The first volume in CHC’s new art series for 5th–8th grades!
There are many art programs available for homeschoolers, but none combines art history, art appreciation, art theory, and hands-on art activities like this one! Ever Ancient, Ever New, Level 1 tells the “story of art” from the cave artists to the High Renaissance masters, paying special attention to the spiritual significance of art as an expression of “the human need to surpass the visible” (Benedict XVI). As each artistic period is discussed, detailed Picture Studies teach students the “language of art” as they engage with masterpieces such as the Ancient Greek Artemision Jockey, the Medieval Book of Kells, and Titian’s Assumption from the Renaissance. Each chapter also includes a lesson in Art Theory, with a focus on the seven elements of art (line, shape, texture, form, value, space, and color).
The 366-page, full-color textbook also has an Art Pad of homeschool-friendly art projects which is sold separately. These projects teach fine arts skills such as drawing and painting while reinforcing the lessons in art theory and art history. For example, the art history lesson on how Renaissance artists employed linear perspective is complemented by an Art Pad project in which the student makes his own perspective drawing.
The author of Ever Ancient, Ever New is a practicing artist with an M.A. in theology and wrote her master’s thesis on sacred art in the theology of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI). She believes that all great art points beyond itself to God, the source of all beauty. The purpose of Ever Ancient, Ever New is not merely to teach fine arts skills or develop a familiarity with famous artists, but still more to cultivate a sensitivity to beauty and to the way God speaks through art. Ever Ancient, Ever New leads children to God by Benedict XVI’s “way of beauty.”
Ever Ancient, Ever New, Level 1 Textbook is designed for fifth grade students, but could also be used in sixth to eighth grades. Non-consumable—this text may be used over and over again! 35 chapters, 366 pgs. Lavishly illustrated in full color! Softcover. 8½”x11”
Artpad is sold separately.
