Botticelli Art Activity for Kids

Middle Ages Unit Study
Week 24: We created pictures in the round like Botticelli.

Botticelli was an Early Renaissance painter famous for his Madonnas and images of Greek Gods and Goddesses. He used perspective and his paintings have very detailed backgrounds. Like Giotto, Botticelli used egg yolk based paints. In Adoration of the Magi the crowd of people coming to visit the new baby was made up of people Botticelli knew. He even included himself in the painting. In Primavera and Birth of Venus, Botticelli used egg whites to highlight parts of the paintings.

Botticelli (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists) is a good book to read with children to learn more about Botticelli.

A Tondo is a circular painting over 2 ft in diameter. Since the work was round, the eye was always drawn to the center of the painting. This type of work became popular during the renaissance, and Botticelli was among the first to paint tondos.

To create our Tondo pictures, we used paper plates. Although they were not 2 ft in diameter, they were simple and convenient to create.

 Here's a list of excellent blog hops to get even more educational activity ideas.