Hercules and the Lion of Nemea

by with No Comment ByzantiumPowerpointsStudent Activities

The 6th to 7th century Constantinopolitan Silversmiths were great masters of their craft. Inspired by Greek Mythology, and stories of the Old or the New Testament, they created unique artworks equally important to their monumental counterparts. The 6th-century silver Plate in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France depicting Hercules and the Lion of Nemea beautifully exemplifies their fine workmanship.

The contest between Hercules and the fierce beast takes a central position, within a typical landscape of the time, simple, yet full of “antique” landscape motives. A bending tree to the right complements the shape of the silver plate, while to the left, a pedestal supporting a vase, balances the composition, adding stability.

Hercules, nude, massive and muscular with a thick neck, a heavy jaw, large eyes and curly hair, is depicted grasping the Lion by the neck, his hands disappearing into the beast’s luxurious mane. He is the undoubted winner of this fierce fight. The Lion is equally massive but succumbs to Hercules’s power. His foreleg, limp and weak, rest on the hero’s thigh, his grimacing face, a picture of exhaustion.

The unknown artist of this silver plate of Hercules and the Lion of Nemea illustrates a well-liked mythological story, popular during antiquity and the Byzantine period that followed. The plate was found in Italy in the Massa-Carrara area of Tuscany in 1771. It is dated ca. 500-600 AD. It was acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in 1890 and is part of its Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques. The Plate was part of the spectacular “Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from Berthouville” Getty Villa Exhibition of 2014-15.

Bibliography: http://medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr/ws/catalogue/app/collection/record/ark:/12148/c33gbq9kr and https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Age_of_Spirituality_Late_Antique_and_Early_Christian_Art_Third_to_Seventh_Century?fbclid=IwAR2T7bRUIaYH1cUyXgg-0KuAchuDZdxoNABmimn3TAQDhrC1x3V5Ys8Jcnk …pages 162-163

For a PowerPoint the Hercules and the Lion of Nemea, please… click HERE!

Student Activities on the Silver Plate of Hercules and the Lion of Nemea are… HERE!

Telling us goodbye…

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtPowerpointsStudent Activities

They were young and charming, elegant and playful yet sad as they were Telling us Goodbye…

Two of my favourite Ancient Greek Funerary Stele depict a young girl holding a Bird (in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki) or in the case of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, two Birds. Both Stelae were made of Parian marble, around 440 BC.

The Funerary Stele in Thessaloniki “depicts a girl wearing a peplos and holding a dove by its wings with her left hand, while the right one lifts the edge of her garment, to reveal her body.” It is characterized by the superb quality of craftsmanship, a subtle sense of movement, and controlled emotions. Undoubtedly, it occupies a central part in the history of ancient Greek sculpture.

“The gentle gravity of this child is beautifully expressed through her sweet farewell to her pet doves. Her peplos is unbelted and falls open at the side, while the folds of drapery clearly reveal her stance…” The Metropolitan Museum Funerary Stele is the work of a great master sculptor, an artist who manages to enhance the white, translucent Parian marble by creating a “charming composition and delicate carving.”

Both Funerary Stelae grace with their beauty the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/highlights and scroll down to ” Relief Funerary Stele from Nea Kallikrateia”) and the MET in New York ( https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/252890 ).

If you choose to use this Activity for your class, Grade 6 Social Studies or an Introductory Middle School class on Ancient Greek Art, it will be also nice to show Adam Fuss (the Photographer) discussing the MET Marble Grave Stele of a little girl.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – THE ARTIST PROJECT Video http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/4/adam-fuss/

Examples of student RWAP (stands for Research-Writing-Art-Project) Sketchbooks… HERE!

Telling us Goodbye RWAP (stands for Research-Writing-Art-Project) is… HERE!

The Magic of the Olive Tree

by with No Comment Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation AthensPost-ImpressionismPowerpointsStudent Activities
Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890
Olive Picking, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.5 × 92.5 cm, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens

The Magic of the Olive Tree inspired so much Vincent Van Gogh that while in Saint-Remy-de Provence in 1889, he painted at least 15 paintings depicting their beauty! The same magic inspired our wonderful Pinewood Kindergarten Teacher… who organized a Unit to remember!

“The Kindergarten theme on Olives began with the intention of it being a transdisciplinary unit so that the children would learn many facets about it. It was introduced in a simple way – when the children reached the letter O in the English alphabet they decided to remember this letter sound by saying ‘O is for olive’… From there they learned that olives are fruit and that they grow on Olive Trees in Greece. Inspired by short videos showing how olives are picked in late Autumn, the children took a sheet, a stick and a basket and went olive picking on the school grounds. They hit the branches of the school Olive Trees and collected the fruit that fell… So enthusiastic about what they did they decided to capture their experience by making their very own olive tree grove Bulletin Board.”

