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ImpressionismPaintings Collected by European Museums

A Resource Packet for Educators

The High Museum of ArtThe Seattle Art MuseumThe Denver Art Museum

Acknowledgements

Impressionism: Paintings Collected by European Museumsis organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, incollaboration with the Denver Art Museum and theSeattle Art Museum.

High Museum of Art, AtlantaFebruary 23 - May 16, 1999In Atlanta, this exhibition ismade possible by the KatherineJohn Murphy Foundation andThe Rich Foundation.The exhibition is sponsored byDelta Airlines and NationsBank

Seattle Art MuseumJune 12 - August 29, 1999In Seattle, the exhibition isgenerously sponsored by:Presenting SponsorU S WESTAdditional funding provided by:The Boeing CompanyThe Seattle TimesStarbucks Coffee CompanyKreielsheimer ExhibitionEndowmentSeattle Art MuseumSupporters(SAMS)The Annual Fund

Denver Art MuseumOctober 2 - December 12, 1999In Denver, the exhibition isgenerously sponsored byU S WEST. Additional funding isprovided by the Adolph CoorsFoundation, the DenverFoundation, and the citizens whosupport the Scientific andCultural Facilities District.

We regret the omission ofsponsors confirmed afterDecember 31, 1998.

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ContentsAbout the Packet............................................................................................................ 3

What the Packet Includes ...................................................................................................... 3

About Impressionism..................................................................................................... 4

Radicalism of Impressionism: “Trees are Not Violet; The Sky is Not Butter!”....................... 4

The Painting of Modern Life and Real Life Subjects ............................................................. 5

Busy City and Quiet Countryside Settings............................................................................. 5

En Plein Air and “The Painter of the Passing Moment”......................................................... 6

Optical Innovations: Images of “Magical Instantaneity”........................................................ 7

Collecting Impressionism: “Something Solid and Durable”................................................... 8

About the Exhibition .................................................................................................. 8

Overall Looking Questions....................................................................................... 9

Activities ....................................................................................................................... 10

Lesson #1................................................................................................................... 11Lesson #2................................................................................................................... 13Lesson #3................................................................................................................... 15Lesson #4................................................................................................................... 17Lesson #5................................................................................................................... 19Lesson #6................................................................................................................... 21Lesson #7................................................................................................................... 23Lesson #8......................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.Lesson #9................................................................................................................... 27

Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 29

Selected Bibliography & Resources for Educators .................................. 31

Books ................................................................................................................................. 31

Videos ................................................................................................................................ 32

Web Sites ........................................................................................................................... 32

Credits and Special Thanks................................................................................... 34

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About the Packethis packet introduces you toImpressionist painting and provides toolsfor curriculum design. The resources will

be useful whether you have an hour or a weekto devote to Impressionism. You areencouraged to share the curriculum ideas withother teachers.

What the Packet Includes

1. Introduction to theMajor Themes of Impressionism

The introduction provides a discussion ofImpressionism, its development, and itshistorical context in general terms. Alsohighlighted are six major themes:

• Radicalism of Impressionism: “Treesare Not Violet; The Sky is Not Butter!”Although it may be difficult to imagine now,the new style of painting was consideredradical and even offensive at first to somepeople.

• The Painting of Modern and Real LifeSubjects. The Impressionists liked to paintscenes of everyday life: contemporary peopleat work and play.

• Busy City and Quiet Countryside Settings.The Impressionists often painted people incity and country settings.

• En Plein Air and “The Painter of thePassing Moment.” Most Impressionists choseto paint en plein air, or outdoors, instead of,or in addition to, painting in their studios.They liked to capture their subjects in themiddle of quiet, contemplative moments.

• Optical Innovations: Images of“MagicalInstantaneity.” Many scientific and colortheory innovations of the late 19th centuryenabled the impressionists to experiment inthe ways that they did.

• Collecting Impressionism:“SomethingSolid and Durable.” Impressionist paintingshave become increasingly popular over theyears.

2. Introduction to the Premise of theExhibition

This section provides general informationabout the premise of the exhibitionImpressionism: Paintings Collected byEuropean Museums. The provenance, orhistory of a painting’s ownership, is exploredin the exhibition and in this introduction.

