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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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Used Books & Materials

	American Art History Volume II by Kristin Draeger from ArtK12 for 3rd-10th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $33.96 $27.00 (1 in stock)
	Art Coloring Book by Sarah Courtauld from Usborne for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Usborne Activities (Location: ACT-USB) $5.40 (1 in stock)
	Art of the Southeastern Indians by Shirley Glubok from Macmillan for 3rd-6th grade in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico by Shirley Glubok from Macmillan for 2nd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	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 $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Baby Blessing by Welleran Poltarnees from Laughing Elephant for Kindergarten-Adult in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt 1^st edition from Barron's for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Camille Pissarro by Alix Wood from Windmill Books for Preschool-3rd grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Carl Larsson's A Home by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom from G.P. Putnam's Sons for 3rd-Adult in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Child's Introduction to Art The World's Greatest Paintings and Sculptures by Heather Alexander, illustrated by Meredith Hamilton from Black Dog & Leventhal for 3rd-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez Art For Children by Ernest Raboff from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Discovering Great Artists (old) Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga from Bright Ring Publishing for Preschool-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Drawing American Art Volume II by Kristin Draeger from ArtK12 for 3rd-10th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $25.46 $20.00 (1 in stock)
	Edgar Degas Artists Through the Ages by Alix Wood from Windmill Books for 2nd-5th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Eye for Color The Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, Art by Julia Breckenreid from Henry Holt and Company for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Famous Children: Picasso by Tony Hart, illustrated by Susan Hellard from Barron's for 1st-3rd grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Girl with a Watering Can by Ewa Zadrzynska, illustrated by Arnold Skolnick from Chameleon Books, Inc. for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Horse in Art by Ruth Zuelke from Lerner Publishing Group for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	In Search of Norman Rockwell's America by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell from Howard Books for 3rd-Adult in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Joke's on George by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn from Tambourine Books for Preschool-4th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Leonardo da Vinci by Norman V. Marshall from Silver Burdett Press for 2nd-5th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Leonardo da Vinci What Made Them Great by Norman V. Marshall from Silver Burdett Press for 2nd-5th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd 1^st edition from Dutton Children's Books for 3rd-5th grade 2004 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Life and Work of Henry Moore by Sean Connolly from Heinemann Library for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork & Lena Anderson from R&S Books Biography for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Lives of the Artists by M. B. Goffstein from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 3rd-8th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Looking at Painting: Families by Peggy Roalf from Hyperion/Madison Press for 3rd-7th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Magic Tree House #38 (Merlin Mission #10) - Fact Tracker Leonardo da Vinci companion to Merlin Mission #10 - Monday with a Mad Genius by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce from Random House Books for Young Readers for 2nd-6th grade in Magic Tree House (Location: SER-MTH) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Masterpiece of the Month by Jennifer Thomas from Teacher Created Materials, Inc. for 1st-3rd grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Matisse: Painter of the Essential Art for Children by Yolande Baillet from Chelsea House Publishing for 3rd-6th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Michelangelo by Ernest Raboff from HarperTrophy for 3rd-6th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Michelangelo Masterpieces: Artists and Their Works by Shelley Swanson Sateren from Capstone Press for 2nd-4th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	National Gallery of Art Activity Book 25 Adventures with Art by Maura A. Clarkin from Harry N. Abrams, Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Norman Rockwell's America by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell from Reader's Digest for 3rd-Adult in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush by Beverly Gherman from Atheneum for 3rd-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Paul Gauguin Artists Through the Ages by Alix Wood from Windmill Books for 2nd-5th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Pierre-August Renoir Art for Children by Ernest Raboff from HarperTrophy for 3rd-6th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Paintings That Smile by True Kelley from Grosset & Dunlap for 3rd-6th grade in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $3.50 (2 in stock)
	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 for 3rd-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $8.00 (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 in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Usborne Introduction to Modern Art by Rosie Dickins from Scholastic Press for 3rd-6th grade in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Vincent Van Gogh Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg, Sandra Jordan from Delacorte Press for 3rd-6th grade 2002 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Wit and Whimsy of Mary Engelbreit by Mary Engelbreit from Andrews McMeel for 3rd-Adult in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)

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