Unit 5: Art History · Lesson 1
Art History - Lesson 1
What this lesson is for
- Students will create artwork related to Art History - Lesson 1
- Students will express creativity through art
Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work.
Exodus 35:35
Ancient Art: Egypt, Greece, and Rome
Art has always served a sacred purpose. Long before the Christian era, human beings sensed that the visible world pointed beyond itself. Egyptian temples and tombs were filled with painted reliefs and hieroglyphs not as decoration but as theology — the dead needed visual guidance to navigate the afterlife, and the gods needed to be depicted in order to be invoked. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis (447–432 BC) was built as a home for Athena, its proportions governed by the Golden Ratio, which gives it a harmony still breathtaking after 2,500 years. Greek sculptors pursued the idealized human form as an image of divine perfection — an instinct that, though misdirected toward false gods, shows the deep human longing to represent the sacred in physical form.
Roman art absorbed Greek idealism and turned it toward political power. The Roman mosaic — tesserae of colored stone and glass arranged into portraits, narrative scenes, and symbolic imagery — became the dominant decorative art of the empire. When Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the 4th century, mosaics became the primary medium of Christian visual theology. The technique, the iconography, and even many of the symbols of ancient sacred art were baptized and redirected toward the true God.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1). Even ancient peoples without the full revelation of Scripture created art that testified to a universe charged with meaning and divine presence. Christians study this art not to worship it, but to trace the longing for God that runs through all of human history.
Reflect: What do Egyptian and Greek art reveal about what human beings, even without Scripture, sense to be true about beauty, the sacred, and the human form?
Homework
No homework - great job creating today!
Note for the parent
Today's lesson covers Art History - Lesson 1. Estimated time: 45 minutes. Encourage independent work but be available for questions.
The first three of this lesson's 10 questions
The Parthenon's proportions are governed by the Golden Ratio. What is the Golden Ratio and why did ancient Greek architects consider it significant?
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Answer: A mathematical ratio (approximately 1:1.618) found throughout nature and used to produce proportions that the eye perceives as inherently harmonious
When Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the 4th century, the mosaic tradition was transformed from imperial decoration to which new purpose?
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Answer: The primary medium of Christian theological imagery in churches and baptisteries
Egyptian temple reliefs and hieroglyphs are described as 'theology' rather than decoration because:
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Answer: The images served a religious function — guiding the dead, invoking the gods — rather than beautifying a space aesthetically
Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.