This post contains affiliate links and we may earn a commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Art History is a wonderful elective subject to include in your homeschooled high schooler’s education. It is a subject that is often left out of public school curriculum, but as homeschoolers we have the opportunity to introduce our children to this valuable and enriching subject. Whatever your homeschool style – classical, Christian, Charlotte Mason, or unit studies – chances are that art history will be a welcome addition to your child’s education.
Our pick for the best homeschool high school art history curriculum:
- Best All-Around Program: Calvert Art History
- Best Christian Program: The Master and His Apprentices, Gina Ferguson
Our two favorite homeschool art history curriculums for high school students are listed above. To learn more about both, keep reading.
It is important to note that art history is not the same as art appreciation, although the two subjects do overlap, particularly at the high school level. Art appreciation focuses mainly on teaching the student how to recognize the techniques used by great artists and develop a taste for understanding what great art is and how it is judged. While art appreciation includes a basic understanding of major artists and important artistic movements throughout time, the historical context of the art-making is not treated with as much critical depth as is the case with art history.
Unlike art appreciation, art history focuses on the role artists and their works have played in the cultural, social, and political developments of their times. What counts as “good” art today is not so important in the study of art history; rather, art historians are more concerned with understanding why art was made the way it was and what this tells us about the historical context of the time in which it was produced.
This article includes our two favorite recommendations for art history homeschool curriculums for high schoolers. These programs do not include instruction in fine art. If you are looking for an art appreciation curriculum that also includes fine art instruction, please see our article Best Art Appreciation Homeschool Curriculum for High School.
Best All-Around Program
Calvert Art History
If you want to give your high school student a solid and comprehensive homeschool course in art history, we highly recommend the art history course offered by Calvert Homeschool. Calvert has been producing excellent secular homeschool curriculums for many years, and its grade 3-12 programs are now offered completely online. They are approachable, thorough, and rigorous. If your student is an independent learner with solid reading skills and an interest in art history, he or she will flourish with this program.
Calvert Art History is a one-year, two-semester high school course surveying the history of art from the prehistoric era to contemporary times. Like most college-level survey courses in art history, this program primarily follows the development of art in the Western tradition, from Egypt and Greece to Europe and eventually the United States. Every major artistic development and important artist in the art historical canon is included.
The material is organized chronologically. The first semester covers the period from ancient times through the mid-nineteenth century, including the art of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Gothic Period, the Renaissance, the Early Modern Period, the Enlightenment, and the Romantic Period. The second semester begins with Realism and Impressionism and goes on to cover many different modern art movements, including Art Nouveau, Cubism, Dada, Expessionism, and Pop Art. Photography is also studied.
Although the focus of this program is certainly on Western art, sections on non-Western art are included. Non-Western topics covered in the first semester consist of the art of ancient Mesoamerica and the ancient Andes. The second semester, though still focused primarily on the West, includes more non-Western topics, such as Caribbean and U.S. folk art and the artistic traditions of Africa, China, Japan, and India.
Calvert Art History uses an excellent multimedia online platform that will enrich your high school student’s educational experience. Scheduling and grading are built into the program, making this an excellent choice for busy parents, also!
Best Christian Program
The Master and His Apprentices, Gina Ferguson
If you are looking to give your homeschooled high schooler an inspiring art history curriculum that incorporates a Christian worldview, look no further than Gina Ferguson’s wonderful program The Master and His Apprentices. In this curriculum, Ferguson approaches the history of art as a history of Christianity itself, considering how God – the ultimate Master artist – empowered artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Rembrandt to produce the great creations they did.
Ferguson begins with Creation and goes on to cover all the major developments in Western art history through the seventeenth century, including architecture. The chapters cover Creation, the Ancient Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, Early Greece, Etruscan art, Roman art, the Early Christian and Byzantine period, Medieval and Islamic art, the Romanesque period, Gothic art, the Proto-Renaissance, the Early Italian Renaissance, the High Italian Renaissance, the Northern Renaissance, and the Baroque period. Short sections on post-1600s art and non-Western art are included at the end.
The program covers one year of study and counts as one high school transcript credit. Required materials include the textbook and a teacher’s guide. Because this is a Christian, family-oriented program, the author was careful to make sure no nudity or otherwise offensive material was included.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an art elective for your homeschooled high schooler or want to expand their history studies in a rich and fascinating way, both Calvert Art History and The Master and His Apprentices are excellent options. If you have any questions or want more information on this topic, please email us!