Great Artists
and Musicians
By
MARK AMMONS, D.M.A.
COPYRIGHT © 1996 Mark Twain Media, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-58037-975-5
Printing No. 1891-EB
Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
Distributed by Carson-Dellosa Publishing LLC
The purchase of this book entitles the buyer to reproduce the student pages for
classroom use only. Other permissions may be obtained by writing Mark Twain Media, Inc.,
Publishers.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Table of Contents
Great Artists and Musicians
Table of Contents
Time Line.......................................................................................................................... iii
Introduction........................................................................................................................1
Art and Music: An Overview..............................................................................................2
Medieval Art and Music.....................................................................................................4
Guido d’Arezzo..................................................................................................................6
Leonin and Perotin............................................................................................................8
Guillaume de Machaut.....................................................................................................10
Nicholas of Verdun...........................................................................................................12
The Limbourg Brothers....................................................................................................14
Renaissance Art and Music.............................................................................................16
Guillaume Dufay..............................................................................................................18
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.......................................................................................20
Michelangelo Buonarroti..................................................................................................22
Leonardo da Vinci............................................................................................................24
Baroque Art and Music....................................................................................................26
Henry Purcell...................................................................................................................28
Johann Sebastian Bach...................................................................................................30
Rembrandt von Rijn.........................................................................................................32
Claude Lorraine...............................................................................................................34
Classical Art and Music...................................................................................................36
Christoph Willibald Gluck.................................................................................................38
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.............................................................................................40
Jean-Antoine Watteau.....................................................................................................42
Jacques-Louis David.......................................................................................................44
Romantic Art and Music..................................................................................................46
Robert Schumann...........................................................................................................48
Johannes Brahms............................................................................................................50
Eugène Delacroix............................................................................................................52
Realism and Impressionism in Art and Music.................................................................54
Georges Bizet..................................................................................................................56
Gustave Courbet.............................................................................................................58
Claude Monet..................................................................................................................60
Claude Debussy..............................................................................................................62
Twentieth Century Art and Music.....................................................................................64
Pablo Picasso..................................................................................................................66
Igor Stravinsky.................................................................................................................68
Answers...........................................................................................................................70
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................75
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ii
Great Artists and Musicians
Introduction
introduction
Music and art stand as two of the great pillars of civilization and culture. Through
studying these two art forms, one can get a better sense of the cultural differences that
existed long, long ago. However, as important as the art forms themselves are to understanding the lifestyles and cultures of ages past, the study of the actual artists and composers
of these art forms will better serve us in our quest to understand the past.
This activity book is designed to give brief and informative sketches of many of the
great composers and artists who helped develop the styles of their respective art forms
throughout the history of music and art. Included with the sketches are questions, scrambled
word activities, and word search and crossword puzzles designed to reinforce the learning
of important facts and concepts related to these important personalities.
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—THE AUTHOR
Great Artists and Musicians
Art and Music: An Overview
ART AND MUSIC:
AN OVERVIEW
Art and music, along with many of the
other creative arts, share a similar if not parallel
history. They both have foundations in ancient
Greek and Roman history and both found their
way through the rise of early Christianity and
the Jewish heritage that preceded it.
Throughout history, art and music have
gone through changes and developments in
style, the characteristics that set a type of music
or art work apart from others. As the Roman
Empire began to lose much of its power and
influence, music and art, as well as science
and literature, fell into what has been called the Dark Ages, a period of time in which there
was very little growth and development. The Dark Ages, or Middle Ages as they are also
called, ran from approximately a.d. 350 to 1450.
Following the Middle Ages, a period of great growth and development in all areas
of culture took place. This time of growth and development was called the Renaissance.
In French, this term means “rebirth,” and indeed nearly all art forms were reborn. This time
period lasted from approximately 1450 to 1600.