3. Nine Overhead Color Transparencies

These transparencies represent nine of theworks included in the exhibition. Each imageillustrates the various themes found within theexhibition and can help prepare students toparticipate in activities and discussions. Usethese transparencies on an overhead projectoror as posters by placing a white piece of paperon the reverse side.

4. Information, Looking Questions, andActivities that Correspond to the ColorTransparencies

• Information for each image representedin a transparency is provided for quickreference about the artist, style, and subject.

• Looking Questions enrich the student’sconsideration of a painting by encouragingdiscussion and careful looking. Somequestions also reinforce the themes ofradicalism, the depiction of modern and reallife, city and country settings, en plein airpainting, and optical innovations. Yourstudents may generate diverse answers to thelooking questions.

The looking questions are a starting pointfor teachers to facilitate the student’s closeviewing. The questions may be expanded tobe more...

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• interpretive – “What do you think theartist’s intent was in...?”• comparative - similarities and differencesbetween paintings...• hypothetical – “What if...?”• Suggested Activities engage students invarious experiences relating to Impressionism.Additionally, these activities will helpcultivate learning skills that involve the arts,math, science, language arts, and socialstudies. You can develop these activitiesfurther according to the level and needs ofyour students. We urge you to share theinterdisciplinary curriculum activities in thispacket with teachers of other subject areas.

5. Glossary

Printed in bold text throughout the packet areimportant terms for understandingImpressionism and the culture in which itexisted. For definitions, please refer to theglossary at the back of the packet.

6. Resources

The books, videos, and other resources forteachers and students provide for furtherinvestigation of Impressionism, the artists, arthistory, and world events.

AboutImpressionism

Radicalism of Impressionism:“Trees are Not Violet; The Sky isNot Butter!”

n 1874, fifty-five artists held the firstindependent group show of Impressionistart. Most of them - including Cézanne,

Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Manet, andhis sister-in-law Berthe Morisot (“a bunch oflunatics and a woman,” muttered oneobserver) - had been rejected by the Salon,the annual French state-sponsored exhibitionthat offered the only real opportunity forartists to display and sell their work. Nevermind, they told each other. At the Salon,paintings were stacked three or four high, andcrowded too closely together on the walls. Attheir independent exhibition, mounted in whatwas formerly a photographer’s studio, theartists could hang their works at eye levelwith space between them. Although the artistsdidn’t call themselves “Impressionists” atfirst, this occasion would be the first of eightsuch “Impressionist” exhibits over the nexttwelve years.

An outraged critic, Louis Leroy, coined thelabel “Impressionist.” He looked at Monet’sImpression Sunrise, the artist’s sensoryresponse to a harbor at dawn, painted withsketchy brushstrokes. “Impression!” thejournalist snorted. “Wallpaper in itsembryonic state is more finished!” Within ayear, the name Impressionism was anaccepted term in the art world. If the name was accepted, the art itself wasnot. “Try to make Monsieur Pissarrounderstand that trees are not violet; that thesky is not the color of fresh butter...and thatno sensible human being could countenancesuch aberrations...try to explain to MonsieurRenoir that a woman’s torso is not a mass ofdecomposing flesh with those purplish-greenstains,” wrote art critic Albert Wolff after thesecond Impressionist exhibition. Althoughsome people appreciated the new paintings,many did not. The critics and the publicagreed the Impressionists couldn’t draw andtheir colors were considered vulgar. Theircompositions were strange. Their short,slapdash brushstrokes made their paintingspractically illegible. Why didn’t these artiststake the time to finish their canvases, viewerswondered?

Indeed, Impressionism broke every rule ofthe French Academy of Fine Arts, theconservative school that had dominated arttraining and taste since 1648. Impressionistscenes of modern urban and country life were

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a far cry from the Academic efforts to teachmoral lessons through historic, mythological,and Biblical themes. This tradition, drawnfrom ancient Greek and Roman art, featuredidealized images. Symmetrical compositions,hard outlines, and meticulously smooth paintsurfaces characterized academic paintings.

