TABLE OF CONTENTS
Web sites on GRECO-ROMAN ART
Web sites on ANIMALS
Web sites on EGYPTIAN ART
Web sites on GARGOYLES
Web sites on MATISSE
Web sites on MUSEUMS and COLLECTIONS
Web sites on PICASSO
Web sites on VAN GOGH
INTERNET SITES FOR UNIT ON Greco-Roman Art
http://www.kent.wednet.edu/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/Rome.html
This site, which is age appropriate for elementary school, provides a brief overview of the History of Rome. There are photographs and descriptions of major landmarks, such as the Coliseum, Roman Baths, Circus Maximus…
http://harpy.uccs.edu/roman/html/romarch.html
This site provides photographs of architectural landmarks in Rome. The photographs are organized into categories. Each photograph has a caption, and there are brief descriptions about each category.
http://www.dia.org/collections/ancient/rome/rome.html
This site is very limited on Ancient Rome, but it does show a broad variety of work, including glass wear, mosaics, marble sculptures, and frescoes. Each work featured can be seen in a large view, and there are explanations for each photo.
http://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/webunits/greecerome/
This site was designed for third graders. It compares Greece with Rome. There are wonderful visuals, including a great detail from a vessel. Geographic features, government, agriculture, roles of men and women, art and entertainment, architecture, music, religion and sports are the categories that students can surf through to gain more knowledge of the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/Intro.html
This site is presented by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. This site offers artifacts from the museums permanent collection that provide a backdrop for a vivid story of real life in Ancient Greece. This site is divided into four thematic units: “Land and Time, Daily Life, Economy and Religions and Death. In “The Land”, you can click on “Greek Pottery” to see visuals and learn about its importance.
This site is devoted to heroes, gods and monsters of Greek mythology. Click on “Teachers” and then “Teaching Tips” for suggested activities.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/department.asp?dep=13
This is the site for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Collection of Greek and Roman Art online. It contains fifty highlights from the Museum’s Greek and Roman collection, and can be viewed in a variety of ways. This is a very well organized site with wonderful images and descriptions.
internet sites on animals
http://www.natureexplorer.com/index1.html
This very kid-friendly site has an extensive catalog of pictures and resource information on all kinds of animals. Click on the “Picture Archive” for a monthly changing selection of animal photos. There are informative captions that go with each picture. There is a “Quick Index” for you to go directly to a specific animal. You can also “Ask a Biologist” questions, and/or read others’ questions and answers that are posted. They have a fantastic volume on butterflies, as well as other very interesting topics. Be warned, there are several banner ads on the page begging you to click on them.
http://www.birminghamzoo.com/animals/
This site allows you to look at some selected animals on exhibit at the Birmingham Zoo. There is also some information on these featured animals provided.
http://birding.about.com/hobbies/birding/library/blphotobird.htm
This site provides a huge list of different types of birds. You can click on a specific species to see a photograph. You have to click through a lot before you get to see what you really want. This is a time consuming site for just photographs.
http://frog.simplenet.com/froggy/pictures.shtml
This site contains photographs of frogs. You can click on the thumbnails to see larger images. Note that sometimes the images are rather blurry, but there is a large selection to sort through.
http://www.seaworld.org/Search/query.htm
This is a search engine by Seaworld that enables the browser to enter any animal topic. Click “Search” to view a list of articles/links related to the entered topic of choice. It is a very large animal database.
http://library.thinkquest.org/11922/index.htm
This site provides a very good database of animals. There are photos and descriptions. You can even go to an area for extinct species.
INTERNET SITES FOR UNIT ON EGYPTIAN ART
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~shawn/egypt/gods.html
This site provides brief descriptions of Ancient Egyptian Gods. It also includes alternative spellings for each god. Some visuals are provided.
http://members.aol.com/egypttour/mapindex.html
This site provides geographical information about Egypt. It contains links to maps and information on the major cities of ancient importance.
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/sym.html
This site provides visuals and explanations for commonly seen hieroglyphics and symbols.
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/list.html
This site has a list of mythological deities, and the meanings of each. When you click on the name, it brings you to a description of that god.
