ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS LEVEL 2 ASSESSMENT TASK Time allowed: up to 50 minutes English and/or Bilingual dictionaries MAY NOT be used Uses some topic specific vocabulary Grammar and spelling errors which do not interfere with meaning are admissible TASK: Write a response to the art work: The Seed of The Areoi by Paul Gauguin Use the guide on the following page to write your review Carefully check your spelling and punctuation Assessment Criteria Uses the appropriate text structure Organises text in paragraphs Expresses opinion Overall Achievement WRITING Can write a simple personal response ACHIEVEMENT KEY H = Highly achieved A = Achieved P = Progressing towards achievement D = Experiencing difficulty N = Not Attempted Name Class Date 1
RESPONSE WRITING GUIDE CONTEXT DESCRIPTION OPINION TITLE Name of the art work and the artist and any other relevant background information A brief description of the art work. Your personal opinion Why you like it or don t like it. PLANNING SPACE Use this space to plan your writing, write down some words to use etc. Do not start writing your response here 2
WRITING SPACE Write your response here. Ask your teacher if you need more paper. 3
3-LEVEL GUIDE 1 A Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903) Paul Gauguin was born on June 7, 1848 in Paris. Gauguin is considered one of the leading painters of the Post Impressionist period. In 1849 his jounalist father s political activities forced the family into exile. The Gauguin family set off for Peru. His father died during the crossing from France. Gauguin s mother, of Peruvian descent on her mother s side, and her two children moved in with a great grand uncle and his family in Lima. At the age of 17 Gauguin joined the French merchant navy, travelling around the world for six years. After the death of his mother in 1867, he settled down with his wealthy guardian, Gustave Arosa, who had a large art collection that included works by Delacroix. This period in time shaped Gauguin s interest in the arts. He started collecting Impressionist paintings, and became an amateur painter. Gauguin began his career as a stockbroker in Paris in 1872. He attended the Impressionist s first exhibition in 1874, and was captivated by the impressionist style. He purchased works by Monet,Pissarro,Renoir and others. His exposure to the Impressionists reinforced his desire to become a painter. In 1887, Gauguin left France for Panama. For a short time he worked as a labourer for the Panama Canal Company. He soon left Panama for Martinique, where he continued his development as an artist. In 1888 he returned to Brittany. His experience in Martinique broadened his vision and enabled him to develop original interpretations of scenes in Brittany. In October, 1888 he travelled to Vincent van Gogh s home in Arles, France. His stay was both traumatic and fruitfull for both artists. They learned a great deal from each other but were often at odds. Gauguin returned to Paris in December after Van Gogh s ear incident. 4
3-LEVEL GUIDE 1 B FACTUAL, DEDUCTIVE or HYPERTHETICAL Answer whether the following statements are true or false. Gauguin was French. Gauguin was a Post Impressionist painter. His mother was of Brazillian descent. At the age of 17 Gauguin joined the French merchant navy, travelling around the world for five years. After his father died Gauguin and his mother lived with a great grand uncle and his family in Lima. Gauguin was a friend of Vincent van Gogh. He attended the Impressionist s first exhibition in 1876. He was influenced by Monet, Pissarro and Renoir. In 1885, Gauguin left France for Panama. In October, 1888 he travelled to Vincent van Gogh s home in Arles. Although they often argued van Gogh and Gauguin learnt a lot from each other. Gauguin often painted figures in a Landscape. Gauguin s wealthy guardian, Gustave Arosa, had a large art collection. 5
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903) 3-LEVEL GUIDE 2 A The Polynesian goddess sits on a blue-and-white cloth. Gauguin s style fuses various non-european sources: ancient Egyptian (in the hieratic pose), Japanese (in the relative absence of shadow and modeling, and in the areas of flat color), and Javanese (in the position of the arms, influenced by a relief in the temple of Borobudur). But there are also signs of the West, specifically through aspects of the pose derived from a work by the French Symbolist painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. The color, too, is eclectic: although Gauguin claimed to have found his palette in the Tahitian landscape, the exquisite chromatic chords in The Seed of the Areoi owe more to his compositional eye than to the island s visual realities. Paul Gauguin. (French, 1848-1903). The Seed of the Areoi. 1892. Oil on burlap, 36 1/4 x 28 3/8 (92.1 x 72.1 cm). The William S. Paley Collection In the origin myth of the Areoi, a Polynesian secret society, a male sun god mates with the most beautiful of all women, Vaïraümati, to found a new race. By painting his Tahitian mistress Tehura as Vaïraümati, Gauguin implied a continuity between the island s past and its life during his own stay there. In fact, Tahiti had been profoundly altered by colonialism (the Areoi society itself had disappeared), but Gauguin s anachronistic vision of the place gave him an ideal model for his painting. This vision was particularly powerful for him in its contrast with the West, which, he believed, had fallen into a state of decay. 6
3-LEVEL GUIDE 2 B FACTUAL, DEDUCTIVE or HYPERTHETICAL Answer whether the following statements are true or false. Paul Gauguin often Paul Gauguin. (French, 1848-1903). The Seed of the Areoi. 1892. Oil on burlap, 36 1/4 x 28 3/8 (92.1 x 72.1 cm). The William S. Paley Collection 7