From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 2: 1893–1913 The late nineteenth century saw the rise of the modern city shaped by industry, innovations in transportation, and shifting politics. During this period and throughout the early twentieth century, the urban experience became an important artistic subject.
History/Language Arts: 1.Research Derain’s London paintings and London maps, discuss what impression he was trying to make. 2. Research history of Dresden during the time Kirchner painted Street, Dresden. Write a letter describing your experience in the city based on painting and research. 3. Students research changes in Paris between 1850 and 1870, discuss impact on daily life.
Artist: Andre Derain, Ernst Ledwig Kirchner, Jacques-Henri Lartique
Artist: Andre Derain, Ernst Ledwig Kirchner, Jacques-Henri Lartique
Grade: high
Theme: Social
Theme: Social
2. Identity
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars
During the interwar period, the idea of identity, both individual and social, came under scrutiny for intellectual and political reasons. In this lesson, students will discuss what identity means to them and will consider how their own identities are affected by the social and political realities of their time.
Activities: Research a portrait, create a portrait of a family member or friend
History: Using web sources, students will research subject of Lange’s Migrant Mother (Florence Owens Thompson), and describe how analysis of image compares to their findings about Thompson. Language Arts: Students choose on of featured portraits, writes a 1-page biography of the sitter based on observation/discussion History Using web sources, students will research subject of Lange’s Migrant Mother (Florence Owens Thompson), and describe how analysis of image compares to their findings about Thompson.
Artists: Otto Dix, Pablo Picasso, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Giacometti
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, collage, painting, sculpture, photography
Theme: identity
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 8: 1962–1974
The 1960s saw struggles against established power structures and institutions. Many public spaces, including streets and university campuses, became active sites of political expression, and artists began to look at such spaces as ideal sites of artistic intervention.
Activities: 1. Discuss Marclay’s Graffiti Composition. Divide students into groups to develop artistic intervention on paper that can be photocopied and posted throughout the school. Students should consider if they want their work to pose direct questions or be more abstract. After one week, discuss reaction. 2. Digging deeper.
History
: Have students write a short story about the people who lived in the house Matta-Clark “unbuilt.”
Language Arts
: Have students research events of May 1968 in Paris, and the use of graffiti and posters, particularly “Atelier Populaire.” Could also look into student protests in US in 60’s/70’s.
Artists: Daniel Buren, Gordon Matta-Clark
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928
The years 1917 to 1922 brought both civil turmoil and possibility to Russia. Artists believed that their modernist, iconoclastic approach to art would help to create a new language for the free, Communist state. Students will be introduced to “Constructivism.”
Activity: 1. Constructivist Laboratory- Divide students into groups, assigning each with different material (newspaper, magazine, cardboard, wire, etc) and have each group try to create a form that stands on its own or can be suspended from the ceiling. 2. Revolutionary Russia – Have students create timeline of the Russion Revolution of 1917 using some of the propagandistic techniques used by Constructivist like photomontage, collage, and trademark colors.
History/Social Studies: Have students research the work of accomplished modern Russian artists, who played a major role during that period.
Artists: Aleksandr Rodchenko, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Vladimir Tatlin
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media
Theme: sculpture, constructivism
Artists: Aleksandr Rodchenko, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Vladimir Tatlin
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media
Theme: sculpture, constructivism
5. Ideal Objects
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928
Artists Gustav Klucis and Gerrit Rietveld were interested in applying modernist ideas and principles to everyday design. Students will make connections between two design objects intended for different purposes and the ways artists can affect social/political behavior through design.
Activities: 1. Students will create propaganda campaign for school for general publicity, or school cleanliness, or participation in extracurricular activities using text and artistic techniques like collage and photomontage. 2. Students will design a prototype for a piece of furniture intended for 5-7 year-olds. Elements of design must come from basic shapes. Students will begin with sketch of design.
Language Arts: Sketches will be accompanied by a paragraph explaining function of the design. History Students will research Stalin’s Five Year Plan and the use of propaganda today. Information available on Red Studio website.
