Key Stage 3 art and design · History of art, craft, design and architecture

KS3 art history: medieval to Renaissance art

Part of the Key Stage 3 requirement to study the history of art, craft, design and architecture from ancient times to the present is the long stretch from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Pupils usually meet Gothic cathedrals, stained glass and illuminated manuscripts, and then the great change in European art in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when artists began to use perspective and study the real world with new care.

Medieval to Renaissance art, explained

The curriculum does not list particular artists, buildings or dates, so the content of this topic is the school’s choice, and the grouping into eras is a convenient way of organising the long story rather than something the programme of study sets out. A typical unit covers European art from roughly the eleventh century to the sixteenth. Schools may widen it to include Byzantine icons, Islamic geometric design, Chinese painting or African metalwork from the same centuries, so it is worth asking what your child’s teacher has chosen.

Much of the medieval art that survives in Europe was made for the Church. Cathedrals built in the Gothic style used pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses (external supports) to reach great height and to fit in large windows of stained glass. Monks and craftspeople also made illuminated manuscripts, which are handwritten books decorated with gold leaf and bright pigments. Figures in medieval paintings were often flat, with gold backgrounds and a size set by their importance. The aim was to teach and inspire rather than to show a scene as an eye would see it.

The Renaissance means “rebirth”. It began in Italian cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when artists and thinkers became interested again in the art and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome. Painters learned to use linear perspective, in which parallel lines seem to meet at a vanishing point, to create convincing depth. They studied anatomy, light and shadow, and rich oil paint began to replace egg-based tempera in many places. Important names include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli in Italy, and Jan van Eyck and Albrecht Dürer in northern Europe. Dürer also helped spread art through prints.

In lessons, pupils may build a design inspired by a stained glass window using coloured tissue and black card, create an illuminated first letter with gold and bright colours, draw a room in one-point perspective, or study a Renaissance portrait in careful tone. They are also taught to write about what they see, supporting opinions with evidence and relating each piece to its time and purpose. A good question to ask at home is what a medieval picture was for, and how that differs from a Renaissance one.

Words your child will hear

Gothic: A style of medieval architecture and art with pointed arches, tall windows and elaborate decoration.
Illuminated manuscript: A handwritten book decorated with painted pictures, patterns and often gold.
Renaissance: A French word meaning “rebirth”, used for the period of new interest in the classical world, beginning in Italy.
Linear perspective: A drawing system in which lines that are parallel in real life meet at a vanishing point.
Vanishing point: The place on the horizon where parallel lines seem to meet in a perspective drawing.
Fresco: A wall painting made with water-based paint on fresh, wet plaster.
Patron: A person or organisation, such as the Church or a wealthy family, that pays an artist to make work.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

Pupils should be taught about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, including periods, styles and major movements from ancient times up to the present day
Pupils should develop a critical understanding of artists, architects and designers, expressing reasoned judgements that can inform their own work.
Aim: pupils know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: comparing two kinds of painting

How does a thirteenth-century Italian altarpiece, with a gold background, differ from a Renaissance painting such as Raphael’s The School of Athens (about 1509 to 1511)?

Describe the medieval altarpiece. It has a gold background, a Madonna and Child in the centre, and rows of saints in a pattern. The figures face the viewer, with flat robes and little shadow. The Madonna is typically larger than the angels around her.
Describe the Renaissance painting. Famous thinkers stand and talk in a huge arched hall that seems to go back a long way. The people are different sizes only because of how far away they are, and their poses are natural, with some leaning, some reading and some arguing.
Compare how space is shown. The gold background in the altarpiece makes no attempt to show a real place, since gold suggests the holy world. In the Renaissance painting, the floor tiles and the arches lead the eye along lines that meet at a vanishing point near the centre, creating the feeling of looking through a window into a real space.
Compare size and purpose. In the altarpiece, size shows importance, so the central figure is largest. In the Renaissance work, figures are sized by distance, and the artist uses grouping and gesture to guide the eye. The altarpiece was made to be used in worship and to teach religious stories. The School of Athens was painted on a wall of the Pope’s rooms in the Vatican, a showpiece for a powerful patron that celebrated ancient learning.
Make a judgement with evidence. “The altarpiece’s flat gold and symbols suit its purpose of showing holiness, while the Renaissance painting is more successful at creating a believable space because of its single vanishing point, natural poses and soft light.”

The medieval altarpiece uses a flat gold background, symbols and size to show importance, while the Renaissance painting uses perspective, natural poses and light to create a believable space. A strong answer says what each artist was trying to do, rather than saying one is simply better or worse.

Common mistakes and how to help

“Medieval artists couldn’t draw properly”

Flat figures and odd proportions look like mistakes if you expect realism, and the idea that the Middle Ages were unskilled is common.

What helps: Point out the extraordinary skill in a manuscript page or stained glass window. Medieval artists were making images that taught and inspired, with symbols and size carrying meaning, rather than copying appearances.

Thinking the Renaissance started everything, or happened everywhere at once

School timelines make it look like a sudden break in which “art got good”. In fact it began gradually in Italian cities, and different places changed at different times.

What helps: Look for earlier signs of change, such as painters in the fourteenth century giving figures more weight and gesture. Remember that art from the Middle Ages continued in other parts of the world on its own terms.

Thinking perspective just means making lines slope

Pupils sometimes draw converging lines but ignore scale and horizon, so rooms look tilted or objects float.

What helps: Start with one horizon line and one vanishing point on it, then draw every sloping line towards that point. Lines that are vertical stay vertical.

Thinking all great art of this time was by famous Italian men

Books and lessons tend to repeat the same handful of names, and the people and places that did not make it into the story are forgotten.

What helps: Look for craftspeople, women artists, illuminators and workshops. Many works were made by teams, and several women worked as professional artists in the Renaissance. Ask your child’s teacher whom the class has studied.

How to help at home

Draw a corridor in perspective. Sit at the end of a corridor, or look down a long road from a safe spot on the pavement. Mark a horizon line on paper, put a dot on it, and draw lines from the dot to the edges of doors, floor and ceiling. Compare the drawing with the real thing.
Make an illuminated letter. Choose the first letter of your name, draw it large and fill it with patterns, plants or small animals. Use yellow or gold pens or crayons and bright colours. Talk about how long a whole page by hand would take.
Look at windows and ceilings. If you visit a church or cathedral, look for pointed arches, tall windows and the shapes in the roof. Find a stained glass picture and describe the story it tells. Many are free to enter, though some larger cathedrals charge.
Draw from observation. Renaissance artists studied the real world carefully. Set a jug or a hand in front of a window and draw it slowly, with a pencil, paying attention to where light and dark meet. Compare with a quick sketch.
Ask who paid for it. Look at a portrait, statue or building and ask who might have commissioned it and why. Thinking about patrons shows that art has often been made for particular people and purposes.

Builds on

Key Stage 2: Great artists in history
Key Stage 2: Great architects in history
Key Stage 2: Great designers in history