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/glossary.html
This site is a glossary of Egyptian mythology. You can click on some of them to view a picture.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/9446/godz.htm
This site contains images and descriptions of the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. You can also learn about the Pharaohs, Dynasties, and Religion of Ancient Egypt. This is a kid-friendly site with large print.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html
Click on “Gods and Goddesses” and then on “Explore” to find pictures of the major deities of Ancient Egypt. Click on “Story” to see how the family tree of the gods began. This is a very kid-friendly site. It has clear, crisp images with non-threatening, large print language. There are other features as well, namely Egyptian Life, Mummification, Geography, Pharaohs, Pyramids, Temples, Time, Trades and Writing. You can “explore” in each feature for pictures and descriptions, and click on “story” in each feature to see an animated interactive explanation of each topic. Within each description, you can click on selected highlighted words to find their meanings in the glossary. There are also challenges at each feature, but you need to download Shockwave software in order to participate.
http://www.mfa.org/egypt/explore_ancient_egypt/mummies
Click on “Mummies” to see how the mummies were buried. It takes a detailed look at a coffin and breaks it up into understandable and recognizable pieces.
http://mfah.org/splendor/docs/forkids/index.html
This site offers a brief overview of some Ancient Egyptian artifacts. It provides good clear pictures with easily understandable descriptions.
http://artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
Once you are on this site, scroll down the frame on the left to Egyptian Art and click on it. It will bring you to an article about Egyptian Art and also provides a list of Egyptian images that can be seen on the web. The article is probably above the reading level of elementary-aged children, but is a good resource for teachers.
This site contains articles, pictures, essays, songs, games and facts about everything Egyptian. Click on “Cyberjourney to Egypt” for close-up views of different sites. There are beautiful visuals to see here. On the left frame, click on “Kids Section”. There is a very thorough list of activities for the students to explore, including directions for art activities, descriptions of sports played in Ancient Egypt, and virtual tours of sites in Egypt. This is a fantastic web site that is packed with useable information.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/department.asp?dep=10
This is the site for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Egyptian Collection online. It contains fifty highlights from the Museum’s collection and can be viewed in a variety of ways. This is a very well organized site with wonderful images and descriptions.
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/web.html
This site has links to other Egyptian web sites.
INTERNET SITES FOR UNIT ON GARGOYLES
http://www.stonecarver.com/gargoyle.html
This is a wonderful site that features facts, history and information on gargoyles. It is the site of Walter S. Arnold, on of the carvers for the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. There are plenty of exciting photographs of his creative modern gargoyles. Mr. Arnold also explains his process of carving, including tools and techniques. This site is very appropriate for elementary children.
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/kids/gargoyles.shtml
This is a great site designed for kids and teachers to discover interesting facts about the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. This link is to a short page that gives interesting information about the differences between gargoyles and grotesques, and some more information about how they are featured on the cathedral.
Click on http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/kids/darth/darth.html to find out how Darth Vader is featured as one of the gargoyles on the cathedral!
http://search.gallery.yahoo.com/search/corbis?p=gargoyles
This site is a picture gallery of gargoyles. You can click on each picture for more details, and each picture is marked with a caption telling where it can be found. There are 86 photos in all.
http://ils.unc.edu/garg/garghp4.html
This site provides the origins of gargoyles. All of the photos are black and white, and are not very clear. In addition, many of the selected gargoyles on this site are rather gothic and gruesome. Note that there is a section on gargoyles as “sex objects”. It describes in the caption how some gargoyles are seen in obscene poses, but the images shown are not very clear. This is not the best site for students to surf through on their own, but it is a good reference tool for the teacher.
http://web.lemoyne.edu/museums/begieral/paris.html#P1A
This page has pictures and captions of gargoyles from Notre Dame in Paris.
http://web.lemoyne.edu/museums/begieral/reims.html#R1A
This page has pictures and captions of gargoyles from Notre Dame in Reims. (It is part of the site from which the page above comes from also.)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/garg1.html
This site provides brief myths surrounding gargoyles. It also features gargoyles seen in NYC. Be aware that the photos are not very clear.
internet sites on hENRI MATISSE
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/matisse/
This web site provides a detailed bio on the artist that is probably too difficult for most elementary readers. There are visuals, but they are only some of his paintings.
http://www.musexpo.com/english/matisse/
This site tours and details Matisse’s Museum in Nice, France. There is a photo of Matisse, as well as a few samples from the collection.
http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/0100/01177856_A.html
This web site is the biography from Compton’s.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/matisse_ext.html
This site has a written bio on the artist that is certainly too advanced for elementary readers. However, it has a list of Matisse works on the web that you can view. Note, several of the works are nudes.
