1. What years did Europe’s Middle Ages span? Which entity primarily funded art during this period? How is this reflected in the type of art produced during the Middle Ages?
  

2. How is Europe’s art connected to its colonial past? What evidence of this do you see in the art and architecture of Portugal?

 

3. Which country became the most powerful in the world during the Age of Discovery? What kind of art did its nobles invest in?

 

4. What cultural and economic forces fueled the “cultural explosion” in 15th-century Florence? What was this cultural explosion called?

 

5. Which three works of art inspired the Italian Renaissance? How were these works of art funded?

 

6. Rick says, “You can’t have an art boom without money.” What are three examples from this playlist that support this claim?

 

7. What is propaganda? What are three examples from different time periods you see in this playlist?

 

8. What does Rick mean when he says, “The appetite of the market shaped the art”? What are two examples from this playlist that support this claim?

 

9. List three examples from the playlist of art commissioned for public spaces and three examples of art commissioned for private spaces.

 

10. How did King Louis XIV of France use art and architecture to demonstrate his power?

 

11. Why did Gustav Klimt refuse state support for his art?

 

12. What was “social realism” in Communist Europe? How was it funded, and what were its major traits?

13. What was the ultimate fate of Communism’s great statues? Where can you find them today?

14. Describe the role and character of Paris’s La Défense neighborhood? What is its public art like, and how is it funded?

15. What is Paris’s Galeries Lafayette? How does it demonstrate the relationship between art and commerce?

16. What are the primary visual and cultural characteristics of street art? According to Rick, how do European governments and people react to street art in their communities?

 

 

17. From Egyptian obelisks in Roman piazzas to indigenous Australian headdresses in British museums, conflict and colonialism have brought art and artifacts from around the world to Europe. Today, many tribes and countries are demanding the return of these items. Do you think modern museums have a responsibility to repatriate looted items? Why or why not? How should museums responsibly share items from around the world going forward?

 

18. Who comprised “the merchant class” in the Renaissance? Who comprises the modern equivalent of this merchant class? How does today’s merchant class engage with art similarly or differently to the merchant class of the Renaissance? Which approach do you think is better?

 

19. If a future Rick Steves in the year 2500 created a TV episode on the art of the early 21st century, what major characteristics and notable works would he address? What would he say about the funding of art in our age? And, based on the trajectory of art over the past few centuries, what do you think art will be like in the late 21st century?

 

20. In the same way that controversy surrounded the statues of Communist leaders after the fall of the Soviet Union, there remains controversy around statues of Confederate leaders in the United States. What are society’s attitudes toward these statues? What do you think should be done with them? In the future, how should governments choose which people to honor with public art? Or should governments not fund this kind of art at all?

 

21. What does Rick mean when he says the architecture in Paris’s La Défense neighborhood is “people-friendly”? Do you think the architecture in your community is people-friendly? Why or why not? Do you think businesses in your community should be required to contribute public art or people-friendly architecture?

 

22. How does modern street art differ from the art of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Communist periods of Europe in its purpose and its funding? Rick said some local European governments actually commission street art. What are the advantages and disadvantages of government funding for street art? How would you like to see street art funded and preserved in your community?

 

 

23. Imagine you’re a time-traveling artist who has been commissioned to create artworks depicting the beauty and importance of nature by three entities across three time periods: one work for the Catholic Church in Italy in the Middle Ages to be added in a great cathedral, another work for a wealthy merchant in Netherlands during the Northern Renaissance to be showcased in his dining room, and a final work for the Copenhagen City Council to be displayed outside Copenhagen City Hall. Afterward, write a couple paragraphs sharing how you changed your artistic choices based on the time period, location, and entity that hired you.

 

24. Design a public art or people-friendly architecture project for your community. Research similar projects in other communities and how they were funded. Create a sketch of the project and write a proposal to your local government explaining how it would improve the community and what funding you’re requesting.

 

25. Illustrate two works of street art with a social or political message that you would like to create in your community. Write a paragraph for each sharing where specifically you would want to place the work and why.
 

 

26. Almost all “Rick Steves’ Europe” TV episodes feature art and architecture across Europe. Watch an episode on a destination that intrigues you and identify at least two works of art or architecture. Using the information from the episode and what you’ve learned in this playlist, write down your best guesses for who funded the artwork and what their goal was in commissioning it. Do the works still serve the same goals today, or has their use or interpretation shifted over time?

 

WA SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING STANDARDS: H1.9-10.2, H2.9-10.1, H3.11-12.5