Friday, June 7, 2 PM
For next week’s Watch & Wonder Highlight, we’re featuring the special Rick Steves’ Art of Europe: Art of the Renaissance. After watching, dive deeper with resources about one point perspective, a prominent feature of the Italian Renaissance, and its applications to Western art and culture on PBS LearningMedia.
Around 1400, Europe rediscovered the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome. This rebirth of classical culture showed itself in the statues, paintings, and architecture of Florence, then spread to Spain, Holland, Germany, and beyond. The Renaissance—from art-loving popes to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s David—celebrated humanism and revolutionized how we think about our world. Rick Steves’ Art of Europe: Art of the Renaissance explores this fascinating period in art history.
PBS LearningMedia
One Point Perspective: The Works of Masaccio and Leonardo da Vinci | Rebuilding the Renaissance
Grades 9-12
Art historian Dr. Rocky Ruggiero explores one point perspective, a prominent feature of the Italian Renaissance, and its applications to Western art and culture. Through detailed analyses of the work, artist, and historical context, viewers take away how these pieces surpass mere artistic value to become monuments of human achievement. This resource features two models of one point perspective: Masaccio’s Holy Trinity, painted in 1427 in Florence, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, painted in 1495 in Milan. Ruggiero explains how both artists employ linear perspective using receding parallel lines that converge at a vanishing point.
In school or at home, take advantage of the Watch & Wonder broadcast schedule. Running each weekday from 1-3 PM, Watch & Wonder is great for classroom viewing, distance instruction, and families looking to spend some extra, quality time together. Featured programs are ideal for kids in grades 6-12, encouraging creativity with the arts, kick starting innovation through STEM, and expanding their horizons with stories from across the globe!
Each week, we’ll highlight a show from our Watch & Wonder block, and share a PBS LearningMedia resource — suitable for middle and high school students. Follow along on the Watch & Wonder Schedule page, or subscribe to our newsletter!
