Picture Study 2016-2017

For picture study this year, we're going to just follow the AO schedule, which calls for learning about Mary Cassatt, Giotto di Bondone, and James McNeill Whistler. Their schedule is reproduced here with minimal changes, so that I can find it more easily when it's time to look at these.


Mary Cassatt:
1. In the Loge/Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880 (this link includes a bio)
2. Woman and Child Driving,1881
3. Children on the Shore, 1884
4. The Child's Bath, 1893
5. The Boating Party 1893/1894
6. Young Mother Sewing, 1900
Further Interest: Breakfast in Bed, 1894
Child Drinking Milk, 1868


Giotto di Bondone: 
Works are all portions of larger frescos in Italian chapels. Most date from the early 1300's. View large images of whole frescos to give a sense of the scope, scale and presentation of these works. An overview of the Scrovegni Chapel at Padua, Italy.
 1. Resurrection of Lazarus
 2. Birth of Jesus
 3. Jesus washes the feet of the apostles
 4. The Allegory of Justice
 5. The Nativity and adoration of the shepherds (Lovely close-up detail)
 6. St. Francis feeding the birds
         Further Interest: Francis Gives His Cloak to a Poor Man and Madonna Enthroned (or here)
         Vices and Virtues at Scrovegni Chapel (These personifications offer fodder for observation and discussion. Click on the thumbnail images for a larger view.)
Biographical Informaton: CGFA; Amy Steedman's Knights of Art; ArtArchive; Christus Rex


James McNeill Whistler:
   1. Black Lion Wharf, 1859 (or other etching such as Unsafe Tenement, 1858, The Pool, or St James Street, 1878)
   2. Symphony in White No. 1: The White Girl, 1862, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
   3. The Last of Old Westminster, 1862, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
   4. Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay, 1866 (Wikipedia says Whistler, who was on an American ship, painted the Chilean merchant fleet at their moorings the night before the bombardment. See also The Morning after the Revolution, Valparaiso)
   5. Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 (Whistler's Mother), 1871, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
   6. Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1874, Detroit Institute of Arts



Questions and Discussion Starters drawn from AO Picture Study resources: 
'What does this picture remind you of?' 'What do you think of this picture?' 'Do you like it?' 'I feel - , when I look at it.' 'Is it daytime? Nightime? Stormy or clear weather?' At the same time - interspersed with her commentary, I would share my own ideas without pushing my viewpoints on my daughter. 'When I look at "The Little Pine", it reminds me of going Christmas tree hunting when I was a kid - and finding that perfect tree! Those streaky lines in the sky make me think of a windy night. Or maybe the nights we have seen the aurora borealis dancing in the sky! And the sweeping green colours make me feel like the tree is growing. It is alive! I like this picture. I like it better than some of Emily Carr's other tree pictures, which seem so dark and brooding. This picture seems brighter and happier to me.'

Create a drawing based on what you have looked at.

 

Blogs and other Resources:
Picture Talks which draws from a Parents' Review article by the same name.
Artist Study - ideas for what to do after your child made a reproduction of the work.
Picture Study Questions to Ask