Despite the Academy’s power, seeds ofartistic and political unrest had been sownlong before 1874. The early- and mid-19thcentury was a time of political instability inFrance. Between 1830 and 1850, thepopulation of Paris doubled. During theRevolution of 1848, Parisian workers withsocialist goals overthrew the monarchy, onlyto see conservatives seize the reins ofgovernment later that year. Fear of furtheruprisings created widespread distrust amongthe aristocracy, the poor, and the newlyprosperous bourgeoisie or middle class. At the same time, the far-reachingIndustrial Revolution fostered a new faith inthe individual and his unlimited potential.Romantic painters such as Eugène Delacroixbegan to celebrate individuality in terms ofpainting technique with warm colors andvigorous brush- strokes. Delacroix’s journalswould later provide ideas about color theoryand painting techniques to the Impressionists.Later in the 19th century, Barbizon Schoolpainters Corot, Millet, and Rousseauabandoned classical studio themes to gooutside and paint the landscape around them.Realist Gustave Courbet, a mentor to severalImpressionists, painted the rural poor just ashe saw them. His rough-textured techniquedispleased the Academy. The Impressionists, or “Independents,” asthey preferred to be called, brought together awide variety of these influences, beliefs, andstyles when they first exhibited and met inParis cafés to discuss art. Their rejection ofthe Academy and the Academy’s rejection ofthem united the group.

The Painting of Modern Life andReal Life Subjects

The sturdiest thread linking the Impressionistswas an interest in the world around them. Forsubject matter, they looked to contemporarypeople at work and play. Inventions such asthe steam engine, power loom, streetlights,camera, ready-made fashions, cast iron, andsteel had changed the lives of ordinary people.Underlying the Industrial Revolution was abelief that technological progress was key toall human progress. In this climate ofdiscovery, people felt they could do anything. The Industrial Revolution broughteconomic prosperity to France, and EmperorNapoleon III set out to make Paris theshowpiece of Europe. He hired civic plannerBaron Hausmann, Prefect of the Seine, toreplace the dirty, old medieval city with wideboulevards, parks, and monuments. The newsteel-ribbed railroad stations and bridges werefeats of modern engineering. Cafés,restaurants, and theaters lured the bourgeoisie,the powerful new merchant class who hadmade their homes in and around Paris.

Busy City and Quiet CountrysideSettings

Most Impressionists were born in thebourgeoisie class, and this was the world theypainted. “Make us see and understand, withbrush or with pencil, how great and poetic weare in our cravats and our leather boots,” thepoet Charles Baudelaire challenged his friendÉdouard Manet. Baudelaire’s essay, ThePainter of Modern Life, inspired otherImpressionists to portray real life themes, too.Degas prowled behind the scenes of the operaand ballet for his subjects. Monetimmortalized Paris railroad stations. Nearlyall the Impressionist artists painted peoplehurrying through busy streets and enjoyingtheir leisure time on the boulevard, at theracetrack, in café-concerts, shops, restaurants,and parks. However, it was not just city bustle thatintrigued the Impressionists. Country themesappealed to them, too. Railroads gave peoplea new mobility. They could hop on a train andbe in the countryside in an hour. Commuters

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escaped the crowded city to the suburbs thatsprouted around Paris. The Seine River, parks,and gardens provided recreation for weekendpicnickers, swimmers, and boat parties, whichthe Impressionists duly recorded. One key toImpressionism’s popularity, it has beenwritten, is that the artist often put the viewerin the position of someone on holidayenjoying a beautiful scene. “Monet neverpainted weekdays,” one critic noted wryly. The home offered other real-life subjects.It was unacceptable for women painters likeBerthe Morisot or Mary Cassatt to set up aneasel in most public places. They relied ondomestic scenes of women from their ownsocial class cuddling babies, playing withtheir children, dressing in the boudoir, ortending their gardens. The garden was centralto late 19th-century life. Monet, Manet, andRenoir often painted their gardens. Monetcalled his flowerbeds “my most beautifulwork of art.”

