Year 9 – Create your own Prado Museum: art as a window into the Early Modern period

In Geography and History, Year 9 students explore the Early Modern Age through great works of art.

Year 9 students have continued working on the research project entitled “Create your own Prado Museum” in Geography and History, an assessed activity linked to criterion B of the Middle Years Programme (MYP): Investigating.

Through this project, students have explored the Early Modern period using art as a historical source. Works of art were not approached solely as aesthetic creations but as documents that help us better understand the politics, religion, culture, science and forms of power of a particular period.

During the latest stages of the project, students researched works that are particularly relevant to understanding the end of the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Counter-Reformation and the construction of power in modern Europe. These included examples such as Bernini’s St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Velázquez’s Las Meninas, The Surrender of Breda and the Portrait of Louis XIV, linking each work to its historical context.

Project objective
The main purpose of this activity is for students to learn how to carry out historical research using visual and artistic sources. To do this, each student had to observe a work of art, describe its main elements, place it in its historical context and interpret what it teaches us about the society in which it was created.

In this way, students have understood that historians do not work only with written texts but also with paintings, sculptures, buildings, maps and other visual evidence that allows us to reconstruct the past.

The project has also helped students connect works of art with major historical processes of the Early Modern period, such as the strengthening of monarchies, imperial expansion, the Counter-Reformation, the Baroque and the use of art as an instrument of authority and political communication.

IB learner profile attributes developed
This project fosters several IB learner profile attributes, including: Inquirers, as students search for information from reliable sources and ask questions about the historical meaning of the works; Thinkers, as they analyse the relationship between art, power, religion and society; Communicators, as they organise information clearly, accurately and coherently; Knowledgeable, as they connect artistic works with the main processes of the Early Modern period; Reflective, as they consider how art helps us understand the mindset, values and tensions of a particular time; and effective communicators and collaborators, as they share their research and learn from their classmates’ contributions.

Approaches to Learning - ATL skills
Throughout the activity, students developed different Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills specific to the MYP: research skills, including searching for information, selecting reliable sources and using bibliographic references in APA 7 format; critical thinking skills, including analysing visual sources, interpreting symbols and linking artworks to their historical context; communication skills, including writing ideas clearly, organising information and presenting historical conclusions; self-management skills, including planning work by stages, taking care over presentation and following a shared template; and social skills, including listening, comparing interpretations and sharing learning.

Through this activity, we aim to help students understand that art is a powerful gateway to the study of history. Each work allows us to observe how a society represents itself, what values it transmits, what forms of power it legitimises and what ideas it seeks to preserve.

In this way, “Create your own Prado Museum” has enabled students to develop a more historical and critical perspective on the Early Modern period, understanding that behind every image there is a time, an intention and a specific way of interpreting the world.

Kind regards, Individuals and Societies Department