The Renaissance Art Game

by Wenda O’Reilly, Ph.D.

Birdcage Books

A beautiful, box case contains an 80-page book and deck of 30 cards. Both book and cards contain high quality, full-color reproductions of famous artworks from five of the most significant painters/sculptors of the renaissance: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Raphael, and Botticelli.

The book begins with a few pages of art history, timelines, and biographies. Then it devotes a number of pages to each of the featured artists and his work. The text discusses both design and meaning of the art works themselves as well as background on each artist and the context in which works were created. Although the book describes the transition from the thoroughly Christian art of the Medieval period to the pagan and humanist themes that were developed during the Renaissance, the large majority of the works included here deal with Christian themes. The book really does a nice job of presenting the artists as real people while familiarizing the reader with the style of their work.

Reproductions in the book are both large size showing entire works as well as smaller sections of particular works to highlight details. The cards feature the same art works depicted in the book--six by each artist. The cards can be used to play “Go Fish” and “Concentration” type games. Be forewarned that there are nudes included in the selected works such as Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and Michelangelo's "David." While the book’s content seems best for teens, the card games might be more appealing for younger children. Perhaps start younger ones with the games, saving the book for older children.

The book is also available separately.