En Plein Air and “The Painter ofthe Passing Moment”

Painting the sidewalk café, the racetrack, orthe boating party attracted the Impressioniststo work outdoors, or en plein air. MostImpressionists worked directly andspontaneously from nature. It was Barbizonpainter Camille Corot who first advised artiststo “submit to the first impression” of whatthey saw - a real landscape without thecontrived classical ruins or Biblical parablesof French Academic painting. Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, and otherspreferred to record their initial sensoryreactions rather than idealize a subject. Apainter friend of Monet recalled the mastergiving him this advice: “He (Monet) said hewished he had been born blind and then hadsuddenly gained his sight so that he couldhave begun to paint in this way withoutknowing what the objects were that he sawbefore him. He held that the first real look atthe motif was likely to be the truest and mostunprejudiced one.” The Impressioniststhought that painting their experiences was

more truthful, and thus more ethical, thancopying the art of the past. Impressionist landscapes often containedpeople, or showed the effects of man’spresence - on a bridge or path, for example.The Impressionists wanted to catch people incandid rather than staged or posed moments.It is as if the artist and we, the viewers, arewatching a private, contemplative moment.We see men, women, and children floating ina rowboat, strolling under the trees, or justwatching the river flow.

Impressionists often depicted people mid-task. Degas caught opera audience memberswatching each other instead of the stage andballet dancers stretching or adjusting theircostumes before a performance. Renoir’sguitar player strums her instrument by herself.Pissarro’s Parisian pedestrians hurriedly crossthe city streets. A wish to capture nature’s fleetingmoment led many Impressionists to paint thesame scene at different times and in differentweather. They had to work fast to capture themoment, or to finish an outdoor paintingbefore the light changed. Artists had oftenmade quick sketches in pencil or diluted oilpaint on location, but now the sketch becamethe finished work. Impressionist paintersadopted a distinctive style of rapid, brokenbrushstrokes: lines for people on a busy street,or specks to re-create flowers in a meadow. These artists often applied paint so thicklythat it created a rough texture on the canvas.Impressionists mixed colors right on thecanvas or stroked on the hues next to eachother and let the viewer’s eye do the blending.This process was called optical color mixing.Not only did this sketchy technique suggestmotion, but it also captured the shimmeringeffects of light that engaged these artists. Therough, brilliant paintings of Impressionismwere a drastic departure from the slick, highlyfinished canvases of Academic painters.Although the Impressionists wanted theirwork to look almost accidental, it’s nosurprise that early critics called it “lazy” andunfinished.

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Optical Innovations: Images of“Magical Instantaneity”

Color TheoryIn its use of color, Impressionism dramaticallybroke away from tradition. Advances in thefields of optics and color theory fascinatedthese painters. Working outdoors,Impressionists rendered the play of sunlightand the hues of nature with a palette ofbolder, lighter colors than classical studiopainters used. In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton hadshown that white light could be split intomany colors - including the three primarycolors, red, blue, and yellow - by a prism. TheImpressionists learned how to create theprismatic colors with a palette of pure,intense pigments and white. Unlike Academypainters, who covered their canvases with adark underpainting, Impressionists workedon unprimed white canvas or a pale gray orcream background for a lighter, brightereffect. Eugene Chevreul’s 1839 book, On the Lawof Simultaneous Contrast of Colors, guidedthe Impressionist practice of laying downstrokes of pure, contrasting colors. Chevreulfound that colors change in relation to theother colors near them. Complementarycolors, or those directly opposite each otheron his color wheel, create the most intenseeffects when placed next to each other, hewrote. Red-green or blue-orangecombinations cause an actual vibration in theviewer’s eye so that color appears to leap offthe canvas. No wonder viewers reactemotionally to the glittering sunlight onMonet’s rivers or the splash of orangecostume on Degas’ ballet dancers. “I want myred to sound like a bell!” Renoir said. “If Idon’t manage it at first, I put in more red, andalso other colors, until I’ve got it.”

Art MaterialsNew technology in art materials made a widerrange of color pigments available. In the past,artists had to grind and mix their ownpigments with oil. Now, color merchants soldready-to-use paints and other materials from

storefront establish-ments. In addition,collapsible metal tubes replaced pigs-bladderpouches as storage vessels for paint. Tubespreserved the pigment longer, allowing artiststo take extended painting trips outdoors.

