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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 is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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136 Items found Print
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Adventures in Art
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Art Bingo Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$19.95
American Art Bingo Volume II
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$19.95
American Art History I - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
American Art History II - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
American Art History Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$39.95
American Art History Volume II
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$39.95
Ancient Egyptian Art
by Susie Hodge
First Printing
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greek Art
Art in History
by Susie Hodge
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Annotated Mona Lisa
by Carol Strickland
2nd edition from Andrews and McMeel
for 5th-12th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$16.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Annotated Mona Lisa
by Carol Strickland
3rd edition from Andrews and McMeel
for 5th-12th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$29.99
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
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Art Coloring Book
by Sarah Courtauld
from Usborne
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Art for Children: Renaissance
Art for Children
by Lillo Canto
from Chelsea House Publishing
Art Appreciation for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$20.00 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Art Masterpieces to Color
by Marty Noble
from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$7.46
Art Museum: A Sticker Story Coloring Book
by Sylvia Walker
Clr Csm from Dover Publications
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Sticker Books (Location: ACT-STICK)
Art Smart: Spot the Details and Find Out the Facts
Act from Dover Publications
for 1st-7th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$9.99
Art: Over 2,500 Works from Cave to Contemporary
from DK Publishing
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$50.00
Artist of the Reformation
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.01
ArtWorks for Kids
by Lori Schue
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-6th grade
in Evan-Moor Art & Drawing (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$17.59 $8.40 (1 in stock)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
Berta and Elmer Hader: A Lifetime of Art
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Bill Peet
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Camille and the Sunflowers
by Laurence Anholt
1st edition from Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.38 (1 in stock)
Charlotte in Giverny
by Joan MacPhail Knight
Reprint from Chronicle Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Great Artists (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Chasing Vermeer
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Mystery & Suspense for 4th-6th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79
Child's Book of Art
by Lucy Micklethwait
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Children's Book of Art
by Rosie Dickins
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Claude Monet
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Great Artists (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me
by Kimberly Lane
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Come Look With Me: American Indian Art
by Stephanie Salomon
1st Edition
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Come Look With Me: Animals in Art
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me: Art in Early America
by Randy Osofsky
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me: Artist at Work
by R. Sarah Richardson
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me: Exploring Landscape Art with Children
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me: Exploring Landscape Art With Children
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for 1st-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$16.95
Country Artist
by David R. Collins
from First Avenue Editions
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Creative Drawing
by Howard J. Smagula
from Brown & Benchmark Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Degas and the Little Dancer
by Laurence Anholt
from Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.38 (1 in stock)
Diego Rivera
by Duncan Tonatiuh
First Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Discover Great Paintings
by Lucy Micklethwait
from DK Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Discovering Great Artists
by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
from Bright Ring Publishing
for Preschool-6th grade
in Great Artists (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$18.95 $13.00 (3 in stock)
Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost"
by Gustave Dore
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$12.71 $6.38 (1 in stock)
Drawing American Art Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$29.95
Drawing American Art Volume II
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$29.95
Edgar Degas
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
2nd edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Elizabeth Fry
from Emerald Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$8.49 $5.53 (1 in stock)
Emily's Blue Period
by Cathleen Daly & Lisa Brown
from Roaring Brook Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.95 (1 in stock)
First Starry Night
by Joan Shaddox Isom
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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