Classical paintings contain many valuable and attention-arousing elements that can help
students to study history more effectively. Because of an unfamiliarity with non-text material
and lack of studies of such kinds, however, using paintings in history classes has not been a
widely popular choice. The purpose, therefore, of this study is to develop a teaching method
and strategy in which the use of classical paintings can help students better understand the
past with more enthusiasm.
The effectiveness of this teaching methodology and strategy requires a certain set of skills
from the instructor. The instructor should select appropriate art works according to the lesson
objectives. He or she should also be able to stimulate the participation of the students. The art
works of choice for this study are the \"Mona lisa\" by Leonardo da Vinci, the \"Statue of David\"
and the \"Creation\" by Michaelangelo, and the \"School of Athens\" by Rafael. The reasons for the
selection are that first, they represent the essential characteristics of the Renaissance Period;
second, they are materials that are often included in middle school history classes; third, in an
attempt to gather expert and educational information on these works, a documentary film
called \"The Great Artists\" was used; and lastly, the students could be provided with activities
that could offer an opportunity to examine the path of history through the art works studied.
Professional evaluations and student analysis through evaluation papers were applied to
verify the effectiveness of history teaching models using Renaissance paintings. The evaluation
analysis confirmed that a teaching model using classical paintings made a positive contribution
to student understanding of history.