State of the Arts: Pre-Raphaelites

Transcription

1 State of the Arts: Pre-Raphaelites This curriculum is based on the Pre-Raphaelite portion of the first program. Please prepare yourself by watching the entire program before showing it to your students. Overview: Grade Level: 6-High School Time Allotment: Activities may be used as a complete unit or select and utilize individual lessons. Learning Objectives: Introduce students to the Pre-Raphaelite Style Understand how Pre-Raphaelite Style artwork evolved Describe how the work of this movement reflected the times and inspired new artistic movements Identify and describe the artistic elements that are present in a piece of art Create an artistic rendition that adheres to the specific artistic elements of an artist's work Develop descriptive writing skills by using adjectives and descriptive phrases Show Me Performance Standards: Goal 1-2, 4, 5, 7, 9 Goal 2-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Goal 3-1, 2 Goal 4-1, 5 Fine Arts Knowledge Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Communication Knowledge Standards - 1, 4, 6 Lesson Plans: Title: State of the Arts: Pre-Raphaelite Prep for Teachers: Study and select activities for your students Prepare to tape the documentary so that the students may recheck information Copy necessary materials from this curriculum If necessary, print website information cited for research

2 Introductory Activity: Pre-Raphaelite Materials needed: State of the Arts Program 1 (The Pre-Raphaelite Clip) Vocabulary List Computer with Internet access Learning Activity: Background Information The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 by seven artists; William Michael Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, James Collinson, John Everett Millais, Frederic George Stephens, Thomas Woolner and William Holman Hunt. This group intended to reform art by rejecting what they considered the formulaic style of art adopted by the Mannerist artists who followed Raphael and Michelangelo. Mannerism is notable for its intellectual as well as its artificial, as opposed to naturalistic, qualities. They believed that the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on academic teaching of art. From this belief came the name "Pre- Raphaelite. This avant-garde group was breaking away from what they felt was the rigid, sterile style taught at The English Royal Academy of Art. They intended to return to an earlier style of art, with intricate detail, vivid colors, and complex compositions. The group created a very romantic style, marked by great beauty, a complex realism, and an emphasis on Medieval times. The Brotherhood's early doctrines were expressed in four declarations: To have genuine ideas to express; To study Nature attentively, so as to know how to express them; To sympathize with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, to the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parodying and learned by rote; And, most indispensable of all, to produce thoroughly good pictures and statues. After viewing the Pre-Raphaelite package of State of the Arts, have half of your class research the Brotherhood of the Pre-Raphaelites, using reference books, the Artists Summary file or the Internet. The other half of the class will perform the same activity with artists from the Mannerism School. Have each student write a short research paper on their artist, both their biography and a description of one of their works, using as many of the vocabulary words as is applicable. Listed below are questions they should attempt to answer in their research. As the students present their papers, have the class compare and contrast the varying works on the board or a large sheet of paper. Have a class discussion about the feelings they get from each work. What words would you use to describe this painting? How would you describe the lines, shapes and colors in this picture? What does this painting show? Look at this painting for a moment. What observations can you make about it? How would you describe this painting to a person who could not see it? How would you describe the people in this picture? Are they like you or different? How would you describe the place or objects depicted in this painting? What are some important differences? What do these two paintings/styles have in common?

3 How is this picture different from real life? What interests you most about this work of art? Which objects seems closer to or further away from you? Learning Activity: Scale Materials Needed: Graph paper, art supplies, rulers, yardsticks and pictures of paintings The students will use the same work of art from the above activity. Use a scanner to print the picture as large as possible. Provide them with graph paper to make a grid of the picture. It is important that the grid be nice, perfect squares. Next, a larger piece of paper is used. This should be at least twice as big as their original photo. The students will draw another grid, with the same number of squares as their grid marked photo only bigger. For example, if they used 1/4" squares on the photo, they can use 1/2" or 3/4" squares, whatever will fit the paper. In each square, have them paint the most dominant color they see in that square on the original photo. They will only be painting squares. If more detail is needed in a particular area, have them divide up the square into smaller squares, such as for an eye. Have the students match colors as closely as possible to the original, especially if there are value changes, such as skin colors. The resulting picture will look like a pixilated image. Learning Activity: Timeline Have the students create a timeline of the Pre-Raphaelite Era with at least ten works of different media. Explain that media refers to both the materials used by artists and the type of art created. Talk about some of the different media these artists used. As the class is reviewing the timelines, initiate a class discussion based on these questions: How does this work reflect the places, people, or events in the artist's life at this time? How does this work reflect artistic movements of the period? How did this work reflect a new and different artistic style? State of the Arts Vocabulary Terms Used in Visual Arts K-12 Grade Level Expectations Abstract-Art that exaggerates, is simplified or distorted Assemblage-An artwork created by combining three-dimensional objects Asymmetrical Balance-Two sides of a composition are different, but have the same visual weight Balance-Principle of design that deals with arranging visual elements so that a composition has equal visual weight on each side of an imaginary middle line

4 Color-All colors are mixed from three primaries: red, blue and yellow Diagonal-Lines that slant Emphasis-The eye of the viewer will focus first on an area of emphasis or center of interest Formal Balance-Two sides of a composition are identical Free Form Shape-Unique shapes without given names Geometric-Shapes or forms with mathematical names that can be defined using mathematical formulas: circle, triangles, square, sphere, cube, prism, pyramid Horizontal-A line that is parallel to the top and bottom edges of the surface plane Immobile-Incapable of moving or being moved Line-The path of a moving dot Mannerism-A style of art, which is transitional between the High Renaissance and Baroque periods Maquette-Small scale clay used to create big sculpture Mobile-Capable of moving or being moved readily Negative Space-Empty spaces surrounding shapes and forms Parallel-Lines that move in the same direction and always stay the same distance apart Perpendicular-Lines that intersect to form right angles Positive Space-Shapes or forms Proportion-The size relations of parts to a whole and to each other Realistic-Art that shows life as it is. Art that aims to reproduce things as they appear Relief Sculpture-Type of sculpture in which forms project from a flat background Representational- depicting objects, figures or scenes as seen Scale-The relative size of an object as compared to other objects, to the environment or the human figure Sculpture-Three-dimensional artwork Shape-An element of art; shape is enclosed space having only two dimensions (height and width)

5 Space-An element of art that refers to the emptiness between, around, above, below, or within objects Symmetrical Balance-Two sides of a composition are identical Texture-Everything, including works of art, has a texture or surface Theme-The most important idea or subject in a composition; the subject of a work of art, sometimes with a number or phrases or variations Three-Dimensional-Artwork that has height, width and depth Two-Dimensional-Artwork that is flat or measured in only two ways (height and width) Vertical-A line that is perpendicular to the top and bottom edges of the surface plane Useful Links to Websites