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/4208/
This site is very user-friendly and has plates from Jazz to view. It is written in easily understood language. There are also several photos of Matisse throughout his life, as well as photos of his paintings and sculptures.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95dec/matisse.html
This site provides a brief bio on the artist. It also has a black and white photo of Matisse. There are no images of his art, unfortunately.
http://www.nothinbutprints.com/artistbios/henrimatisse.shtml
This site provides a bio on Matisse, and allows you to view some of his work. Please note that this is a commercial site. All images available to view are available for you to purchase a reproduction. However, there is a very nice selection of the body of work of Matisse, and you can click on the thumbnails for larger images.
http://www.art-prints-and-posters.com/Henri-Matisse.html
This site is a commercial site where you can purchase reproductions of Matisse’s art, but they provide a good selection. You can click on the images for larger views. There is no biographical information at this site.
http://www.globalgallery.net/bios/matisse.html
This site provides a bio on the artist. This site is also a commercial site where you can purchase reproductions of Matisse’s art, and they provide a good selection. You can click on the images for larger views.
http://transit.metrokc.gov/bus/poetry/1999/matisse.html
This site is a poem about the cut outs of Henri Matisse. It can be a nice complement to a project based on this period of Matisse’s art.
http://www.aesd.schoolzone.net/aesd/sdp.school/sdpprojects/sdpartpro.www/matisse.cf/cf.matisse.html
This is a report by an elementary school aged student on the life and work of Henri Matisse. Although it is very brief, it is age appropriate for elementary school students. There are some selected images to view.
internet sites on museums and collections
This is the “WebMuseum, Paris”, which is packed with visuals of art and culture. There are fabulous collections of works of art, including famous paintings, medieval art, pop art, cubism and more. Each artist page provides short biographies and images. You can click on any image to see a larger view.
http://www.thinker.org/deyoung/exhibitions/index.html
The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco presents this wonderful image base for you to search. It contains a catalog of their painting, drawing, etching, sculpture, porcelain, silver, glass, furniture, and textiles collections. Make sure to go to the bottom of the page where you can enter in a keyword to search through their catalog if you have a specific topic in mind.
http://www.michelangelo.com/buonarroti.html
This site provides an introduction to this famous Florentine artist, leading you from his early life through his final days. It discusses Michelangelo’s processes, relationships, and places of interest in Italy. It is an easy site to navigate through, and contains beautiful images.
http://artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
This site is a wonderful index of art and artists. You can click on a specific topic and read descriptive passages as well as view clear images. The articles are probably above the reading level of elementary-aged children.
http://www.amico.org/home.html
AMICO=Art Museum Image Consortium: Enabling educational use of museum multimedia. This site is a link to museums and collections of art images online. There is a “Thumbnail Catalogue” to see over 65,000 works of art from over 30 leading worldwide museums. Works cover all media, time periods, and a variety of cultures. If you become a member, you can view in the “Subscriber” format as opposed to the thumbnail version. This advanced way of viewing also includes better pixilated images, sound files, video clips, curatorial commentaries, conservation history, scanned exhibition catalogues, and provenance data. You can enter in a keyword such as “Athena” to view works with a common theme, or enter in a broad topic, such as “Ancient Egypt” to see more of a collection. The site organizers plan to expand the site with lesson plans. There are test projects going on now.
If you click on “Members”, you can get to a list of all the museums that have collections online. These are also links to these individual sites. As of September, 2000, there were 32 museums on the list, and the organizers are soliciting new members as well.
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
This is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Web site. It contains a plethora of collections, including Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Arms and Armor, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Arts of Africa, Oceana and the Americas, Costumes, European Paintings, Drawings and Prints, Islamic Art, Medieval Art, Modern Art, Musical Instruments, and Photographs among others. You can view about 50 highlights from each collection online. There is also a Timeline of art history to view. This is a wonderful resource, especially if working on a particular subject or planning a trip to the Museum.
This is the site for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a wonderful museum that is very friendly to art educators and students. This site gives information about their special exhibitions as well as their permanent collections. As of November, 2000, they were still preparing the online collections to view, but when it is ready, it will be a very good resource, as the Museum houses many wonderful collections. At this time, you can view only their special projects and events, such as the “Sand Mandala Painting by the Venerable Losang Samten”.
http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/artists/index.html
This site contains an artist index. You can click on the desired artist, then select a work of art by that artist. You will be able to view it, and also gather some factual information such as style, size and medium of that work of art. There is also a yearly index, so you can view works by a variety of artists creating during a selected few years. It spans 2300 B.C. through present day. Fabulous! Very easy to use! Clear images that you can view a thumbnail, magnify, or full maginify.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/categoryindex.html#artist
This site provides very brief bios on the following artists: da Vinci, Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, Michelangelo, Monet, Motherwell, Picasso and Warhol. Unfortunately, there are no images of the artwork other than a photo of the artist selected. There are other categories for bios as well, such as Architects, Journalists, Kings and Queens and Astronauts.