The next style period in the history of art and music is known as the Baroque era,
named after the style of art that developed around this time. The Baroque era lasted from
approximately 1600 to 1725. Around the turn of the eighteenth century, an even more ornate style of art and music known as the Rococo developed. It was short-lived and lasted
only until about 1750. During that 50-year time span, a development and refinement of a
new style termed the Classical occurred. This style harkened back to the Classical Roman
and Greek art forms of more than 1,000 years earlier. The Classical era lasted until the
beginning of the nineteenth century, at which time a new and more introspective style of art
and music developed that came to be known as the Romantic. This style lasted throughout the nineteenth century. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a style of art known
as Impressionism began to dramatically affect the world of art and music. In response to
Impressionism, the Germans initiated a style known as Expressionism. By the turn of the
twentieth century, a variety of styles and approaches to both art and music coexisted. It is
difficult to define the entire time period of the twentieth century in terms of a single art style
or music style period. In general, it is referred to simply as the Twentieth Century period.
As you will see, almost all of the style periods are reactions to the style periods that
preceded them. You should also realize that the time periods are approximate. One period
does not suddenly stop and another begin—the changes develop over a period of many
years, often anywhere between 25 and 50 years on either side of the dates that have been
given as the beginning and ending years of these style periods.
So, let’s begin our journey through the history of music and art as we explore the
lives and works of the artists and composers who helped develop the styles that we enjoy
today.
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Great Artists and Musicians
Art and Music: An Overview
Name
Date
QUESTIONS
1. What two art forms share a parallel history?
2. List some historical foundations that art and music share.
3. What were the Dark Ages?
4. What type of period was the Renaissance?
5. What art forms did the Classical era hearken back to?
6. What is one characteristic of the Romantic style?
7. Do style periods change suddenly or over a long period of time?
8. When did the art style known as Impressionism occur?
9. What were the approximate years for the Baroque era?
10. What were the approximate years for the Middle Ages?
© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
Great Artists and Musicians
Medieval Art and Music
MEDIEVAL ART AND MUSIC
From approximately a.d. 350 to 1100
Medieval art and music were generated from
primarily monastic sources. This means that
composers and artists were primarily associated with the Roman Catholic church and
lived in monasteries. These monks or priests
believed that the gifts that they were given
in art and music were talents given by God,
and therefore, any work that they composed
or rendered artistically was meant to glorify
God. Consequently, up until about 1100 the
vast majority of art and music was provided Gothic vaults with pointed arches allowed for a
by anonymous sources, meaning sources more open and lofty structure than the Romanesque style since they could be built higher.
without specific names attached to them.
Art is represented in the Middle Ages by two main styles: Romanesque and Gothic.
The Romanesque style was generally believed to hearken back to the architecture of
Rome and the early Roman Empire. The style featured round arches and blunt, heavy
walls. The term Gothic referred to the new style that reflected the emerging independence
of the middle class and the growing importance of women. It was viewed as the high point
of Medieval art. Gothic architecture used pointed arches to achieve a more open and airy
structure than the Romanesque style. Besides architecture, sculpture and stained glass
windows used to ornament buildings and illumination used to ornament books were the
major art forms of the Middle Ages.
In music a similar background can be seen. From approximately 350 to 1100 the
vast majority of music was monophonic, meaning a single melodic line without accompaniment. This monophonic music was in the form of what is known as Gregorian Chant,
named after Pope Gregory (590–604), who organized the chants into a specific order and
had them published and communicated to churches throughout Europe and the Roman
Empire, which had adopted the Roman Catholic tradition. Toward the end of the Middle
Ages, however, polyphony began to be used in music. This was the use of more than one
melodic line at the same time.
By about 1100 changes were occurring in both art and music. In particular, we begin
to see individual artists and composers ascribe their names to their works. The first major
artist to do this was a sculptor known as Nicholas of Verdun. The first major composer to
ascribe his name to his composition was Leonin of the Notre Dame school of music. Both
Leonin and Nicholas developed unique approaches to their art forms that would set the
stage for the dramatic changes that would come over the following 300 years.
From approximately 1100 to 1450 an acceleration in both art and music can be
seen. This can be viewed as laying the ground work for the Renaissance period that would
follow. In the following chapters we will look at the lives of three musicians: Guido d’Arezzo,
Guillaume de Machaut, and Leonin, and four artists: Nicholas of Verdun and the Limbourg
brothers. These individuals represent many of the styles that were prevalent in Medieval
art and music beginning in approximately 1100.
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