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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Alexander Calder
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
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American Art Bingo Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
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$16.96
American Art History I - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
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American Art History Volume I
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$33.96
American Art History Volume II
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Art Coloring Book
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Art of the New American Nation
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Art of the Southeastern Indians
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Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico
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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$6.79
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Biography for 1st-6th grade
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BFB Art Appreciation Family Study Pack
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Boy Who Drew Birds
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Carl Larsson's A Family
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Carl Larsson's A Farm
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Carl Larsson's A Home
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte in Giverny
by Joan MacPhail Knight
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Claude Monet: Sunshine and Waterlilies by Steven Packard
Smart About Art
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me
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Come Look With Me: American Indian Art
by Stephanie Salomon
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Come Look With Me: Artist at Work
by R. Sarah Richardson
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$14.41
Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children
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Come Look With Me: Exploring Landscape Art With Children
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$14.41
Country Artist
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Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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by Duncan Tonatiuh
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Discovering Great Artists
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2nd edition from Chicago Review Press
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$18.69
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by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing American Art Volume II
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Edgar Degas
Artists Through the Ages
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El Greco
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Elizabeth Fry
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Girl Who Drew Butterflies
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2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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God and Christian Artists
by Barry Stebbing
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Grandma Moses
Women of Our Time
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History of Art - Flashcards
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History of Art - Workbook
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$49.00
History of France through Art
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In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
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Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
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1997 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Ernest Raboff
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Leonardo da Vinci for Kids
by Janis Herbert
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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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$7.20 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Henry Moore
by Sean Connolly
from Heinemann Library
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Linnea in Monet's Garden
by Christina Bjork & Lena Anderson
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Biography for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$4.80 (2 in stock)
Lives of the Artists
by Kathleen Krull
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Lives of the Artists
by M. B. Goffstein
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Looking at Painting: Families
by Peggy Roalf
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Margaret Bourke-White
by Montrew Dunham
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Masterpiece of the Month
by Jennifer Thomas
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
Matisse: Painter of the Essential
Art for Children
by Yolande Baillet
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Michelangelo
Masterpieces: Artists and Their Works
by Shelley Swanson Sateren
from Capstone Press
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National Gallery of Art Activity Book
by Maura A. Clarkin
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Norman Rockwell's America
by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Reader's Digest
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush
by Beverly Gherman
from Atheneum
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Painting Wonder
by Katie Wray Schon
from Waxwing Books
for 1st-3rd grade
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$16.14
Paul Gauguin
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
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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
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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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by Emily Kiser
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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: Mary Cassatt
by Emily Kiser
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Picture Study Portfolios: Michelangelo
by Emily Cottrill
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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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Picture Study Portfolios: Velazquez (1599-1660)
by Emily Kiser
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Picture This!
Art Explorers
by Joyce Raimondo
from Watson-Guptill Publications
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir
by Ernest Raboff
from HarperTrophy
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Paintings That Smile
by True Kelley
from Grosset & Dunlap
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$2.80 (2 in stock)
Pieter Brugel
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Rousseu: Still Voyages
Art For Children
by Didier Grosjean and Claudine Roland, illustrated by Francine De Boeck, translated by John Goodman
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Roy Lichtenstein
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-5th grade
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$2.80 (1 in stock)
Salvador Dali
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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Sparky & Spike
by Barbara Lowell, illustrated by Dan Andreasen
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Picture Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
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$14.41 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Spot the Differences Book 3
by Susan L. Rattiner, ed.
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-7th grade
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$9.34
Spot the Differences Book 4
by Alan Weller
from Dover Publications
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$9.34
Stone Giant
by Jane Sutcliffe
from Charlesbridge
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This is M. Sasek
by Olga Cerna, Pavel Ryska, and Martin Salisbury
from Universe Publishing
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Usborne Book of Famous Artists
from Usborne
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