History is one of our favorite subjects. We have explored through many avenues – audio books, biographies, food, geography, and art. I kept a few textbooks from my college days. The book from my History of Architecture class was one of them. It was the first time history started to be exciting for me. I was able to see the connections through the lens of architecture. That is exactly what The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective has done for my children. This homeschool art history curriculum has us looking at history through art *and* from a Biblical perspective.
When we received our links for the pdf files, I was at first thinking we needed to print it out right away. The format is done so that you can print and bind yourself (offset space for three-hole punching or other methods). You can purchase this already printed – hardcover for the student text or softcover for the teacher guide/workbook. The images of the art beg for that – my budget strongly protests though. What we have done instead is to use our bigger screen to see all the details. I read aloud the lesson from my iPad while we can all look at the images on the bigger screen. We have been working through a lesson a week. You can do all the reading at once, or break it up throughout the week. It is a lot of reading, so I recommend breaking it up if you are including younger siblings. This is the pace recommended for counting the course as a full year for high school credit.
Even though this is aimed at older students, don’t assume this book is not appropriate for all ages. There is no nudity and many interesting works we’ve not seen elsewhere (like cylinder seals – so neat!). The professionally printed version would make a great “coffee table” book – the kind you actually open up and look through. Art history, an elective, seems the most obvious choice for how to credit for high school, but you can probably use it as one part of a larger course for world history overview. There are papers and cumulative exams scheduled throughout. The syllabus is ready-made to use this in a co-op setting as well. As with many resources, there are different licenses and permissions to use in this sort of setting vs a homeschool family setting. The teacher guide – which contains all of the worksheets and exams, is not to be copied per the copyright. Instead, you can purchase a very inexpensive license to copy any necessary pages for each student. I love this flexible, affordable option.
As with the history of our world, this history text begins “In the beginning…”, literally. We have watched various videos where they use archaeological finds to prove the veracity of the Bible. It was really neat to see some of those same types of artifacts explored further in the (digital) pages of the text. We began with Lesson 1, but you could begin anywhere if you are not using this for credit but for enjoyment. Throughout, when something was mentioned that is covered in depth in a later lesson the page was noted. I really appreciate this so that we don’t spend time doing our own further study when it is included later (patience!). The lessons are nice and meaty, going in-depth, not just skimming a people group only to point out their art contribution. You can look through the table of contents to see the specific pieces of art or artists that are covered within a lesson. This lets us find a nice, related picture book for the younger children or coordinate our other studies (I’m not the only one that does this, right?).
From looking ahead, these in-depth lessons continue through the Baroque period. The last two chapters of the book cover Rococo to the current modern period and a quick overview of other art/people groups not covered in the rest of the text. This feels rushed and short. But it also leaves you room to cover this on your own. After having your appetite whet for viewing history through art, you’ll be wanting more.
Other Crew families have reviewed this homeschool art history curriculum as well. To read those reviews, simply click the image below.
