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Lesson Plans


Re: Elementary kids and nudity in art

From: Artemis420
Date: Sat Jan 29 2000 - 22:00:45 PST

  • Next message: The Colliers: "African art exchange"

    In a message dated 1/29/00 6:19:11 PM Pacific Standard Time,
    dmammone writes:

    << of the lessons I teach is Michelangelo and
     the painting of the Sistine Ceiling to 5th graders. the lesson has turned
     from
     the beauty of Michelangelo to "these people don't have any clothes on".
     When I show his sculpture, I show the Pieta and Moses but intentionally
     avoid David for this reason. How do you handle this, explain why artists
     paint nude figures and that the human body is beautiful to this age
     level? >>
    I don't know how far this idea will go...but I point out that in ancient art
    only the gods were portrayed nude. I have some PICS of Greek and Roman God
    types, and some Roman Caesar's and similar. the Caesar's are always fully
    dressed, but the gods not.
    The idea was that gods needed no clothes and were perfect in themselves,
    humans not so.
    Demigods were half dressed.
    In early and renaissance Madonna and Child paintings and sculpture, only the
    Christ child is nude, by the same analogy...a perfect heavenly being...all
    others are clothed.
    Even the nude women in renaissance art are supposed to be "Venuses".
    Artie 

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