High school art appreciation can be a fantastic way to balance out the more academic courses required of our students. During my children’s high school years, we used The Annotated Mona Lisa as the spine resource for our art appreciation plans. This book is a nuts and bolts book that will take you through the entire course of art history with no frills. It’s the perfect jumping off spot if your teen gets interested in a certain aspect of art. I like that this book includes various topics other than just painting like sculpture, photography, video, and architecture.

How did we make the most of this book?

1. We would read 2-5 pages a week according to the Harmony Fine Arts plans.
2. The boys would take notes, make a sketch, or research something of interest according to the topic in the book.

Taking this slow approach, it would take four years to get through the book. It is possible to read through the book more quickly, but we preferred to take our time and really appreciate the material. Of course, we used other resources and did other activities to round out our study.

If you’re interested in learning more about the other parts of our art appreciation plan, see the information and link below.

High School Art – How To With Harmony Fine Arts

If you have to pick one easy to read resource, I would pick The Annotated Mona Lisa. Please note the link above is an affiliate link to Amazon to the book that I own, have used many times, and purchased myself.

Here’s a link to an entry I wrote that explains just how we completed art appreciation in our family during the high school years using Harmony Fine Arts: Homeschool Art Appreciation.