PhotographyPerhaps no invention of the IndustrialRevolution influenced Impressionism morethan the camera. Black and white photographynot only recorded the scene for later study, itarrested the very real-life moments thatImpressionists pursued. Most of theImpressionists had cameras; in fact, Monethad four and Degas experimented with one ofthe early Kodak portable models. Their arttook on the odd, unexpected, andasymmetrical compositions sometimes caughtby the camera. Rejecting the centered figural groups oftraditional art, Impressionists thought nothingof cutting off a figure at the painting’s edge,or pushing the action into corners and leavingthe center of the composition empty. Degascalled photography “an image of magicalinstantaneity,” and was particularly adept atthe off-center composition. He was alsointrigued by the newly invented motionpicture machine, which took multiplephotographs of moving animals at highshutter speeds. He used the machine to studymovement and gesture. Impressionists eagerlystudied panoramic landscape photography andadopted its flattened perspective. Monetnoticed that slow shutter speeds blurredmoving figures, and he began to smudge hispainted figures similarly. To the human eye,of course, figures don’t blur, and one earlycritic dismissed Monet’s distant pedestrians as“black tongue lickings.” Even those whopraised the artist’s ability to capture this “ant-like swarming... the instantaneity ofmovement” often missed the link tophotography.

JaponismeAnother visual influence on Impressionismwas the phenomenon called Japonisme. Theopening of Japan to Western trade anddiplomacy in 1854 led to a rage in France for

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all things Japanese. Japanese artifacts foundan eager market in the growing middle classin Paris. In 1862, a Far Eastern curio shopcalled Le Porte Chinoise opened near theLouvre Museum. The shop sold fans,kimonos, lacquered boxes, hanging scrolls,ceramics, bronze statuary and other items theImpressionists used as props in theirpaintings. In particular, Impressionistsadmired Japanese wood-block prints andapplied that art form’s flat, decorative shapes,bright colors, and asymmetrical compositionsto their own work.

The elegant Japanese prints (known asukiyo-e, or “images of the floating world” ofgeishas and other popular entertainment) alsoinspired a new interest in printmaking. Inaddition to wood-block prints, Impressionistscreated lithographs (prints made from oil-based ink designs on wet stone) and etchings(prints from designs etched into metal plateswith acid). These methods allowed Degas,Monet, Cassatt, and other artists to makemultiple copies of their work and thus reach alarger audience.

Collecting Impressionism:“Something Solid and Durable”

In the early years of Impressionism, artistsstruggled to find markets for their work, andmany lived hand-to-mouth. Impressionismchanged when artists quarreled with oneanother, withdrew from exhibitions, or, likeMonet and Renoir, reverted to a moreAcademic style they hoped would lure buyers.Cézanne also turned away fromImpressionism, disappointed that he hadn’tbeen able “to make of Impressionismsomething solid and durable like the art of themuseums.”

However, one visionary Paris art dealer,Paul Durand-Ruel, recognized the greatnessof Impressionism as early as 1870. “A truepicture dealer should also be an enlightenedpatron; he should, if necessary, sacrifice hisimmediate interest to his artistic convic-tions,” Durand-Ruel wrote. He regularlybought, sold, and promoted Impressionist

paintings during the early years. Finally, inthe 1880s and ‘90s, the world theImpressionists painted began to embracethem. American collectors were largelyresponsible for this reversal of fortune, buyingenough paintings to keep several artists atwork. The Musée de Luxembourg in Parismounted the first museum exhibition ofImpressionist art in 1897, and an exhibition atthe 1900 World Exposition sealed the artists’reputations. Paintings sold twenty-five yearsearlier for a mere fifty francs, noted Durand-Ruel, now fetched 50,000 francs.

What caused the public’s change of heart?“Ironically,” writes art historian Ann Dumas,“the Impressionists” former status asrenegades enhanced their appeal to theconnoisseurship and speculative skills of thebourgeois collector...(it was) a new art for anew class that wanted images of the worldthey inhabited.”

Perhaps more crucial to its present-daypopularity is the broadly appealing color,spontaneity, and freshness of Impressionistart. Before the first exhibition in 1874, the artcritic Armand Silvestre observed of thesepaintings, “A blond light pervades them, andeverything is gaiety, clarity, spring festivals,golden evenings or apple trees in blossom.They are windows opening on the joyouscountryside, on rivers full of pleasure boatsstretching into the distance, on a sky whichshines with light mists, on the outdoor life,panoramic and charming.”