Artists: Gerrit Rietveld, Gustav Klutsis
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage
Theme: sculpture, design, social
Artists: Gerrit Rietveld, Gustav Klutsis
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage
Theme: sculpture, design, social
6. Diego Rivera, Agrarian Leader Zapata
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art
This lesson explores representation of people and environment in Rivera’s Agrarian Leader Zapata, 1931. Students will look at visual cues to interpret the painting.
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art
This lesson explores representation of people and environment in Rivera’s Agrarian Leader Zapata, 1931. Students will look at visual cues to interpret the painting.
Activity/cross curriculum (history): Students will have a conversation about the different ways that political and public figures are depicted by bringing in and investigating multiple images of current politicians and famous individuals. Artist: Diego Rivera Grade: middle/high Theme: social, political
7. Antonio Berni
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art
This lesson focuses on Berni’s representation of people in his work New Chicago Athletic Club, 1937. In the early 1930s, the Argentine artist Antonio Berni banded together with other young artists to start the Nuevo realismo, or “New Realism,” movement, dedicated to highlighting the social injustice, class struggle, and political division that he experienced in his native Argentina. Activity/cross-curriculum (History, Language Arts): Students will use what they have learned to write a short story, imagining they are one of the people in the painting.
Artist: Antonio Berni
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, political
Artist: Antonio Berni
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, political
Exhibition Resources for Teachers and Students
Teacher and student resources related to the Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples exhibition (October 19, 2008–March 22, 2009). Includes an introduction to the exhibition, printable Discovery Guides for students, a guide for Latin classes, and related resources. Discovery Guides help students locate key works and themes; one is designed for ages 7-14 and the other is designed for high school students.
Includes Introduction/Exhibition Discovery Guides/A Guide for Latin Classes/Selected Images/Related Resources
Grade: elementary/middle/high
Theme: World History and Culture- Pompeii and Roman
Other subjects: Language Arts
Printable Learning Resource (PDF)
Picturing France, 1830–1900 is a learning resource intended primarily for middle and upper grade levels. It takes a multifaceted look at art and culture, exploring most of the nineteenth century's major stylistic trends (from realism to post-impressionism) and artists (including Rousseau, Corot, Manet, Degas, Cassatt, Morisot, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Van Gogh). This program is also available as a printed booklet with 40 slides, an image CD with more than 75 works of art, 20 color study prints, a wall map, and a separate classroom guide, with activities and student handouts. Borrow free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes Introduction/Paris and the Painters of Modern Life/Encounters with Nature in the Forest of Fountainebleau/Life and Leisure in Auvergne and Franche-Comte/Painters and Tourists in Normandy/Seeking the “Primitive” in Brittany/Effects of the Sun in Provence/Glossary/ Notes/Bibliography/Images
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: World Culture-France, Impressionism, Realism
Other subjects: Language Arts
Printable Learning Resource
A printable introduction to the artistic strategies of Dada. Dada, one of the significant movements of the historical avant-garde, was born in the heart of Europe in the midst of World War I. In the wake of that brutal conflict, Dadaists raucously challenged tradition, and art-making was changed forever.
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Dada, social-political
Printable Learning Resource (PDF):
Focuses on 20 examples of calligraphy, manuscript illumination, the decorative arts, and architecture to address four general areas: arts for the mosque, Islamic science and learning, arts for the court, and exchange between East and West. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides, 4 color study prints, and an image CD. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include Math-shapes and patterns-geometric forms, Social Studies-Investigation, Language Arts-creative writing
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: World History and Culture-Islamic culture
Other subjects: Math, Language Arts
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature. Includes information, streaming slideshows, videos, and virtual tour on Egyptian artifacts and their role in the afterlife. Activities includes: Family guide, Map of Ancient Egypt, Loan programs.
Includes Virtual Tour/Streaming Slideshows/Selected Objects/Streaming Video/Resources
Grade: any
Theme: World History and Culture-Ancient Egypt
Online: Interactive
Printable Children’s Guide (PDF)
A printable, children’s guide about courtly art of the ancient Maya.
