Old Masters Painting

PROJECT BOOK 2016-2017

Old Masters Painting

2016-2017

Curriculum

Class 1 – Narrative

Class 2 – Figure Painting

Class 3 – Portrait and Still Life

Class 4 - Landscape

Class 1: Narrative

  • The Fortune Teller (de la Tour)
  • The PenitentMagdalene (de la Tour)

PROJECT SUGGESTIONS:

1) Write a story from the subject’s point of view. The students can write a first person brief story from the Magdalene’s perspective or write about the “scene of the crime” for the Fortune Teller. If there is time, have the students share their writing.

2) Create face with different feelings expressions: What story of faces tell? The students can work on a list of feelings and identify how the face expression changes for each. The students can work on precut oval shapes for faces, and different shapes eyebrows, eyes, lips, etc. to compose one or more faces in a collage. This idea can also be used for the students to draw the faces.

Example can be brought to class from identify position of eyebrows, eyes, lips, etc.

3) Draw before or after moment of the paintings: Come up with a story of before or after the scene and draw that moment in time. This can be done by groups for brainstorming ideas to create the narrative.

Supplies: Lined paper and writing supplies.

Class 2: Figure Painting

  • Young Woman with a Water Jug (Vermeer)
  • Rubens, His Wife and their Son (Rubens)

PROJECT SUGGESTIONS:

1) Collage. Have students recreate the painting using pre-cut shapes (i.e. large triangle for dress, small triangle for head, various shaped rectangles for window, map, table, candle, dish, etc.)

2) Wooden figure drawing. Have the kids work in groups by tables around a wooden figure. The proportion of the human body can be discussed and poses for the figure chosen then all students can draw it from different angles.

Supplies: Pre-cut construction paper shapes and glue sticks or wooden figure, paper and pencils. All can be found in the closet.

Class 3: Portrait and Still Life

  • Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (Rembrandt)
  • Still Life: A Basket of Flowers (Brueghel the Younger)

PROJECTS:

1. Self-portrait. Have the children look into mirrors and draw their self portraits.

Supplies: Drawing materials and hand mirrors (located in the Learning to Look closet)

2. Collage. Collage a costume onto a pre-printed body shape to highlight the use of costumes and fabric textures.

Supplies: Pre-printed body shapes and fabric scraps (located in Learning to Look closet)

ARTWORK DISCUSSED:Basket of Flowers by Brueghel the Younger

PROJECT:Still Life. Create a floral or banquet still life and have the children draw it. Students may choose to draw the whole basket of flowers or may choose to make a detailed drawing of just one flower, for example.

Supplies: Various drawing materials and still life props. There are two separate boxes of still life props in the Learning to Look closet, one with flower related props and one with food related props. Please do not mix items together.

Class4: Landscape

  • The Harvesters (Brueghel the Elder)
  • View of Toledo (El Greco)

ARTWORK DISCUSSED:The Harvesters by Bruegel the Elder

PROJECT SUGGESTIONS:

1) Write a short essay. Pick one person in the scene and write a short description of the person.

Supplies: Lined paper and writing supplies. clipboards, paper, pencils

ARTWORK DISCUSSED: View of Toledo by El Greco

PROJECT:

2) Draw an emblematic scene. Identify a location well known to all of the children (such as the school playground). Have the children draw the location from their memory, but purposefully change the location of key elements.

3) photograph with ipad a scene, then use an image editing app to apply filters to the image and explore different results.

Note: We may be able to organize a trip in the spring which could be used for the kids to create their landscape projects by drawing in the locations with clipboards. Stay tuned for more information!

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