About theExhibitionImpressionism: PaintingsCollected by European Museums

arly paintings by the Impressionistsshocked the public and infuriated manycritics. “A frightening spectacle of

human vanity so far adrift that it verges onsheer lunacy,” scoffed Paris critic AlbertWolff in 1876. Just twenty-five years later,however, the work of Monet, Renoir, Manet,

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Degas, Pissarro, Morisot and Caillebottewould be found in the collections of majormuseums through-out Europe and America.One hundred and twenty-five years later,Impressionism is one of the best known andloved types of art. The provenance, or history of ownershipof these Impressionist works, is a fascinatingsubject in itself. Who were the early heroeswho dared to purchase this “difficult” art andhang it in their homes, offices, and galleries?How did these once-spurned paintings findtheir way into major museums and worldcapitals? What events drove the artwork outof the hands of artists to museum directors,private collectors, and ministers of culture?These questions constitute the reason for thisexhibition. The chief focus of Impressionism:Paintings Collected by European Museums isthe earliest acquisitions by Europeanmuseums. The Musée de Luxemboug’s 1897exhibition featured thirty-eight Impressionistpaintings, all bequeathed to the Frenchgovernment by the artist and collectorGustave Caillebotte. But not all museumswelcomed Impressionism, even by 1900.London’s National Gallery turned down a giftof Degas’ The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer’sOpera ”Robert le Diable” in 1905 andrefused to show Morisot’s Summer’s Dayafter acquiring it in 1913. “The NationalGallery is and should remain a great Templeof Art” that would not tolerate “an exhibitionof the works of the modern French art-rebelsin the sacred precincts of Trafalgar Square,”

said a museum trustee of the Morisotexclusion. Private collectors and one particularlytenacious gallery owner contributed largely toImpressionism’s acceptance. Art dealer PaulDurand-Ruel bought the early paintings ofthese neglected artists so that they could keepworking. He offered them advice on style andsubjects, gave them an alternative to state-runexhibitions - the art world’s first one-personart shows - and promoted their work inEurope and the United States.

Among the first private collectors ofImpressionism were writers, fellow painterslike Caillebotte, and other figures from the artworld. The original owner of Claude Monet’sPort at Argenteuil was a painter working in astyle similar to Monet’s. Vincent van Goghwilled all his work to his art-dealer brother,Theo, on whom he had depended emotionallyand financially for most of his life. Many ofthose paintings, including Self-Portrait with aStraw Hat, remained in the van Gogh familyfor seventy years. Americans also collectedImpressionism early on, as did other newlyrich, “bourgeois” connoisseurs, who saw inthese bold, colorful canvases a mirror of theirown lives.

The artworks in the Impressionism:Paintings Collected by European Museumsexhibition reflect the broad interests andvaried styles of Impressionism at its peak.This exhibition is presented by the HighMuseum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, andthe Denver Art Museum.

Overall Looking Questions• Have all your students become familiar

with all of the transparencies.• What kinds of brushstrokes do you see in

each painting?• Where is the horizon line in each

painting?• Lights and shadows interested many

Impressionist painters. Describe the

colors and shapes of the shadows in eachpainting.

• Next, group the paintings by themesbeginning with city or country life.

• What other categories or themes can youcreate?

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ActivitiesThe ArtsUp until the 1860s, European painters oftenpainted idealized people and events from theBible, mythology, or history. In contrast,Impressionist paintings often depict ordinarysituations. We may think differently aboutordinary situations in our own lives bydrawing or writing about them. Ask studentsto list five things they do each day that mightbe appropriate for an Impressionist painting ofa modern life subject. Vote on one subject andthen have each of the students paint it. Abusy, fleeting moment in a hallway orcafeteria, for instance, may seem morebeautiful upon reflection. Explain thateveryone will have a different “impression” ofthe scene. Try to emphasize the lights,shadows, and colors in the scene.

Math or ScienceAll of these two-dimensional, flat workscreate an illusion of three-dimensional depth.Rank them from the composition that appearsto be the closest to the viewer (or mostshallow) to the composition with the greatestfeeling of depth. Look for the ways that eachpainting depicts depth. For instance, are thecolors softer in the background? Did the artistuse perspective? Are objects smaller in thebackground than in the foreground? Do

objects in the foreground overlap objects inthe background? Although there are nospecific right answers, ask the students tohypothesize how many feet of depth eachpainting illustrates. What clues did the artistprovide to support the hypotheses?

