Year 6 attended an art history workshop, learning about the symbolism within Tudor portraiture, decoding paintings of Elizabeth I, and comparing the symbolism of Tudor art with that of artworks created in contemporary culture in the West African Kingdom of Benin.

What does a snake mean in Tudor art, or a pair of gloves? Why did painters include certain animals in their work, or make references to Greek mythology? How could Benin’s artists show that their king, the oba, was believed to have magical powers, and which animals held symbolic meaning for the people of West Africa?