Includes Images/Map/History of the Maya and their Gods/Archeological Finds/Activities
Grade: elementary/middle
Theme: World History and Culture- Ancient Maya
NGAkids: Online Adventures with Art
An interactive, kid-friendly introduction to David's The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuilerie.
Includes interactive exploration of history/symbolism in the painting and a portrait activity.
Grade: elementary
Theme: World History and Culture, Portraiture
Online: Interactive
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2009). The Royal Armory in Madrid, assembled at a time when the Spanish Crown was at the height of its international power, is the oldest and one of the finest and largest armories in the world. Armor drawn from the the Spanish Royal Armory is shown alongside portraits of rulers dressed in the same armor, painted by such masters as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Diego Velázquez. Feature also includes an interactive diagram of armor and a detailed look at a magnificent tapestry from the royal collection.
Includes Royal Armor and Portraits/Armor Diagram/Fame Tapestry/Exhibition Information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World History and Culture- Imperial Spain
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2008). Extraordinary artifacts uncovered in modern-day Afghanistan—once the heart of the Silk Road linking cultures from Asia to the Mediterranean—long thought stolen or destroyed during some 25 years of conflict until they were dramatically recovered from a vault under the Presidential Palace in 2004. Dating back 2,000 years and more, the works belong to the National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul, whose motto is "A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive." Links with National Geographic and Google Earth for extended resources.
Includes Timeline of Treasure/Burial Sites/Video/ Information/History and Maps
See also: Children's Discovery Guide (for ages 8 to 12) to the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
Grade: elementary, middle, high
Theme: World Culture and History
Online: Interactive maps, timeline
Online Art Information:
Exhibition feature (2007). The story of photography’s phenomenal success in Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Austria during the time of tremendous social and political upheaval.
Includes Preview/Films/Concerts/Publications/Lectures and Symposium
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Photography, Social, Political
11. Dada
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2006). Explores the robust variety of Dada art that emerged between 1916 and 1924 in the movement's primary centers: Zurich, Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, New York, and Paris. Includes artist bios, sound poems, and zoom option for close study.
Includes Cities/Art/Biographies/Techniques/Slogans
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Dada, Social
Artist: Duchamp, Max Ernst
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2005). During the Renaissance, Orsanmichele functioned both as a church and a grain storage and market facility; the Florentine trade guilds chose it as the site for statues of their patron saints.
This feature explores three monumental Italian Renaissance sculptures from Orsanmichele
Grade: middle/high school
Theme: World Culture and History, Renaissance, Sculpture
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature from the Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya exhibition (2004). Includes images from the exhibition, text, audio clips, and interactive activities on Maya hieroglyphs and numbering.
Includes Life at the Maya Court/The Divine Court/Women at Court/Word and Image/Court at War/Palenque/Exhibition Information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World History and Culture- Ancient Maya
14. Art & Ecology
Online Interactive Unit
Artists are often particularly keen observers and precise recorders of the physical conditions of the natural world. As a result, paintings can be good resources for learning about ecology. Teachers can use this lesson to examine with students the interrelationship of geography, natural resources, and climate and their effects on daily life. It also addresses the roles students can take in caring for the environment. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: art inquiry, map skills, vocabulary, A Place I’d Like to Be, Climates Around the World.
Includes Overview/Art Discussion/Student Activities/Printable Worksheets/Related Resources/Glossary
Grade: middle/high
Activity: drawing, painting
Theme: Environment, Social
Other Subjects: Science
Online: Interactive
Online Interactive Unit
Mythology is a powerful vehicle for teaching students about symbols and the ways people have sought to explain their relationships to nature and to each other. Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine the role of myths in explaining human customs, mysteries about nature, or the reasons why things exist in the world. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: map skills, art inquiry, interactive matching symbols with mythological figures, myths from other cultures.
