Renaissance Artist Worksheets on da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and their Patrons

Today I want to tell you a little more about our Renaissance Artist Worksheets.  We have been continuing our study of the Renaissance period. Our last post shared some of the things we did when we covered the early Renaissance period. The past week or so we talked about three of the famous artists of the Renaissance: da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

In the last post I mentioned that we watched Empires – The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (affiliate link).  This 4-part series was fabulous.  It really helped us understand the important connection between the patrons who funded the blossoming art community in Florence, Rome and Milan.

Italian City States of the Renaissance Period

In the past week, we talked a lot about Lorenzo de’ Medici who commissioned work from Botticelli and Michelangelo.  Lorenzo even had Michelangelo live in his household!

We also learned a lot about Pope Julius II who (among other things) commissioned the destruction and rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica.  He was the patron of both Michelangelo and Raphael. We watched BBC documentaries about these three artists as well that really brought them and their art to life for us. 🙂

And we also learned about da Vinci’s patron, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.  Leonardo da Vinci got his commission from Sforza after writing a letter about all the diverse things that he could achieve in the field of engineering: collapsible bridges, machines for draining trenches, siege equipment… as an after-thought he mentioned he was a painter and architect too!

We read several books about these artists as well.  We read several, but especially liked Leonardo Da Vinci (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) and  Michelangelo (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) (affiliate links).  These were perfect for ED and DD, ages 8 and 10 (though not as in depth as I would have chosen for LD, age 12/middle school… though it was useful as an overview).  I love that the pictures/paintings in these books are color. The kids thought the cartoons were fun.

Renaissance-Art-Books-for-KidsBy the time we had finished our sections in history book (we’re using The Story of the Renaissance (affiliate link)  as our spine for this unit), watched the documentaries, and read books on the artists, the kids really had a good understanding of the Renaissance.  I made this review worksheet set that we went over and the kids added to their history notebook. I tried to really give them an understanding of the timeline of the patrons and artists with the first sheet you see on the left.

These notebook pages are included in our 90+ page European History 1500-1750 Packet on the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Absolutism, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.  See more details below!

Renaissance-Art-WorksheetsThen we went on to some really fun activities!!! I had purchased the Sistine Chapel Coloring Book (affiliate link) and made photocopies on thick drawing paper.  I snuck downstairs where the ceiling is really low in the basement and set up our very own Sistine Chapel for the kids!  They laughed SO hard when they saw the ceiling.  Then, they quickly got to work!  This activity was a huge hit!  They *LOVED* it!! 🙂  A famous movie (the Agony and the Ecstasy) depicts Michelangelo lying on his back to do his paintings, but scholars today believe he was standing (after analyzing the brush strokes, etc.)

Painting-the-Sistine-ChapelThis was the coloring book we used for that: Sistine Chapel Coloring Book (affiliate link)

Sistine-Chapel-Coloring-Book

We also reviewed the artists and their patrons and the kids put together these lapbook pieces for their history notebooks:

Renaissance-LapbookThese notebook pages are included in our 90+ page European History 1500-1750 Packet on the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Absolutism, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.  See more details below!

Renaissance Worksheets and Lapbook: Patrons and Artists

 

Renaissance-Artists-and-their-Patrons-Worksheets-LapbookFinally, we did an fabulous trip into Washington D.C. to the National Gallery of Art to see some of the art from the medieval and Renaissance period.  We started with the medieval rooms. The kids pointed out how stiff some of the people were. We spent a lot of time looking at the hands… noticing the lack of perspective, the strange sizing, etc. etc.

Madona-and-ChildThen we wandered among the paintings and artists of the Renaissance period.  We came across these paintings…  the kids immediately recognized the Medici family!

Medici-PaintingsAnd were blown away to see one of the paintings by Botticelli, Adoration of the Magi, that we had studied in great depth!

Adoration-of-the-MagiWe talked about how portraits changed from the sitter being in profile (left below)… to being in three-quarter poses (right below). This is a more complete view of the face and allows the artist to show more of the personality.

We got to see one of the first women painted in this new pose… 16 year old Ginevra de’ Benci (center below).  She is also the first one to be painted in an outdoor setting…  done by… Leonardo da Vinci!!!

Renaissance-Portraits-da-Vinci-middleAll of this really blew us all away… bringing this Renaissance unit to a great end for all of us!  Sometimes I learn as much or more than the kids do! Gotta love homeschooling!! 🙂

What is in the European History Packet? You will find a detailed list of what is in this packet at this post: European History Packet

How do I purchase this packet? When you click on the Buy Now button below, it will take you to Paypal. You can use a credit card rather than PayPal by clicking on the grey button (just below the blue button). Upon receipt of payment you will immediately get a link to download this pdf in your browser. You will also receive an email from SendOwl Downloads which will give you a link to download. (Check the email linked to your PayPal account.) Of course, if you have any issues just email me at — liesl at homeschoolden dot com.  You can also reach me by using the contact form. ~Liesl

This packet is 90+ pages. At the beginning of each section, I have a cover page that gives you an overview of what we did and how we used the materials provided.

This packet is $6.99

Here is a Quick Preview of the European History Packet so you can see what is included.European History Packet - Renaissance Reformation Henry VIII

European History Packet (Renaissance, Reformation, Absolute Monarchs, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment)

$6.99

European History Packet – Use this button if you would like to buy any of the other packets below.

Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link!

European History Packet - 1500 to 1750 Renaissance Reformation Age of Absolutism Scientific Revolution Enlightenment

Click here for more details: Age of Exploration

$4.00  Age of Exploration Packet

Age of Exploration Worksheets Notebook Pages

 

$4.99 Causes of the American Revolution Packet (and American Revolution play)

This includes material on the Trans-Atlantic trade route and Triangular Trade.

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That’s about it for today! See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page. Don’t forget to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter! ~Liesl

Disclosure:  Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

You might be interested in check out the other Renaissance Post:

And you might want to visit the posts from our Middle Ages Unit (Some of these posts also include some free notebook pages):

MiddleAges-Projects

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