Michelangelo Artist Study

Michelangelo Artist Study

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Artist Study of the Month

Since Michelangelo’s birthday is coming up on March 6th, we’re gearing up to focus on him again during this month’s artist study.  We studied his work once before (several years ago) as part of a mini-unit about Renaissance artists.  Our favorite activity then was a reenactment of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.  That’s an easy activity:

  • Tape some paper to the bottom of a table that you don’t mind getting paint on.
  • Make a cozy spot under the table to lay.
  • Grab some paints.
  • Paint a picture on the paper while laying down.

Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Activity

Michelangelo Biography and Research Essay

This time around, we’ll be focusing more on Michelangelo’s biography by researching several of the sites mentioned on Social Studies for Kids.  We’ll read through some of the articles together and I’ll assign a few to be read independently.  By the end of the month, I’ll expect a one-page essay about Michelangelo. (Now that my big kids are older, writing follows almost everything – or so my sweet children tell me.)

Of course, we’ll read this classic from our artist bookshelf, too.

Picture Study

Rather than choose the weekly picture studies for my children, this time I will allow them to decide what we study.  Olga’s Gallery is always a great place to go to find a large variety of artwork by almost any artist.

Need to know how to do picture study?  You might like to check out Artist Study: Charlotte Mason Style.

Art Lessons

  • Week One: We’ll again try a simulation of the painting of the Sistine Chapel.  I’m so excited to compare this year’s finished products to the artwork created five or six years ago.
  • Week Two:  We’ll do a version of this Project Articulate lesson, focusing on shading.
  • Week Three:  We’ll take soap carvings to a new level as we try to recreate one of Michelangelo’s sculptures.
  • Week Four:  We’ll tackle a clay sculpting project.

And that’s it.  A little reading, a little writing, a little picture study and a weekly art lesson.  Fun and educational!

This post has been linked to iHomeschoolNetwork’s Birthday Lessons series!


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6 Comments

  1. What fun ideas! We are also studying Michelangelo and my youngest will love the “lying on her back” painting experience! Thanks for sharing the other links and ideas!

  2. How do you decide which artists to study? There are so many.

  3. Good question! Amblesideonline.org has a list of artists to study in a specified order, if that helps. I’ve always just tried to tie artists into something else we are studying at the time. If that isn’t possible, I just choose someone we haven’t studied yet and go for it. Not a lot o rhyme or reason, but it works for us. :O) One more thought, Discovering Great Artists lists lots of artists by time period and even gives you some activity ideas. You could easily do artist study by time periods, too!

  4. Usborne also has books on art study. This one (link below) has a list of artists and their painting, and shows you how to make a similar one! https://amzn.to/2TnmlbL

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