Sylvester is going to take us to Florence today. Get ready for the gelato! Florence, in addition to being responsible for lots of great dessert today, is also home of some of the greatest art in the world. It’s particularly famous for Renaissance art. In … Continue readingHoly Trinity by Masaccio
If the Duke asks you to design a prayer book…well, you’ll definitely be designing a prayer book. The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is the most famous example of French Gothic manuscript illumination. Commissioned by the Duke of Berry and painted by the … Continue readingTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Even if you don’t know anything about art history, chances are you’ve at least heard the name Renaissance. That’s because it’s one of the most pivotal times in all history, bringing forth some of the greatest artists (and other people of consequence) of all time. Today … Continue readingThe Ascension of Saint John the Evangelist
Today we’re off to Paris to visit the chapel of Sainte Chapelle! As my favorite art history professor once encouraged in her sage travel advice, “If you ever go to Paris and visit Sainte Chapelle, try and find an excuse to be in a wheelchair, … Continue readingSainte Chapelle
Grab your beret because today we’re going to France! Yay! (The yay was to add to the rhyming scheme.) Sylvester is going to start by telling us a bit about Romanesque art. Romanesque means “in the Roman manner.” Most of the art that’s characterized that … Continue readingThe Last Judgment at the Autun Cathedral
Sometimes, we get stuck in a box of our ideas about what art is. We might forget that even the words on a book’s page can be art! Well, they can! Sylvester is going to talk to us about manuscripts today, specifically the Lindisfarne Gospels. In … Continue readingThe Lindisfarne Gospels
Today Sylvester is going to take us on a tour of the catacombs! *Italian accent* Not the cat-a-combs, the catacombs!!! (That’s from VeggieTales. Sylvester didn’t come up with that and neither did I. I wish I did.) There are lots of catacombs, but these ones … Continue readingThe Catacomb of Santissimi Pietro e Marcellino
In case you’ve been dreaming of going to Rome all your life, we’ve got great news for you–that’s where Sylvester is taking us today! Roman culture is perhaps the best known and wealthiest in available knowledge among ancient cultures. Art, however, is harder to classify. … Continue readingAugustus of Primaporta
Today Sylvester is going to take us into Etruscan culture, which will be particularly interesting since no one really knows much about who the Etruscans even were! Everything we do know, we got from art–which is pretty cool. Art can be a powerful window into … Continue readingTomb of the Triclinium
Today, Sylvester is going to take us to ancient Greece and tell us about the Kritios Boy. Now, it’s hard to get any sense of Greek art from looking at one piece because there was such an evolution in style over the years. We’ll talk … Continue readingKritios Boy