Art History

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6

Lesson #2. In painting and sculpture you can see objects and types of objects taken from nature and real life.

Artists often have a favorite subject matter. Most of their subjects are from real life, possibly from the artist's own life. See if you can guess what the artist Winslow Homer liked to paint about by looking at these three pictures he painted:

Breezing Up, by Winslow Homer, National Gallery of Art

Gulf Stream, by Winslow Homer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

An October Day, by Winslow Homer, Clark Art Institute, Massachusetts

What did you guess? Did you notice the same subject in all of the paintings? All the paintings have water in them, two of the ocean and one of a lake. So, we can say that Homer liked to paint water scenes.

 

Look at the following three paintings by another artist. try to guess his favorite subject to paint about.

Two Young Girls at the Piano, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

By the Seashore, by Pierre- Auguste Renoir, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York, NY,

Girl with Watering Can, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC,

What did you guess? There are people in each painting, and they are female. Renoir had done many paintings of women and children. You can say they were a theme or subject he liked to paint.

 

Claude Monet paints many themes and subjects. See if you can tell what these paintings tell about one subject that he liked to paint.

Regatta at Argenteuil, by Claude Monet, Louvre, Paris, France

The Boat Studio, by Claude Monet, Lincoln University, Merion, PA, USA

The Bark at Giverny, by Claude Monet, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

What is something each painting has in it? Did you guess boats? What about water? Monet did many paintings with boats and he did many water scenes, too.

Try this!

Name the subject or theme of the following three paintings by Claude Monet.

Water Lilies, by Claude Monet, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York	Woman in the Garden (Saint-Adresse), by Claude Monet, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.	The Japanese Bridge, by Claude Monet, The Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Click on the button for the subject you think is the common theme of all the paintings: women nature, plants Click here for an explanation. bridges

Name the subject or theme of the following three paintings by Vincent Van Gogh:

Sower with Setting Sun (After Millet), by Vincent Van Gogh, Foundation E.G. Bührle collection, Zurich, Switzerland.	The Potato-Eaters, by Vincent van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.	Morning, Leaving for Work, by Vincent van Gogh, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Click on the button for the subject you think is the common theme of all the paintings: rich people plants Click here for an explanation. working people

Activity #2 - Paint a picture with a theme.

Materials needed:

• Computer paint program such as KidPix or ClarisWorks Paint.

Directions:

• Paint a picture using the computer program. Make it a picture of something that you like to paint...your favorite subject.
• Fill the window with details and colors that match your subject.

Sign your name at the bottom right corner of the painting.

Save your picture to your desktop. Send your painting as an attachment to Mrs. Ogata through e-mail.

If you need directions to attach to e-mail, click here.

Response #2

 Open the e-mail message window . Be sure to include the activity number, #2, and your name. Write your response to the following:

¶ Describe your painting. Tell what your favorite subject is. Tell how it got to be your favorite. What meaning does it have for you?

¶ Did you like any of the paintings or artists from the lesson? Which ones and why? Are you interested in the same subjects? If none, would tell why not? What was it that you did not like about it?

Now send the e-mail by pressing the "send" button.

Activity #2 Grading Rubric

3 - Proficient	2- In progress	1 - Needs improvement
Painting shows the theme as stated in the response. Used the whole window for the picture.	Painting shows some of the stated theme. Used the whole window for the painting.	Painting does not match the theme as stated in the response. Did not use the whole window for the painting.
Response answers all questions.	Response answers most of the questions.	Response answers one question.
Response uses good sentences, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.	Some sentence, capitalization, and punctuation errors are in the response, but the reader can still get the message.	Many writing errors do not help get the message across. Cannot understand what the message is.

Go to Lesson #3. 

 Return to Lessons

Return to Main Page Be sure to visit the Gallery!!