Pinewood Kindergarten students “listened in awe as they travelled back into mythological times, to when Athena bestowed the gift of an Olive Tree to the Athenians. This helped the children understand what a treasure the Olive Tree is because of all the various gifts that it gives: wood (for heat, furniture), oil ( for cooking, eating, light, fuel) and soap… They tasted both green and black olives, they washed their hands with olive soap, they lit an oil-lamp with olive oil and they made olive bread… They created olive wreaths by counting card leaves and plasticine olives to a given number and learned that in ancient times an olive wreath, just like the ones they had made, were placed on the heads of champion athletes.”

Finally, students “realized how thankful they are for this humble fruit and all it provides. So when it came to Thanksgiving Day the children chose to honour the Olive Tree by writing their messages of thanks inside their olive wreaths and entitling their display, ‘In Greece, we are thankful for Olive Trees’.”

Kindergarten student Bulletin Board Art photographed by Kostas Papantoniou

“O is for Olive” is the amazing Lesson Plan prepared by the school’s Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Anna Maria Mathias, with assistance provided by Mrs. Kathy Lekkas. The PowerPoint photos that follow HERE! were taken by the school’s photographer, Mr. Kostas Papapatoniou.

For the purposes of this BLOG, The Magic of the Olive Tree, “teachercurator” put together a PowerPoint on Van Gogh and paintings of Olive Trees… please check HERE!

The new Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens has a wonderful Vincent Van Gogh painting of Olive Picking from his 1889 period. Apparently, Van Gogh painted “three versions of this picture. He described the first as a study from nature “more coloured with more solemn tones” (in the Goulandris Collection) and the second as a studio rendition in a “very discreet range” of colours (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.).” The third painting is at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and accordingly is “the most resolved and stylized of the three.” The third painting was “intended for his sister and mother, to whom Van Gogh wrote: “I hope that the painting of the women in the olive trees will be a little to your taste—I sent [a] drawing of it to Gauguin… and he thought it good… ” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436536 and https://goulandris.gr/en/artwork/vincent-van-gogh-olive-picking

Leonardo da Vinci

by with No Comment NewsPowerpointsRenaissance
La Belle Ferronnière (detail), 1495 – 1499, oil on wood, 62 cm × 44 cm, Louvre Museum, Paris Photo Copyright: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50127095
…and her mesmerizing eyes

Five hundred years ago, one of the greatest Renaissance Homo Universalis passed away at the Château du Clos Lucé, in the Loire Valley. The Louvre Museum, wishing to commemorate the fifth centenary of the artist’s death, organizes an International Retrospective Exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci and his oeuvre. https://www.louvre.fr/en/expositions/leonardo-da-vinci

The Louvre Museum in Paris holds the largest collection in the world of the artist’s paintings, five of the fourteen to seventeen paintings now attributed to Leonardo, as well as 22 drawings. This collection is the core of the Retrospective that will also present “the latest research findings, critical editions of key documents and the results of the latest analysis carried out in laboratories or during recent conservation treatment by the Louvre.” https://www.louvre.fr/en/leonardo-da-vinci

A unique feature that the Exhibition presents to its visitors is the Virtual Reality experience for the Mona Lisa painting, the first of its kind at the Louvre. Virtual Reality enables visitors to go through the glass-case that protects the Mona Lisa and see minute details within the painting invisible otherwise to the naked eye. https://arts.vive.com/us/articles/projects/art-photography/mona_lisa_beyond_the_glass/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au_UpzhzHwk

The PowerPoint I use for my Art History class on the artist… is HERE!

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock

by with No Comment ArtPowerpointsRococoStudent Activities
The work of a Grade 9 student! on the Tick-Tock, Bedroom Clock RWAP

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock was inspired by the Getty Museum Activity: http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/decarts/decarts_lesson05.html. It has developed into a RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project) much liked by my students.

How fascinating can a Rococo Clock be to a High School student today? I am always surprised to discover that students respond positively and enthusiastically to the enjoyable, cheerful and carefree style of the 18th century we call Rococo. “Artists working in this frivolous aesthetic built upon the flamboyance of the Baroque period, adapting its awe-inspiring aesthetic to produce equally extravagant yet distinctively playful works of art.”

Do you know that “The term Rococo is derived from rocaille, a special method of decorating fountains and grottoes that dates back to the Italian Renaissance?” Artists using this technique “would mix seashells, pebbles, and other organic materials with cement, culminating in a naturalistic, under-the-sea-inspired medium.”