Language ArtsDiscuss the transparencies with the class.What are their favorite paintings? Why didthey choose those? Have the students write anessay from the point of view of a collector ormuseum director who wants to purchase oneof the paintings. Include why they chose thepainting and how it will add to their currentcollections. For instance, a director of a self-portrait museum might want to add the self-portrait by van Gogh to his or her collection.

Social StudiesHave the students stage an artexhibition of their own within the classroom.Send out invitations and design posters toadvertise the exhibition. Some students willbe traditional artists while others will beexperimental artists. Other students will becritics and collectors. The artwork and writtenexercises that the students create based uponthe activities in this packet would beappropriate for the exhibition.

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© Photo RMN - H. Lewandowski - Muséed'Orsay, Paris

Lesson #1

Claude Monet (mow-NAY)French, 1840-1926The Port at Argenteuil, about 1872Oil on canvas23 5/8 x 31 3/4 in.

Musée d’Orsay; Paris, France; bequest of Count Isaacde Camondo, 1911

SubjectMonet probably painted thisfresh, airy afternoon sceneoutdoors, en plein air. Heoften painted outdoors, thencarefully reworked the detailsof his canvases in his studio.“My only merit,” Monetwrote later in life, “lies inhaving painted directly infront of nature, seeking torender my impressions beforethe most fleeting moments.”This is one of seventy-fiveworks Monet painted of theSeine River in Argenteuil, ayachting center west of Paris.It combines two favoriteImpressionist themes:fashionable, leisurely figuresstrolling, boating, andbathing, and an industrialbackdrop of bridge andsmokestack. Monet lived andpainted in Argenteuil forseveral years; today the townis best known for his imagesof it. Additionally, Monetlured his Impressionistfriends - Renoir, Sisley,Pissarro, Manet, andCaillebotte - to paint inArgenteuil, which was easily

accessible from Paris byrailroad.

StyleLike most of his work, ThePort at Argenteuil showsMonet’s fascination with theever-changing quality of lightand color in differentweather, and at differenttimes of the day. Notice thelong stripes of tree shadowsin the foreground. Againstthe bright sky, these deepshadow tones capture abreezy late afternoon insummer. Monet usually“primed” or covered hiscanvas with a layer of warmgray or light tan first and thenpainted his subject in theshort, bold brushstrokestypical of Impressionism. Thescene is composed of restful,horizontal elements - theshadows of trees, the water,bridge, and clouds. Monetarranged these elements in aseries of planes to createdepth. The plane closest to uscontains the strollers, seatedonlookers, boaters, and otherfigures; a second planebehind it has sailboats, a

steamship, and a boathouse;the last and most distant isthe bridge and horizon.

ArtistMonet grew up in Le Havre,France, where an aunt firstfinanced his painting studies.Later, in Paris, he met andwas influenced by futureImpressionist colleaguesSisley, Renoir, and others. Hewas a leading figure in theImpressionists’ first groupexhibition in 1874, which onecritic ridiculed as “acollection of freshly paintedcanvases smeared with floodsof cream.” It was Monet’spainting of the Le Havreharbor in Impression,Sunrise, that gave thefledgling movement its name.Until late in his life, Monetsuffered frequent personaland professional ups anddowns. Yet, he neverwavered in the quest to painthis direct, sensoryimpressions of nature withoutintellectual thought.“Paintings aren’t made withdoctrines,” he declared.

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Looking Questions• How many people do you

see?• What are they doing?• What do you see on the

left side of the painting?• What do you see on the

right side of the painting?

• What sort of boats arethese? Sailing boats?Fishing boats? Cargoboats?

• Describe the weather.What season is it? Whattime of day is it? From

what you see, can youtell the time of day?

Activities

The ArtsHave the students create alandscape with depth. Havethem choose three objectsthat they want in theirlandscape. Decide whichobjects will go in theforeground, middle ground,and back- ground. Draw thefore- ground object first.They should make this objectlarge. Next, decide whatobjects will go in the middleground, drawing it slightlysmaller in the middle portionof the paper. Finally, repeatthis process for the back-ground object, making thatobject the smallest. To createa landscape with depth andoverlapping forms, add moreobjects and horizontal lines toindicate land. Discussoverlapping and back-ground, middle ground, andforeground.

