Not the graffiti on the outside. Although... hmmm, that could be worth discussing - with older children only!

Keep your eyes open for current events - sometimes local artists have an art exhibit, where their work is juried (judged) by their peers. Afterwards, the public is invited to view the art. My daughter notices art because my husband and I have always noticed artwork and discussed our thoughts concerning it. Being a strong-minded little girl, she likes to take part in the conversation too! <g>

One book which I enjoyed in grade twelve was "Civilization" by Kenneth Clark. BBC has a video series by the same name. Another book I would suggest is the one by Rick Steves (yes, the "Travels in Europe" guy). The book is called "Mona Winks". It, of course, is a travel book. However, for art in more than twenty museums, he goes through the history, inspiration, themes, labels, etc. Your public library may have this book.

Keep in mind that unless the book is an autobiography, usually the artwork narrative is the viewpoint and from the perspective of that book's author... and may not actually reflect what the artist intended.

Please don't be intimidated by art. Just begin where you are at and learn as you go. You can always go back to an artist once you know more. Art is fun and interesting. It is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Art is classic, traditional or modern... and all those other labels in between! For the most part, art is meant to be enjoyed. Well, some artists deliberately want to repulse people - yuck! But you get the idea... enjoy Art Appreciation and try your hand at Art Expression, too!

I hope this helps!

Kelly:-)
in BC Canada

Art Study Excerpts from the Parents' Review

Quote about art from Parents' Review article "On Exhibitions:"

Probably all agree that exhibitions of ostentatious vulgarity are better avoided, and should not be encouraged, and all will be unanimous in feeling that children should, as little as possible, be brought into contact with pictures wherein the desire of the eyes and the pride of life are flaunted in their native brutality. And so it is to be regretted that the contemplation of works devoted to the celebration of these things is usually unavoidable for those who enter exhibitions of modern pictures. For a number of the ablest portrait painters become fashionable, and their works are certain to be prominently placed in any representative exhibition, so that there is no avoiding them. All the seduction of admirable painter-craft is employed to capture our attention for the expensive jewels and costly millinery of the last new millionaire's wife and family, for the sporting magnate himself with his top boots or his guns, his hounds, his hunters, and all that is his. It is all thrust upon us life-size, trampling over our humbler aspirations, to leave us breathless with amazement at its magnitude, and disheartened by its dulness. There is no escaping these things now; they are upon us, even as his motor car is, with a whirlwind of dust, discomfort, and distraction. There is not much we can do, save beware of these things. We can turn away our eyes from viewing vanity. We must recognize that the powers of poetry are here in bondage--hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Philistines, and so pass by. But we must point out the deplorable fact to the children so that they may identify it for what it is when they behold a display of ostentatious vulgarity.

There is prettiness, too, to be avoided. We have to be on our guard against the insidious rose-watery weakening of emotion, the sugaring down of knowledge to meet the taste of such as prefer to be fed with a spoon, and dare not see without blinkers. Whatever is pretty is pretty bad. Whatever life may be, it is not pretty. Whatever breathes has some force, some conviction; all that is real has some title to respect, some claim for sympathy. Manliness, temperance, sincerity, wear no blinkers. What they see they needs must see clearly, and there is not time for trifling. Distrust the pretty pictures, and do what you can to prevent your children from forming a taste for them.

It is often said to us, "We do not really require the works of artists; we like them, and admire them, but we can quite well do without them; they are superfluous things." In the phrase often heard, the meaning is concisely stated thus: Art is a luxury. The proposition commends itself as a true one to most people, who really do feel that they could quite well do without any pictures. They are conscious of desiring to have such things as give them pleasure, and of their need to be pleased, or rather amused. For in so far as good pictures are not found to answer these ends, they are liable to be relegated to the category of superfluities. Not being pretty, they do not please. If they are not gay, which they are seldom, or funny, which they never can be, they are not found entertaining or amusing. The idea is based on a conception widely prevailing, wherein the function of art is considered to be that of a public entertainer or purveyor of diversions. We are apt to think that our life is dull, and are ready to welcome brave shows to take us out of ourselves. The aspiration is natural, for, to many, life is dull. But there are agencies better adapted to enliven it than are the fine arts, and it is good for us to be taken out of ourselves, provided the chosen vehicle does not rush with us violently down a steep place. Various arts may minister to the amusement of the vacuous, but not fine arts. These can indeed take us out of ourselves, but only on condition that we permit them to take us beyond ourselves, and higher. This they have always done, and can always do. Demand, therefore, from fine art no more, nor less, than you have been accustomed to demand from fine literature, from poetry--the widening and refining of your experience. Life is not amusing, any more than it is pretty, and we know how true it is that our singers learn in sorrow what they teach in song.

From the Parents' Review article "On Exhibitions;" read the full article here

---

We don't want all our children to be artists, while we do want them to feel after and appreciate what is beautiful, and let us frankly acknowledge that it is not everyone that can be taught even that much. At least then we can lose no opportunity of showing them really beautiful things, examples of great masters in painting, sculpture or craftsmanship (of which there are increasing numbers within reach)--at least we can teach them something of the beauty of nature and common things, something of the grandeur of simplicity and truth. And we can encourage them in drawing, modeling, needlework, carpentering, and a score of other things which will help them to use their eyes and hands accurately, both for their own pleasure and for the advantage of their generation.

From the Parents' Review article "Educating the Artistic Feeling;" read the full article here

---

". . . great national collections are a sign of the decadence of modern times. If art were alive, pictures would be in our houses, churches, and public buildings. The art sense is a birthright of all, which the race cannot afford to lose, yet we are passing through an inartistic phase. Artistic interest is mixed with antiquarian interest, and few dare controvert the accepted standard of taste. The collections have been made representative, and not educative. A knowledge of the history of art is confused with a knowledge of art, whereas the latter is hindered by bookish study."

From this Parents' Review article

---

The Advisory wishes to express our gratitude to artist/musician Tom Root and his wife, artist Peggy Root, and to Lee Anne Penny for their invaluable contributions to the compilation of the Artist Schedule. We also wish to thank Lee Anne Penny for providing lessons for some of the Art terms.