Includes Art Discussion/ Student Activities/ Printable Worksheets/ Related resources/ Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: Mythology
Online: Interactive
Online Interactive Unit
Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine in depth the concept of heroism through discussions of heroic actions and character. Students will look at images of military, religious, political, and everyday heroes and heroines and discuss their lives and the effects of their deeds. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: interactive art inquiry, map skills, online medal maker, developing a definition of Hero and Heroine, word meanings, journal entry of my favorite hero
Includes Art Discussions/ Student Activities/ Printable Worksheets/ Related Resources/ Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: History and Art
Other subjects: Language Arts
Online: Interactive
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on Chinese artifacts from 6000 B.C. to 924 A.D. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
-Includes Teaching Activities (23)/ Chronology/ Glossary/ Audio Pronunciation Guide
Grade: any
Theme: World Culture -Chinese Archaeology
18. Art Nouveau
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on turn of the 20th-century art movement; decorative arts. Activities include several discussion prompts and images. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes History/ Sources and Inspiration/ Glossary/ Teaching Activities
Grade: any
Style: Art Nouveau
Printable Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the fine arts and cultural history of Japan from 1615 to 1868. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Art- Traditional robe designs, Math/art- Folding screens, Art/social studies- discovering professions in Edo society/period, Language Arts- exploring Japanese vocabulary, Language Arts- Japanese poetic form/haiku, Language Arts- exploring the meaning of souvenirs, Art- creating motifs/changing their format, Art/Drama- Creating “No” mask out of paper mache, Social Studies- comparing Edo culture to 18th century America and envisioning how historians will describe American style in 2150. Students will create magazine, commercial, web site, or music video presenting key characteristics of American style.
Includes Edo Style/Samurai/Work/Religion/Travel/ Entertainment/Glossary/ Chronology/Activities
Grade: any
Medium: drawing, mixed media, design, painting
Theme: World Culture-Japanese Culture
Other subjects: Math, Language Arts, Drama
Online Art Information
In-depth study of Pablo Picasso painting The Tragedy and discussion of related conservation issues. Metamorphosis of a painting.
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Art History and Conservation
Artist: Picasso
Other Subjects: Science
Online Art Information
Exhibition brochure on Renaissance portraits of women; includes works by Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. Prior to 15th century, artists were dedicated to painting religious content alone, but as the Renaissance came along, art’s subject matter suddenly expanded.
Includes introduction/Bridal Portrait/Profil Portraits/Fantasy Beauty/Three-Quarter-View Portraits/Double-Sided Portraits/Three-Quarter-Length Portraits/Image List
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Renaissance, Portraiture
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli
Online Art Information
Exhibition brochure on 19th-century German paintings, including works by Caspar David Friedrich. Includes Image Index and Exhibition Information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World Culture and History
23. Edgar Degas
Online Art Information
In-depth study of The Dance Lesson by French impressionist Edgar Degas.
Includes The Painting/The Dancing Life/The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer/A Dance Portfolio
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Impressionism
Artist: Edgar Degas
Other Subjects: Performing Arts/Dance
Online: Interactive
24. Fauves
Online Art Information
In-depth study of Fauvism, an early modernist art movement in France; includes Henri Matisse.
Includes The Wild Beasts/An Open Window/Influences/Fauve Gallery/From Fauve Forward
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Fauvism
Artist: Henri Matisse
Online Art Information
Exhibition brochure on French impressionists and the study of nature in Argenteuil, a town on the banks of the Seine northwest of Paris; includes art by Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir.
Includes Introduction/Impressionism/Group Exhibitions/The Paris Suburbs/Impressions of Nature/Impressionist Techniques/Landscapes of Modernity/Leisure/Group Dynamics
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Impressionism
Artist: Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature on architectural models made in Europe between 1600 and 1750. Emerging in both Rome and Paris shortly after 1600, the baroque in art and architecture soon spread throughout Europe, where it prevailed for one hundred and fifty years. During this period new social and political systems resulted in the concentration of power in the hands of individuals with absolute authority. Architecture affirmed this, from the palaces to churches and military installations.
Includes Introduction/The Baroque in Rome/Churches and Chapels/Civic Architecture/Commercial Architecture/Military Architecture/Private Residences/Royal Palaces
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Baroque, World History, Architecture
Online Virtual Tour
Virtual tour of an exhibition of Cambodian sculpture from the 6th- through 16th-centuries. Includes extensive information on culture, history, and art of this period.
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World History and Culture, Sculpture
Online: Interactive tour
