If as Cicero stated, virtue consists in doing, then a virtuous education consists in active learning! You may have noticed that I am trying to get you to incorporate design elements into your notes. Art and architecture, of course, are key elements of the Renaissance and one way to get a handle on them (or at least a good entré to studying Renaissance art and architecture) is to dive into a little research of a single work and enter it into your READING JOURNAL as a mini-study. So…

1. Choose a PAINTING, SCULPTURE, or BUILDING that was created between 1450 and 1559.
2. Make a sketch of the work in your notes. Use about 1/3 to 1/2 of a single page. Yes, sketch it yourself — this isn’t a reproduction, just an approximate representation of the work. Spending the time to sketch it yourself forces you to look more closely at the work.
3. ADD the following information about the work in ‘info boxes’ or balloons around the drawing: artist, date of work, where it was created (city), where it was to be displayed (specific location), who commissioned the piece, AND how does this work fit into the Renaissance? (i.e. what does it exemplify or why is it important or interesting)
4. In separate boxes or balloons, write any info you dug up about the artist or the work. What made this piece significant? What was the artist’s intention? Were there special obstacles to overcome? Any interesting history surrounding the creation of displaying of the work? etc.
5. ADD your own thoughts/interpretation

IMPORTANT. Artists you MAY NOT use (unless the piece is cleared by me): Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Donatello, Alberti

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