Rococo Decorative Arts are equally important and fascinating to painting and sculpture. They “often incorporate intricate, asymmetrical forms.” Their “serpentine silhouettes are inherently naturalistic yet undoubtedly exaggerated and are found in a range of objects, including intricate tables and eye-catching candelabra…” and Tick-Tock Clocks… I would add.

All quotations come from April 29, 2018, well-written to say the least article titled Celebrate the Elegance and Exuberance of French Rococo Art at MY MODERN MET https://mymodernmet.com/rococo-art/ site.

For more examples of student work, please… check HERE!

The Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock student Worksheet is… HERE!

A PowerPoint on Rococo Clocks is… HERE!

The Jasper Cup from Vatopedi

by with No Comment ArtByzantiumPowerpointsWorksheets

The Jasper Cup from Vatopedi is one of the most famous Late Byzantine works of art. It is a Chalice of silver-work and stone-carving, a rare example of refined craftsmanship, one of the finest pieces of the Palaeologan period. It belonged to Manuel Cantacuzenos Palaeologos (1349-80), Despot of Mystra, son of Emperor John VI Cantacuzenos (1347-54) and grandson of Theodore Palaeologus, Despot of Mystra.

The Cup, carved out of a piece of jasper, was created in a Byzantine workshop, in the shape of an antique broad-lipped wine-cup. The inscription on its rim reads “and he gave it to his disciples and apostles saying, drink of this, all of you …”. As this is the prayer from the Eucharist, as given in the Liturgy of St Basil, the Vatopedi Chalice was used as an ecclesiastical vessel.

The base is octagonal, its eight sections decorated with medallions containing, alternately, cruciform monograms and half-length hierarchs holding open scrolls. The monograms identify the owner of the vessel: M (Manuel), Δ (Despot), Κ (Cantacuzenos), Π (Palaeologus). For a more detailed presentation of the Chalice, please check: https://www.elpenor.org/athos/en/e218ci14.asp

The metalwork decoration, following byzantine models, intriguing techniques, and borrowed Gothic motifs, proves that a “Byzantine-Gothic” marriage of styles can create exquisite results.

For a PowerPoint on Byzantine Chalices, please… Check HERE!

For the Student Activity, I was inspired by Sarah Stone’s Work on “Byzantine Chalices”. I showed the students her work http://www.sarah-stone.net/byzantine-paintings.html and HERE! is what my Grade 4 students created!!!

Byzantine Chalices, inspired by The Jasper Cup of Vatopedi and Sarah Stone’s Byzantine Paintings

Hercules at the Crossroads

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtHeraclesMythologyNewsPowerpointsStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Hercules at the Crossroads Bulletin Board Display

Hercules at the Crossroads is an ancient Greek parable. It came down to us through Xenophone but is attributed to Prodicus of Ceos, a 5th-century philosopher. According to Prodicus, young Hercules, at the threshold of adulthood, meets two women, personifications of Virtue and Vice, and faces a choice. One of the women is beautiful but dignified, dressed modestly, looking genuine and pure. The other is equally beautiful but voluptuous in form, richly dressed, looking superficial. They represent the two paths of life, that of Virtue and that of Vice, and Hercules chooses Virtue, the road of honour, hard work but noble deeds.

Created thousands of years ago, the  Greek Myths of Hercules tell us epic stories, adventures of demigods, heroes and monsters, tales of love, loyalty, betrayal, friendship, bravery…  They show that gods and heroes, very much like ordinary humans, men and women alike, can be right or wrong, fail or succeed, love or hate. Hercules and his extraordinary deeds offer our students a glimpse into the lives of the Ancient Greek people, their culture and art.

The parable of Hercules at the Crossroads became a popular motif in Western art, just like the lovely hand-fan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/hercules-crossroads-30805

For my Grade 1 Host Country Studies class, I decided to do a HAND-FAN Activity. We created simple, paper HAND-FANS and we decorated them with WORDS representing the concepts of VIRTUE and VICE. We added a beautiful coloured ribbon and… Voila!!!

Words of Virtue or Vice HAND-FAN Activity

For the Worksheet on the Activity, please… Check HERE!

For the PowerPoint, please… Check HERE!

Back to Aigai

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtNewsPowerpointsTravel
The Royal Burial Cluster of Philip II, guiding my students
Photo: Kostas Papantoniou

Back to Aigai, the 1st capital of the ancient Macedonians is always a pleasure!

Archaeological excavations have unveiled extraordinary riches of the past, a prosperous city enclosed by defensive walls, with an acropolis in the north-east foothills of the Pierian mountains. They discovered impressive temples, monumental public buildings, an imposing palatial complex, unique in its architectural characteristics, a theatre, and several “Macedonian” Tombs, the most important of which is the Tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.

