The Chora Church of Constantinople, shaped across centuries of rebuilding and patronage, embodies the Palaeologian Renaissance through its luminous mosaics and frescoes, merging imperial history with profound spiritual artistry.
Mystical Nativity by Sandro Botticelli
Botticelli’s Mystic Nativity fuses biblical prophecy with contemporary turmoil, depicting Christ’s birth amid apocalyptic symbolism, angelic revelation, and human embrace, suggesting hope, renewal, and divine order beyond earthly chaos.
Watercolours of the Acropolis: Émile Gilliéron in Athens
The Met’s Gilliéron watercolours revive early Acropolis discoveries in vivid colour, blending archaeology and artistic reconstruction to reveal how Archaic Greek sculpture once appeared in its original, polychrome splendour.
Last Supper in Pompeii
The Last Supper in Pompeii exhibition explores Roman food culture through vivid frescoes, mosaics, and artefacts, revealing everyday banquets and civic generosity in the richly preserved world of ancient Pompeii.
Hercules and the Lion of Nemea
The Byzantine silver plate of Hercules and the Nemean Lion showcases late antique mastery, merging mythological power and refined craftsmanship in a dynamic composition of strength, tension, and classical elegance.
Cimabue – Giotto – Duccio
Cimabue, Giotto, and Duccio mark the shift from Byzantine tradition to early Renaissance naturalism, where painting begins to explore space, emotion, and human presence with unprecedented realism and spiritual depth.
Leonardo da Vinci
Marking 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci’s death, the Louvre Museum unveils a landmark retrospective, blending masterpieces, research, and immersive insight into the genius behind the Mona Lisa.
Reverence for Nature and Tiffany
Inspired by nature’s fleeting beauty, Louis Comfort Tiffany’s dragonfly hair ornament captures fragility, luminosity, and exquisite craftsmanship—an Art Nouveau jewel where delicate forms celebrate life’s ephemeral grace.
Back to Aigai
Aigai, ancient capital of Macedonia, reveals royal tombs, painted hunts, and mythic scenes—where students encounter history, art, and mythology in a landscape of enduring archaeological wonder.
Inspired by the François Vase
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
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, ……
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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!
- 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!
