Past Narrative Painting

Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...

Creating story quilts is a great way to combine art, social studies and literature. Kids select a story, a published one or one of their own, to illustrate, paint on a canvas square, embellish, and mount on a felt backing.

Students read Korean folktale The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon, discuss story's symbolism, consider why tiger is important Korean symbol, and view variety of Korean folk paintings. Students then create their own tiger paintings,...

Surrealistic painters like Marc Chagall and Wendy Rouse show viewers an expansive world in a small area. Young artists have a opportunity to create their own surrealistic paintings in response to a study of works by Chagall and Rouse.

After a review of symbolism, class members use the provided worksheet to first list the objects they observe in Arnold Mesches' painting "Coney Island" and then suggest possible symbolic meanings for each of the objects. A second...

Video 37 in the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist discusses surrealism, as well as symbolism and dadaism in the world of theater. Playwrights the narrator discusses include Maurice Maeterlinck, Paul Fort, Lugne Poe, and Andre...

Guernica stands as a masterpiece of anti-war art. The narrator of a short video examines the images in Picasso's massive, complex, and disturbing painting and offers an explanation of what the images may symbolize.

Art learners examine still-life arrangement images and respond to a series of prompts. In a whole-class discussion, pupils list elements and qualities that still-life paintings can have. After instructors create an arrangement and model...

How have things changed from the past until now? Young art historians examine a screen painted in Mexico during the 1700s. They discuss the differences between a garden party then and now. They then write a journal entry about the party...

Discussion of whether or not the artists of the Ashcan School helped or hindered the existing stereotypes of their subjects. Interesting information on individual works.