Picture Talk: The Adoration of the Magi (Lydia's Grade Eight)

Dürer's Adoration of the Magi

Step 1.-- What do you know about Albrecht Dürer? ("Albrecht Dürer was a German painter with far reaching influence whose travels through Europe, including Italy and the Netherlands, gave him prominent success in printmaking and engraving. Renowned as one of the best artists of old master prints; his works were intensely religious and iconic." Virtual Uffizi)

Step 2.-- History of the picture.
The Adoration of the Magi is a 1504 oil on wood painting by Albrecht Dürer. It was commissioned by Frederick the Wise for the altar of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg, the same place that Martin Luther would nail his theses to the door thirteen years later (and where Luther would be buried).  It is considered one of Dürer's best and most important works from the period between his first and second trips to Italy (1494-5 and 1505). It is no longer in the church, because a century later it was given to the Holy Roman Emperor for the imperial art collection in Vienna, and later it was put in the Uffizi gallery in Florence.
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Step 3.--Studying the picture for several minutes, then describing it. (Impressions of the weather? What sorts of colours? How are people clothed? What is the baby doing? What is the servant doing? Is there anyone missing from the picture? Placement of the people, anything unusual? What geometric shape does their placement form?)  One funny note: one of the Magi is painted to look like the artist.

Step 4.--A few thoughts:  In 1494/1495, Albrecht Dürer spent time in Italy, and this painting reflects both the Northern (German, Dutch style) attention to detail and a "typically Italian perspective."  It also shows how Dürer was using some of the colours that he had seen used by painters in Venice such as Mantegna and Bellini. It is considered his first masterpiece.

Step 5.--Can you draw the chief lines of the composition?

Adapted from original notes by K.M. Claxton.

Dr Tongue's 3-D House of Grade Eight (Some fun for Friday)

(If you read on a feed, you miss the subject lines!)

Plans for October 31st:

1.  Poetry: Shakespeare's Sonnets 71 and 73. ("Bare Ruined Choirs")

2.  Out of the Silent Planet, one chapter

3.  Nature notebook scavenger hunt, if it's not raining

4.  Plutarch's Life of Crassus, Lesson 8.  "But now as Crassus was passing his army upon the bridge he had made over the river of Euphrates, there fell out sudden strange and terrible cracks of thunder, with fearful flashes of lightning full in the soldiers' faces: moreover, out of a great black cloud came a wonderful storm and tempest of wind upon the bridge, that the marvellous force thereof overthrew a great part of the bridge, and carried it quite away. Besides all this, the place where he appointed to lodge, was twice stricken with two great thunder claps. One of his great horse in like case, being bravely furnished and set out, took the bit in his teeth, and leapt into the river with his rider on his back, who were both drowned, and never seen after. They say also, that the first eagle and ensign that was to be taken up when they marched, turned back of itself, without any hands laid upon it. Further it fortuned that as they were distributing the victuals unto the soldiers, after they had all passed over the bridge, the first thing that was given them, was salt and water lentils, which the Romans take for a token of death and mourning, because they use it at the funerals of the dead." (Who needs horror movies?)

5.  Musical Interlude 1: Sofia Opera's Flash Mob, Ride of the Valkyries (3 minutes long)

6.  Reformation Day and Church History: Martin Luther's Defense before the Diet of Worms. Such an interesting connection: who was the Holy Roman Emperor before whom Luther appeared?  Hint: Titian painted him twice in 1548.

7.  Musical Interlude 2: Verdi vs. Wagner (6 minutes long)

8.  Latin Lesson.  Play Concentration with some seasonal vocabulary: "cucurbita" (pumpkin), "vespertilio" (bat), "cornix" (crow).

9.  Extra readings as needed (finish up any history or science readings).

10.  Choice of board games.

Saturday Rummage Sale

Every September, the weekend after school starts, one nearby church has a rummage sale.  We've gone nearly every year that I can remember, including six years ago when Mr. Fixit had just gotten out of the hospital.  It's almost always worthwhile, and this year's was even better: they had a whole room just for books.  Somebody, I'm guessing either a retired teacher or just a history nut, had donated boxes of mid-century textbooks, teachers' guides, and other books of about the same vintage..  I would have liked to spend more time there, but we had to get groceries too.

So this is what came home:

Two big books of mostly pictures, one about the Renaissance and one with a variety of history pictures (the sort that Alan Grant might have liked?). A vintage school copy of The Merchant of Venice, a bit marked up with student notes.  And  a Sunday School prize book which is kind of neat because not only does it have a 1932 inscription on the flyleaf, it still has a sticker inside from a bookstore that was here in town at that time.

Two books for the Scholastic shelf; an older hardcover of Treasures of the Snow; and Roland Bainton's biography, fairly beat-up, of Martin Luther.

Ponytails picked these out for herself: Shakespeare's comedies, and a vintage copy of The 39 Steps.

We also found a pie plate, a little casserole dish, and a made-in-Japan bowl that I liked for its floral design (it's the colours of our kitchen), even though it has a chip in it.  Lydia found a coin sorter.

Dollygirl's Grade Seven: School plans on a Wet October Day

(Martin Luther picture found here)

Opening prayers and hymns for Reformation  Day

Read a bit of The Accidental Voyage (A chapter titled "Mr. Pipes in Tights" sounds pretty scary)

Origami Frogs:



Science reading (continue Apologia General Science, Module 5)

Easy Grammar Plus: continue past participles of irregular verbs (now that's really scary)

Origami:  Masu Boxes (paper candy containers)

Math e-book:  questions 12-15 on percentages

Poems (read aloud)

The Two Towers

If time (but I'm not counting on it):  Picture Talk (Corot #4) or Nature Notebooks (probably too wet to go out)  or check out our new Rock Corner.

"Flowers and sunsets, moon on water..." (Hidden Art of Homemaking, Chapter 12)

"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life." ~~ Martin Luther, The Small Catechism

"He who created us, who created the universe, who created the fruits and vegetables, who created the flowers and 'clothed' them in beauty, is the One who is telling us that we need not worry about food, drink or clothing." ~~ Edith Schaeffer, "Clothing," The Hidden Art of Homemaking

"We who are dressing ourselves and our children, providing for missionaries or friends, making things for orphans or refugees should 'consider the flowers,' the lilies of the field, and consider it our part, as finite imperfect human beings, to be as creative as we have the talent to be!....The Christian...is the representative of a King--the King of Kings and Lord of Lords."  ~~ Edith Schaeffer

"When I gave her my stockings I forgot they were the only black pair I had without holes, but I am glad I did give them to her, because my conscience would have been uncomfortable if I hadn't. When she had gone away, looking so proud and happy, the poor little thing, I remembered that all I had to wear were the horrid red and blue things Aunt Martha knit last winter for me out of some yarn that Mrs. Joseph Burr of Upper Glen sent us. It was dreadfully coarse yarn and all knots, and I never saw any of Mrs. Burr's own children wearing things made of such yarn. But Mary Vance says Mrs. Burr gives the minister stuff that she can't use or eat herself, and thinks it ought to go as part of the salary her husband signed to pay, but never does." ~~ L.M. Montgomery, Rainbow Valley

Linked from the Hidden Art of Homemaking linky for Chapter 12 at Ordo Amoris