Humanities

Overarching Goals:

To build a base of knowledge of painters, sculptors, and architects and their works.
To understand their contributions to our culture.
To hone the skill of analysis of the visual arts.
To refine the research and study skills particular to the arts.
To practice written exposition that describes, analyzes, and evaluates.

Recurring Themes:

The study of the arts contributes to our development as men of ideas and ideals.
The study of the arts synthesizes the aspirations of our school and its community.
Our understanding of the past can be enhanced by the study of cultural artifacts such as painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Leadership in intellectual matters and in life is a lesson taught to us by the study of the lives of great men and women.
Integration of knowledge is an effective means of studying the past.
Our ability to create is inherent; developing this gift is a responsibility.
Successful academic pursuit is the result of the effective organization of time and work.

ITALIAN STUDY TOUR

Depart – Monday, March 12
Return – Thursday, March 22

Rome, Assisi, and Florence
 Trimester I

Topics: The Greek ideal; Plato and Aristotle; the imperative
of balance.

Greek sculpture -- Cycladic, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic.
Greek architecture -- Ionic, Doric, Corinthian.

The elements of art with focus on color.

Early Renaissance.

Selection of an artist and one work for in-depth study

Memorization – The Sign of the Cross and the Angel’s
Salutation.

Preparation of a lecture on a particular painting.

Sketching, drawing.

Study Skills: Organizing notebooks, research methods, presentation skills, note taking, technological research.

Technological skills: Word processing, Internet research, PowerPoint presentations, note sheet design, graphics as geometric simplifications of paintings.

Assessment: Homework, writing, tests, Nightingale-Bamford School Lectures.

Activities/projects: Color wheel, color chart, geometric simplification of painting, lecture on a specific painting, development of a PowerPoint presentation.

Field Work: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Trimester II

Topics: The Golden Age (Masaccio to Caravaggio)

The concept of rebirth and flowering: Dante, the
Medici, particular emphasis on Michelangelo,
Raffaello, and Caravaggio

The Byzantine Tradition

The Bridge to the Renaissance (Cimabue, Buoninsegna, Giotto)

Study Skills: Note taking, essay writing, speech preparation.

Technological skills: Internet research, PowerPoint presentation.

Assessment: Homework, writing, tests, oral presentation, sketches, Italian Study Tour Journal.

Projects/activities: Architectural geometric simplification, development of a Via Fiorentina PowerPoint project (including an animated electronic map, a lecture, a painting, and a drawing) and the preparation of both the Via Assisiana Project and an Italian Study Tour Journal.

Field work: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Italian Study
Tour.

Trimester III

Topics: Ethnographic arts, art of the Twentieth Century, design of Project.

Study Skills: Developing a proposal, researching a topic,
developing a study after a modern painter.

Technological Skills: Categorizing modern paintings, Internet research, preparing a Catalog of Modern Art and an Project brochure.

Assessment: Homework, tests, writing, Catalog of Modern Art, Project and accompanying written brochure.

Activity: Construction of a Catalogue of Modern
Art, development of the Project and accompanying brochure.

Field Work: Metropolitan Museum of Art