Art History Badge
(Discover Art)
By Doreen Olson
Penguins: Do three requirements including the two starred *
_____ 1.* Learn how art has changed through time. Look through an art history book that has pictures of art work from cave walls in primitive civilizations through to the present day. Which are your favorite art works?
_____ 2.* Find 3 famous pieces of artwork (it may be a painting, sculpture, etc) and learn who created them, where and when.
Otters: Do four requirements including the two starred *
_____1.* Do Penguins requirements 1 & 2.
_____2.* Learn the following chief periods of art history and one general characteristic of each era:
- Prehistoric & Primitive
- Ancient civilizations — Egyptian, Greek & Roman.
- Medieval
- Renaissance
- Romantic
- Modern
Dolphins: Do five requirements including the two starred *
_____ 1.* Do Otters requirements 1 & 2.
_____2.* Using prints, flashcards, or photos in a book, be able to identify by name and artist, 10 different world-famous pieces of art from at least two different eras of art history. This requirement may be repeated with different works of art.
Butterflies: Do six requirements including the two starred *
_____1.* Do Dolphins requirements 1 & 2. Identify 15 pieces of art.
_____2.* Try to copy a famous piece of art. Be sure to use paint, ink, charcoal or pencils that will look the closest to what the artist used.
Eagles: Do seven requirements including the two starred *
_____ 1.* Do Butterflies requirements 1 & 2. Identify 20 pieces of art.
_____2.* List as many types of visual art as you can. Be sure you know the following vocabulary: sculpture, figurine, statue, mobile, 3-D, canvas, portrait, mural, tapestry.
Owls: Do nine requirements including the two starred *
_____ 1.* Do Eagles requirements 1 & 2.
_____ 2.* Teach someone how to do a skill from this badge or teach some knowledge about this badge to someone. You can teach kids, your spouse, seniors, anyone, just as long as you are sharing your new found knowledge. If for some reason you cannot teach what you have learned to someone else, you may choose an additional 2 optional requirements instead.
Optional Requirements:
_____ 3. Visit an art museum or art gallery. Identify which eras of art are represented.
_____ 4. Interview the curator or restoration specialist of a museum or art collection. What are some of the things that have changed in preserving artifacts? Butterflies – Owls only: If possible, shadow the curator or restoration specialist for a day.
_____ 5. Explore how technological and scientific advances have influenced art. What has changed in coloring materials, welding, and glue in the last five hundred years? How about sealants, varnishes, sanders, air brushes?
_____ 6. Read a biography of a famous artist.
_____ 7. Read or carefully look through a well-illustrated book that follows a type of art (sculpture, furniture, ceramics, architecture, painting, etc.) through the eras of art.
_____ 8. Earn the Art Badge at your current level.
_____ 9. Choose a subject such as a pine tree or an animal and paint or draw it two different ways to suggest two different eras of art history.
_____ 10. Attend an art show or read a book with a theme of one subject matter in art such as farming, fish, flowers, or children. The show or book needs to present the subject matter in more than one style.
_____ 11. Investigate the history of art materials and tools. What were used to make cave paintings? When do historians think the first pen, pencil, and oil-based paint were made? From what were the first pigments taken? When did people start making synthetic fiber paintbrushes? See if you can find a documentary (even a short clip) on a factory that makes some type of art material.
_____ 12. Find a poem or song inspired by a piece of visual art, or vice versa and share it with your family, friends, club, or troop.
Butterflies – Owls only:
_____ 13. Help some younger children (minimum 2) learn their ten or fifteen famous works of art so they can earn this badge.
_____ 14. Donate some time or money to an organization that restores or preserves art of any type (architecture, quilts, etc.).