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Lesson Plan #1: The Sensory Palette: Setting the Scene for Post-Impressionism
Instructional Objectives:
1. Students will explore the Post-Impressionist period in art history.
2. Students will investigate the Post-Impressionist artists Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.
3. Students will analyze and appreciate the unique painting style of Post-Impressionists.
4. Students will analyze and interpret van Gogh’s “Gauguins Chair” and van Gogh’s “Van Gogh’s Chair.”
5. Students will explore web sites about these artists and compare and contrast their works.
Students will have a virtual visit through the web of “Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South.”
6. Students will sketch a classroom chair to reflect their art teacher, Mrs. Langsner.
Time Required: Days 1 - 4. (See timeline) 40-minute periods
Advanced Preparation:
1. Teacher previews website: www.vangoghgauguin.nl, & orders posters and book: “In the Sunny South of France” published by the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2000.
2. Teacher previews video: “Van Gogh’s Van Gogh.”
Materials: Poster: Van Gogh & Gauguin: The Studio of the South, Video: “Van Gogh’s Van Gogh, Book: “In the Sunny South of France.”
Vocabulary: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Amsterdam, Arles
Procedures:
Days 1 & 2: By viewing the video “Van Gogh’s Van Gogh”, the students will explore the artistic friendship between van Gogh and Gauguin, as well as furthering their study of the life and works of Vincent van Gogh.
Before viewing the film, students will be asked to list three facts they already know about Vincent van Gogh.
1. He paints with swirls of color.
2. He expresses his emotions.
3. He cut off his ear.
They will also be asked if they have heard of the artist Paul Gauguin? Very few students are familiar with his work.
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For homework, they will be asked to list three new facts they’ve learned from the film. |
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Van Gogh was a minister and an art teacher. |
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His early paintings were very dark of the poor people he dealt with in the ministry. |
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In the south of France his paintings became much more colorful like the Impressionists. |
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Gauguin was his friend who greatly influenced his work. |
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An argument with Gauguin helped cause van Gogh to cut off his ear. |
Day 3: Do Now: While viewing a poster of van Gogh and Gauguin (see index page)and pictures of Van Gogh’s & Gauguin’s “Chairs” displayed in the front of the room (see illustrative materials), students will respond in their notebooks to these questions and class discussion will follow:
1. Describe what you see in each painting?
2. Why do you think the artist choose this subject to paint? Explain.
3. What is unique about the painting style these artists have used? Describe.
4. How do these two chairs differ? How are they similar? Explain.
5. Why can these chair paintings be considered a portrait of each artist?
| Teacher Notes: Vincent thought Paul was a painter with very special ideas and feelings. That is why he chose a very elegant chair for Paul. He painted it in the mysterious light of evening. On the chair is a lighted candle next to two books. Van Gogh thought of Gauguin as a learned, well-read man and wanted to show this in the picture. Gauguin’s chair is more elegant than van Gogh’s and stands on a fine carpet. The room is darker. Vincent thought that really suited his friend. Van Gogh’s own chair is a simple kitchen chair. It stands in a bright room on a stone floor. The daylight makes the chair even plainer. On the chair there is a pipe and little tobacco. Van Gogh shows us how he lived in a simple, modest manner, close to nature. |
Homework: Using the Internet, explore the web sites:
www.globalgallery.com/bios/gauguin.html
visit to Gauguin prints and posters
and:
www.vangoghmuseum.nl – a visit to the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
Reflect upon the following:
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How do the pictures of chairs tell us about the friendship between van Gogh and Gauguin? |
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What really happened to cause van Gogh to cut off his ear? |
(The friendship between van Gogh seems to have been a difficult one. In his letters to Theo, van Gogh often complained about Gauguin. He felt he wasn’t interested enough in his plans and his art. They often argued and van Gogh often lost his temper and quickly became angry. At these moments of depression, he no longer had full control of his actions and did not really know what he was doing. After one of these quarrels, Gauguin stormed out of the yellow house. Van Gogh had such a fit of rage and became so confused; he cut off a piece of his ear!)
(See sample student research reports)
- Day 4: Students will sketch “Mrs. Langsner’s Chair.” Through careful observation, students will practice their drawing skills, while paying attention to the details of the teacher’s chair in the art room. They will have to add their own interpretations of what makes this chair Mrs. Langners’, the art teacher.
Using van Gogh’s chairs as an example of a portrait, they will add artistic elements to Mrs. Langsner’s chair.