Pinewood Grade 5 students visited the Tomb of Philip II, one of the largest of all “Macedonian” Tombs found in Greece. The monument was constructed of stone and consists of two vaulted rooms, the main burial chamber and the antechamber. The grandiose, imposing facade is adorned with marble double doors, two half-columns and an extraordinary painted frieze immortalizing a hunt of lions, bears, antelopes and boars in a semi-forested landscape.

Next to Philip’s Tomb is the plundered cist tomb of Persephone famous for its wall painting. Among the figures of the Fates and of Demeter seated on the “mirthless rock” is a depiction of the abduction of Persephone by the god of the underworld, Hades. The originality of execution, the power of conception and restraint of colouring all indicate an artist of great talent. Could the artist be Theban Nicomachus, famous for his rendering of the female figure?

“Back to Aigai” students enjoyed a day of myths, glorious history, fine arts, golden treasures, and … serene countryside, sunshine and autumn bliss. They were so smart but most importantly so kind and full of respect…They were attentive and engaged, they contributed so much to the successful outcome of our trip!

The official site of ancient Aigai is more than worth exploring: https://www.aigai.gr/en

Interesting to read: http://www.greece-is.com/exploring-ancient-macedonia-at-the-royal-tombs-of-aigai-vergina/

For a PowerPoint on the Royal Burial Cluster of Philip II – Photos by Kostas Papantoniou, please… Click HERE!

Dionysus and Ariadne

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtMythologyNewsPowerpoints
Dionysus and Ariadne, 200-250 AD, floor mosaic, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

The Myth of Theseus, the Minotaur, Dionysus and Ariadne has it all! love, adventure, an impossible task, betrayal, and sacrifice. The adventure starts in the city of Troezene, where Theseus is born, and unfolds by travelling us to Athens, the island of Crete, the island of Naxos, and back to Athens again. My Grade 6 Host Country Studies students LOVE the Myth and the art, so, I prepared a PowerPoint Activity for them…

Instructions on what to do:

Research: Find 5 Artworks presenting the mythological princess Ariadne. Artworks can be paintings, sculptures, etc. How to do research for Artworks on Ariadne: Go to Google –Ariadne Myth – Pictures.

Research-Writing: Do not forget that the correct identification for each artwork you use is mandatory.  (Correct identification should include: Name of artist, the title of the artwork, date, medium, where the artwork is. For example, Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1522-23, oil on canvas, the National Gallery, London)

Art: BE CREATIVE! Prepare an appealing PowerPoint!!!

For a short but well-documented presentation of the Mosaic, go to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki site on its Highlights and scroll down… http://amth.gr/en/exhibitions/highlights

For a PowerPoint on the Myth, please… Check HERE!

Inspired by the François Vase

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtArtLesson PlansPotteryPowerpointsSocial StudiesStudent Activities
Bulletin Board Presentation – Grade 7

Inspired by the François Vase is a Grade 7 Activity my students enjoy doing!

François Vase is exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology in Florence. It is “a large black-figure krater, a large vase in Ancient Greece believed to be used for watering down wine, from c. 570 BC. The design is fascinating and, if one looks carefully, you will find both the signature of the potter, Ergotimos and the painter, Kleitias. This krater is named the “François Vase” after the archaeologist who found it in 1844. ” https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/maf-archeological-museum.html

François Vase, large Attic volute krater decorated in the black-figure style, by Kleitias(painter) and Ergotimos(potter), c. 570-565 BC, Florence National Archaeological Museum

The François Vase Activity

Instructions on what to do: During class, students are introduced to ancient Greek pottery, and more specifically the importance and characteristics of the François Vase. This Activity is based on the classroom lectures, student research on the subject, and ultimately student creativity and imagination. So, ……

  1. Students are asked to READ the attached sites and WATCH the provided Videos: https://www.florenceinferno.com/the-francois-vase/ and https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1f59n77b&chunk.id=d0e2374&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=ucpress and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1oONbq2ik
  2. Students will be provided with a Template of a Volute Krater. This template will be their work canvas! to create a “new” version of the François Vase.
  3. For the Volute Krater Template, a big thank you to IMGBIN and go to https://imgbin.com/png/ZZBrSTGn/krater-volute-line-art-vase-drawing-png
  4. Students are asked to design a “new version” of the François Vase inspired by their favorite novel, poem, myth, comic story or their own life!
  5. They may consider the following poem by Archilochos of Paros, 8th century BC lyric poet (Willis Barnstone, trans., Greek Lyric Poetry [New York: Schocken Books) as a source of inspiration:

The PowerPoint, teachercurator has prepared, can be seen if you… Click HERE!

For more examples of student work… Click HERE!