Do you enjoy studying art or doing an artist study in your homeschool? Have you ever considered studying biblical art with your children? Biblical art encompasses a wide variety of art history from the Italian Renaissance to modern times.
What is biblical art?
Biblical art refers to all visual art that came from biblical text and Bible stories from the Old Testament and New Testament. Some may even call it Christian art, as it includes Bible stories and biblical subjects.
Biblical stories and religious imagery have been shown in Renaissance art, in paintings, sculptures, the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, and on stained glass windows in old, gothic cathedrals.
If you enjoy studying artists and works of art, you may want to add some biblical art study to your religious studies in your homeschool.
Are There Any Biblical Art Musuems?
We love visiting museums to see artwork that we may be studying in an artist study in our homeschool.
There are a few places in America that you can see biblical art displayed today. One famous art museum was MOBIA the Musuem of Biblical Art in New York City. MOBIA’s mission was to bring to the public an understanding of religion through its artistic manifestations.
They were considered a center of expertise on art and the Bible, but it was not a religious institution. MOBIA brought in many school groups and secular New Yorkers to see the changing exhibits.
The last exhibit drew the largest crowds for a show of 15th century sculptures by Donatello, Brunelleschi, Nanni di Banco, Luca della Robbia and others from the Florence Cathedral. These pieces had never before seen in the United States.
The American Bible Society sold their building, and they were unable to find another location. The museum’s closure date was in June 2015.
The Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas
The Museum of Biblical Art is located in Dallas, Texas. It had a large fire in 2005 and had to close. It has since been rebuilt and houses over 2,500 works by artists including John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall, Leonard Baskin, Thomas Kinkade, William Gropper, Jack Levine, Jacques Lipchitz, Ben Shahn and Max Weber.
It is also home to the National Center of Jewish Art which encompasses 10,000 square feet of the 30,000 sf building.
You can add to your study of biblical art by listening to free audio tours from The Museum of Biblical Art.
Studying Biblical Art in Your Homeschool
Many families enjoy incorporating artist study in their morning time in their homeschool. If there is a story that goes along with the artwork you are appreciating, you would read that aloud to your family, then pull out the art print to look at and discuss.
A great way to study biblical art is by searching for art works to go along with Bible stories and study those together. This can tie in nicely with Bible, art and even history subjects in your homeschool. This is a perfect fit for morning time.
Finding Biblical Art to Study
In reality, you will probably spend hours searching online for biblical works of art to study and research the artists to go along with them. Then you have to find the prints from the public domain.
If you are a homeschooler that enjoys planning and creating your own curriculum, you can know that this takes a lot of time and dedication.
For this very reason, parents often prefer purchasing something that includes everything for you instead. Many families love open-and-go resources of art prints and art cards to save them time.
Scenes from the Old and New Testament Biblical Art Appreciation Set
If you enjoy open-and-go resources you may want to consider this biblical art appreciation set because all of the research is already done for you. It also includes everything you will need for a biblical art study.
What’s Included in This Biblical Art Appreciation Set
Each set includes Bible stories with beautiful works of art for each story. The story is retold for your children on one page, with a full page that highlights a piece of classic art that ties into the story.
These can be printed and laminated and placed in your home to look at during the week as you are doing your art study. When you set the paintings out in your home, your children are constantly being immersed in fine art.
They will look at it often and become familiar with the different styles and learn how to better study and appreciate art.
Our biblical art appreciation set also includes small art cards that go with each piece of art. You can use these cards to get your children familiar with the name of the artwork, and the artist that created them.
How Do You Use Art Cards?
Each set includes two art cards for each print. One card shows the name of the piece, the artist’s name and the year or years it was painted.
The second card is blank with lines for your children to write the information on each one on their own. This will help them with copywork and being able to neatly record information to study.
Art cards can be stored in a small index card box to pull out and review like flash cards. You can quiz your kids on the name of the art print, or the artist. You will be surprised at how fast they can begin to recognize pieces of art from certain artists.
The small cards could even be tacked to a bulletin board or in a school room.
You can also store your art cards on a metal binder ring like a key chain. Your kids can flip through them and look at them and study them on their own in a fun, portable way.
Scenes from the Old Testament Biblical Art Appreciation
There are 44 color pages of art work included accompanying Bible stories to go with each art print, plus the art cards.
Old Testament Biblical Works of Art and Artists Included:
- Cain and Abel – Titian
- Noah and His Ark – Charles Wilson Peale
- Hagar and Ishmael – Benjamin West
- Abraham and Isaac – Anthony Van Dyck
- Esau Sold Jacob His Birthright and the Mess of Pottage – Matthias Stom
- Jacob’s Ladder – William Blake
- Jacob and Joseph’s Coat – Ford Madox Brown
- Joseph Interprets the Dream of Pharaoh – Jean-Adrien Guignet
- Scenes From the Story of Joseph: The Discovery of the Stolen Cup – Francesco Bacchiacca
- Joseph Recognized by His Brothers – Leon Pierre Urbain Bourgeois
- Pharaoh’s Daughter Finding Baby Moses – Konstantin Dmitriyevich Flavitsky
- Moses and the Messengers from Canaan – Giovanni Lanfranco
- Battle of Gideon Against the Midianites – Nicolas Poussin
- Samson and Delilah – Lucas Cranach the Elder
- The Summer (Ruth and Boaz) – Nicolas Poussin
- Saul and David – Rembrandt Van Rijn
- David and Goliath – Guido Rinni
- Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem – James Tissot
- Elijah Carried Away Into Heaven By a Chariot of Fire – James Tissot
- Jonah – Albert Pinkham Ryder
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – Simeon Solomon
- Daniel in the Lions’ Den – Henry Ossowa Tanner
Scenes from the New Testament Biblical Art Appreciation
There are 44 colored pages of fine art that accompany the Bible stories that complement the prints, plus the art cards.
New Testament Biblical Works of Art and Artists Included:
- Zacharias Writes Down the Name of his Son – Domenico Ghirlandaio
- The Nativity – John Singleton Copley
- Adoration of the Magi – Giotto
- The 12 Year Old Jesus in the Temple – Albrecht Dürer
- The Wedding Feast at Cana – Paolo Veronese
- Jesus Cleanses the Temple – Bernado Bellotto
- Christ and the Samaritan Woman – Duccio
- The Miraculous Draught of Fishes – Raphael
- The Twelve Apostles – James Tissot
- The Sermon on the Mount – James Tissot
- The Centurion – Joseph Marie-Vien
- Young Man of Nain – Lucas Cranach the Younger
- Healing the Man Born Blind by Jesus Christ – Vasily Surikov
- Christ The Good Shepherd – Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
- The Good Samaritan – Vasily Surikov
- Entry Into Jerusalem – Giotto
- Christ in Gethsemane – Vasily Perov
- The Denial of St. Peter – James Tissot
- The Crucifixion – Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
- The Morning of the Resurrection – Eugene Bernard
- Healing the Lame Man – Nicolas Poussin
- The Martyrdom of St. Stephen – Annibale Carracci
Bundle both sets together for the best savings and save 25%!
Our biblical art prints can be used over and over with multiple children and will last a long time if you laminate the art prints. You can store the Bible stories in a binder or you can spiral bind them to easily store on a bookshelf, or in a morning basket.
In Conclusion
However you choose to study biblical art in your homeschool, it’s definitely worth taking the time to get to know the works of art that represent the stories found in Scripture.