Lesson: The Influence of Islamic Culture on the Art of Renaissance Europe

Name: Rob Burke, Team E

School: Damascus High School

Grade Targeted: 11th and 12th

Appropriate Grades: This lesson is appropriate for middle and high school age students.

Discipline: Survey course on western humanities

Appropriate Disciplines: This lesson may be adapted for art history and world history classes.

Length: Lesson is designed to take four 45 minute class periods to complete.

Big Idea: Fusion of cultures

Essential Learner Outcome: Student appreciation for diversity and other cultures. Impact of outside culture on European history.

Lesson Objectives: Students will briefly outline the history and beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students will demonstrate the impact that Islamic culture had on the art of Renaissance Europe.

Abstract: Culture does not develop in a vacuum. European art demonstrates tremendous change from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Many students do not realize that much of that change was due to the cultural interchange between the Islamic empires and Christian Europe. Students also are often ignorant of the close histories and beliefs of the three major monotheistic religions of the region.

Lesson Itinerary:

Day 1:
a. Use Powerpoint to display two examples of European art, one from before the Middle Ages and one from the late Renaissance. Have students look at the examples and list the differences they see between the two (secular subject, perspective, colors, rug used as decorative object). After a couple of minutes, have students discuss their observations with their neighbor and then as a class.

b. Explain that these changes took place because of the Renaissance. Although most students probably already have some background in the Renaissance, now is a good time to construct a brief European history timeline on the blackboard or the overhead. Students should understand the flow:

* Classical knowledge in science and the arts in Europe was lost after the Fall of Rome in 476 and the
death of Byzantine emperor Justinian in 565. Europe entered a period of time called the Dark Ages.
* The Middle Ages (565-1400) was a time period where art was focused on religion. Since most of
Europe was illiterate, architecture and paintings were created as visual lessons to help people focus on
the afterlife. During this time period a series of Crusades (1096-1202) attempted to take back the
Holy Lands from Muslim conquerors. The Crusades brought back new products and ideas from the
Islamic world, as well as new wealth. From 1348-1400 the Black Death (plague) reduced Europe’s
population by one third.
* The Renaissance (Rebirth) brought great changes to European art and architecture from 1400-1600.
The Renaissance had several causes:

1. The new products (especially spices) brought back by the Crusaders led to a demand in Europe and the creation of major trade routes. These routes brought to Europe ideas, products, and inventions from the Islamic world that had never been seen before or had beenforgotten since the Classical era. Examples: spices (coffee, cinnamon), astrolabe, decimal & numeric system, luxury goods (rugs, silks, sofas, lapis lazuli, tulips), paper, games (chess, backgammon), great books including the writings of classical Greece (Plato, Aristotle), musical instruments.

2. Cities such as Venice and Florence (esp. the Medici family) became incredibly wealthy from
the trade and had money to spend on the patronage of the arts.

3. The horrific Plague shook the confidence of Europeans in the Roman Catholic Church and led
to a weakening of the Church and an increased interest in science and secular studies.

Day 2:
a. Ask students to share what they know about the history and beliefs of the three major monotheistic religions of the region (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Explain that a basic understanding of the religions is necessary to understand some of the components of the art and architecture.

b. As independent practice, students will read each of three short essays, one about each of the religions. They will use the readings to complete the data chart (in materials).

Day 3:
a. Use Powerpoint to lead students in an investigation of the characteristics of Middle Ages, Islamic, and Renaissance art. Use photos that demonstrate:

* Middle Ages: religious, flat and stiff figures, distortion of sizes, little emotion, little color variety
* Islamic: no focal point, borders, secular or depicting paradise, symbolism, use of light, use of colors,
active, calligraphy
* Renaissance: religious and secular subjects, active and emotional, light and shadow, use of natural
elements, lots of detail, lots of color, use of depth and perspective. Be sure to note for the
students how the Islamic elements have been incorporated into the Renaissance art.

b. Exit card (in materials).

Day 4:
Assessment sketch (see below).

Materials & Resources:

a. Powerpoint Presentations.

#1 = Introduction to lesson
#2 = Comparison of Middle Ages, Islamic, and Renaissance Art

b. Student Worksheets.

Brief Essays for the Three Major Religions
Data Chart for Three Major Religions

RELIGION	FOUNDER	DATE	BRIEF HISTORY	MAJOR BELIEFS
Judaism
Christianity
Islam

Exit Card for Powerpoint Presentation:
3x5 card, title it “Impact of Islamic Culture on Europe”
Students list 3 reasons why, and 3 examples

c. Grading Rubric for Culminating Project.

d. Student Textbook:

Sporre, Dennis J. The Creative Impulse: An Introduction to the Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, Inc, 2003.

e. Web Sites:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org

The British Museum. http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. http://www.lacma.org/islamic_art

Euroweb Gallery of European Paintings. http://gallery.euroweb.hu/index1.html

Ottoman Traders. http://www.ottoman-traders.com

Islamic Architecture: http://archnet.org/library/

Religion Information: http://www.mrdowling.com/605-judaism.html and http://religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm

Art images: http://www.google.com/images

f. Overview of Islam:

Douglass, Susan and Aiyub Palmer, Geography and History of the Arabian Peninsula, and Overview of Islam. (Fountain Valley, CA: Council on Islamic Education, 2003).

Lesson Assessment: Students will be quickly assessed after the Powerpoint presentation by use of an exit card (see materials). On day four, students will be given a plain white sheet of paper and colored pencils and asked to create a sketch of an imaginary example of European art or architecture which dates from the late Renaissance. The example is to include features typical of the time period, and include at least two distinctively Islamic features. The sketches will be graded using a rubric (see materials).

Keywords: Renaissance, Islam, art, architecture, influence, history