Art History & Appreciation

There are works of art so inherently beautiful or stunning that anyone looking at them ends up choking back tears, or standing transfixed, or simply unable to breathe for several seconds. What you won't often hear is that those are the exceptions, that most paintings, buildings and sculptures require anterior knowledge to be fully appreciated.

Once you know what to look for, the once-abstruse and confusing world of chiaroscuro, Pre-Raphaelite, and oxidation fire becomes navigable and even a welcome place from the ho-hum mundanities of the everyday world. Though, of course, we'd be the last to encourage art appreciation for mere escapism—if a work can't reveal some element of human nature or help us understand things a little better, it isn't worth much.

This is one reason a lot of modern art can't really be considered art at all. It isn't intended to reveal anything, but simply to be "living commentary," a mere reflection, not of reality, but of the artist's inner conflict or angst. Sometimes it's not even that deep, and simply reflects the belief that there is no meaning in the world, that everything is empty, that nihilism is the only truth.

We reject those claims entirely. Everything is meaningful because Christ has made it so. Taken too far that idea is sometimes used to defend all kinds of non-art and just plain bad art, but all it really means is that everything is either consistent with or in rebellion against God's truth, and that artistic endeavours reveal which side the artist is on.

For Christians, understanding art from this perspective should be the primary motive in studying anything from the Sistine Chapel to Rembrandt's portraits to the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. Art has the potential to entertain and delight, but it also affects the attitudes and thoughts of those who come in contact with it. Understanding a work's context and significance will immensely help us determine whether it's beneficial or pernicious.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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131 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
Alexander Calder
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
American Art Bingo Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
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American Art History I - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
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American Art History Volume I
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Ancient Egyptian Art
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First Printing
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Ancient Greek Art
Art in History
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Andy Warhol
by Mike Venezia
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Art and Civilization: Ancient Rome
Art and Civilization
by Giovanni Di Pasquale & Matilde Bardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
Roman History Reference for 4th-6th grade
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$12.00 (2 in stock)
Art for Children: Renaissance
Art for Children
by Lillo Canto
from Chelsea House Publishing
Art Appreciation for 4th-6th grade
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Art of the New American Nation
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Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico
by Shirley Glubok
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Art of the Woodland Indians
by Shirley Glubok
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Art Smart: Spot the Details and Find Out the Facts
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ArtWorks for Kids
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Biography for 1st-6th grade
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Bible Picture Portfolios - Genesis
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Bill Peet
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
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Botticelli
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
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Carl Larsson's A Family
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Carl Larsson's A Farm
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte in Giverny
by Joan MacPhail Knight
Reprint from Chronicle Books
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Chasing Vermeer
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Mystery & Suspense for 4th-6th grade
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Child's Introduction to Art
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Claude Monet
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Claude Monet
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
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Come Look With Me
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Discovering Great Artists
by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
2nd edition from Chicago Review Press
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$19.99
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by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Drawing American Art Volume II
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Edgar Degas
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
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Edgar Degas
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fandex Family Field Guides: Painters
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First Starry Night
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Giotto
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
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Girl Who Drew Butterflies
by Joyce Sidman
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2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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$17.99
God & the History of Art - DVD
by Barry Stebbing
from How Great Thou Art
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God & the History of Art - Package
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God and Christian Artists
by Barry Stebbing
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Great Painters
by Piero Ventura
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Henri Matisse
by Mike Venezia
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History of Art - Flashcards
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$29.00
History of Art - Workbook
1st edition from Veritas Press
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$39.00
History of France through Art
by Jillian Powell
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Horse in Art
by Ruth Zuelke
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
How Artists See Feelings
by Colleen Carroll
1st Library Ed from Abbeville Press
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How Artists See the Elements
by Colleen Carroll
from Abbeville Press
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
from Howard Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jackson Pollock
by Mike Venezia
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Jackson Pollock
by Mike Venezia
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John Audubon
Young Patriots series
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Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Joni's Story
Today's Heroes
by Joni Eareckson Tada
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Biography for 4th-6th grade
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Katie Meets the Impressionists
by James Mayhew
from Orchard Books
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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$11.99
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
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Leonardo Da Vinci
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Ernest Raboff
for 3rd-6th grade
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Leonardo da Vinci for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Biography/Activity Book for 3rd-8th grade
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$17.95
Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer
by Robert Byrd
1st edition from Dutton Children's Books
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2004 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Artists
by Kathleen Krull
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Lives of the Artists
by M. B. Goffstein
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Looking at Painting: Families
by Peggy Roalf
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Tree House #38 (Merlin Mission #10) - Fact Tracker
companion to Merlin Mission #10 - Monday with a Mad Genius
by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Mary Cassatt
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$3.50 (2 in stock)
Matisse: Painter of the Essential
Art for Children
by Yolande Baillet
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Michelangelo
by Ernest Raboff
from HarperTrophy
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Michelangelo
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
Picture Book Biographies for 4th-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Michelangelo
Masterpieces: Artists and Their Works
by Shelley Swanson Sateren
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
N.C. Wyeth
by N. C. Wyeth, introduction by Kate F. Jennings
from Crescent Books
for 4th-Adult
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National Gallery of Art Activity Book
by Maura A. Clarkin
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell's America
by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush
by Beverly Gherman
from Atheneum
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Pablo Picasso
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
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Pablo Picasso
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
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Paul Gauguin
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for 2nd-5th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Study Portfolio Extra Print Pack: Millet (1814-1875)
by Emily Kiser
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 1st-12th grade
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Picture Study Portfolio Extra Print Pack: Rafael (1483-1520)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Constable (1776-1837)
by Emily Kiser
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in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Picture Study Portfolios: da Vinci (1452-1519)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Dürer (1471-1528)
by Emily Cottrill
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Picture Study Portfolios: Fra Angelico (1395-1455)
by Emily Kiser
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by Emily Cottrill
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Picture Study Portfolios: Giotto
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Michelangelo
by Emily Cottrill
from Simply Charlotte Mason
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Picture Study Portfolios: Millet (1814-1875)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Monet
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Rafael (1483-1520)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Rembrandt
by Emily Cottrill
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Picture Study Portfolios: Titian (1488-1576)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Van Gogh (1853-1890)
by Emily Kiser
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Pierre-August Renoir
by Ernest Raboff
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