http://www.nothinbutprints.com/artistbios.html
This site has a decent list of artist bios. You can also view several works of each artist. Please note that this is a commercial site. All images available to view are available for you to purchase a reproduction. However, there is a very nice selection of the body of work of each artist, and you can click on the thumbnails for larger images.
http://www.art-prints-and-posters.com
This site does not provide any biographical information on the artists. However, it does provide a tremendous library of artworks to view from a very thorough and diverse list of artists, as they are all for sale as framed reproductions. Using sites like this one can be a valuable tool when you need immediate access to an artwork in the classroom. The images first appear as thumbnails, and then you can click on them for larger views.
http://www.globalgallery.com/bios.html
This site is a commercial site very similar to the one just above. However, it does provide bios, but the list of artists is smaller. It can still be a valuable resource for art educators.
http://www.si.umich.edu/Art_History/demoarea/htdocs/index.html
This site is from the University of Michigan’s School of Information and Library Studies. “It is a database of art, architectural and museum object images. The images included in the database currently come from four collections: University of Michigan Museum of Art, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Slide and Photograph Collection – Department of the History of Art, and Los Angeles Chicano Murals – Private Photograph Collection of Susan Atkins.” You can browse and search via a variety of topics, and gather information about the featured works of art.
INTERNET SITES ON PABLO PICASSO
http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Artfolder/Pablo.html
This web site provides descriptions of all of Picasso’s artistic periods. There are only two of Picasso’s paintings shown. PLEASE NOTE: it often mentions his turbulent marriages and the image of violence toward women often seen in his work. This is a good reference for the teacher, but may not be appropriate for the elementary school child.
http://www.club-internet.fr/picasso/
This web site contains only visuals. The first page is a fantastic photo of Picasso and his signature. Then, you can view groupings of his portraits according to subject, such as “the women”, “the children”, and “the friends”. Note that the images in the groupings are small. There is also an outdated introduction written by Claude Picasso, the artist’s son, from ’96, but you can see a photo of him.
http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/great/2maria.htm
This is a bio on Picasso written by a fifth grader. It contains a brief, but interesting summary of his life with only one image.
http://www.tigtail.org/TVM/X2/picasso-blue.html
This site features a collection of Picasso’s paintings from the Blue Period. You can click on the thumbnails to see them larger.
http://www.boston.com/mfa/picasso/exhibit.htm
This site from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston breaks Picasso’s art up into the different segments of his life. It is all work that was on exhibition at the Museum from “97-’98. You can view works that were produced together at the same time and read descriptions.
http://www.reeds.surrey.sch.uk/online%20folder/Sixth%20Form%20Web/Picasso%20Project/homepage.html
This site is in large print, has clear images, and is well organized. Although there are general descriptions about Picasso’s life and work, it also focuses on the influence of the Germans on Picasso’s work, as well as their reaction to it. It places Picasso and his work in a historical context.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/picasso_ext.html
This site provides links to view Picasso’s artworks that appear on the web, as well as articles written on the artist. They are sorted by the different periods in Picasso’s career. It also provides a very brief summary of each period. Beware that there are many links to commercial sites where you can buy prints, calendars, books, etc. on Picasso.
http://www.grnica.swinternet.co.uk/
The author of this web site, Alan Carter, takes Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica, and teaches the viewer how to really look at it. He breaks the painting down into understandable parts and provides links to view other Picasso’s works that were created with the same technique. The descriptions are certainly above the comprehension level of most elementary school students, but it is a very interesting site for the teacher to break down into a more understanding level for the students. Please note that the image of Guernica is rather pixilated and somewhat blurry.
INTERNET SITES FOR UNIT ON Vincent VAN GOGH
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/
This web site claims to be “the most thorough and comprehensive Van Gogh resource on the World Wide Web.” The site contains all of van Gogh’s paintings, drawings, watercolors, and letter sketches, as well as his letters. In addition, there are descriptions of each, analysis, and commentary. Wonderful site! Very thorough!
http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/bis/top-1-2-6-1.html
This site is more on a high school/college level, but has interesting information about van Gogh’s life and times. It describes his initial interest to be a minister, followed by his desire to paint, as well as his relationships with his brother and other artists such as Gaugin. It also tells the story of how he cut off part of his ear and his untimely death. Note: The visuals seen throughout the timeline are very small and have graphic lines running through them.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/gogh/
Like the above site, this site offers a secondary level of explanation about van Gogh. However, the visuals are clearer, and you can click on them for a full screen view.
http://art.koti.com.pl/vangogh/vangogh_en.html
This site is elementary age appropriate. It groups van Gogh’s work into categories, such as self-portraits, landscapes and sunflowers. You can click on each image for a larger view.