Math or Science

Many Impressionists wereinterested in views of reality.Scenes were painted outside,with an emphasis upon whatinterested the artist on theday the painting was created.Approximately whatpercentage of this scene issky? What percentage of thetotal area of this painting isused to describe the land thatday? What percentage isbuildings or water? Whatfraction reflects things madeby people? What percentageof the ground is sunlit orshadow? What do you thinkinterested Monet the most onthe day he was painting this?Why do you think that?

Language ArtsAn impression is a vaguenotion, memory, or split-second look at something.Have your students glance atthe transparency for thirtyseconds and then cover itwith paper. Ask them to writea poem beginning “My firstimpression was… ” Next, ask

them to look at thetransparency closely.Continue the poem by writing“But when I took a closerlook I noticed… ” Share thepoems. Discuss the differencebetween an impression andan analysis of something.

Social StudiesThe people in thereproduction look as if theymight be out relaxing on aweekend afternoon. What doyou and your family do torelax during weekends? Haveyour students pick a partnerand share what they enjoydoing with their families.Make a chart to compare andcontrast leisure-time of theirfamilies with those depictedin this and other transpareciesin the packet. How do theycompare to what the peoplein the picture are doing?Have them find out aboutother forms of relaxation inthe 19th century.

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Lesson #2

Edgar Degas (duh-GAH)French, 1834-1917The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer’sOpera, “Robert le Diable,” 1876Oil on canvas30 1/8 x 32 in.

The Victoria and Albert Museum,London, England

© The Victoria and Albert Museum,London, England, Photo, V&A PictureLibrary

SubjectUnlike most Impressionists,Degas never worked fromnature. “Art is not a sport,”wrote this cool, cynicalintellectual, the very image ofthe Paris dandy. Instead, heroamed behind the scenes ofsuch popular city haunts asthe opera, ballet, andracetrack. In this scene fromthe then-popular Robert LeDiable (Robert the Devil)opera, the spirits of dead nunswho have broken their vowsdance wildly in a ghostlymoonlit cloister, hoping tolure the hero Robert todamnation. Painting from anaudience member’s view-point, Degas is moreinterested in what is going onat the edge of the theater’sorchestra pit than on thestage. Several musicians andaudience members arepainted as portraits of Degas’opera-loving friends.Viewing this painting, we canalmost reach out and touchthe slicked-down hair of theman in the right foreground,as he and the gentlemen near

him look in every directionexcept toward the stage.What or who is the beardedman with the opera glasses(far left) eyeing? Thepainting’s focus is a far cryfrom the moralizing themesof French Academy art.Perhaps Degas was makingfun of this heavy, melo-dramatic opera, with its tiesto a traditional, Romanticpast that the Impressionistswanted to escape.

StyleThe daring composition (likea photograph taken bysomeone in the audience)shows how photographyinfluenced the Impressionists.As they gaze toward thepainting’s edges, Degas’subjects seem to say that lifegoes on outside this painting.The artist often made quick,location sketches with“essence”- oil paint thinnedwith turpentine - and thenpainted a finished work in hisstudio. Like otherImpressionists, Degas wasfascinated with light, but he

preferred artificial light to theen plein air kind. Notice howthis painting’s three lightsources create differentmoods: the bright lampslighting the musicians’scores, the eerie cast offootlights on the per- formersand the moonlight created bygas lights over the stage.“The fascinating thing,”Degas said, “is not to showthe source of light, but theeffect of light.”

ArtistTo Degas, a painting was“something which requires asmuch knavery, trickery, anddeceit as the perpetration of acrime.” In his studio, Degasloved to experiment withcomposition and light, butunlike most Impressionists,he often painted frommemory or imagination. Healso worked in a variety ofmaterials, including pastel,pastel-paint combinations,and sculpture. When afinancial crisis forced him tosell his work in the mid-1870s, he turned to monotype

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prints (made by applyingcolored or black paint to ametal plate) which could be

turned out quickly. However,he continued to paint until his

eyesight grew too weak at theend of his life.

Looking Questions• Where does this

scene take place?• Where are you,

the viewer, located inrelation to the scene inthe painting?

• What musical instru-ments do you see?

• There are twohorizontal lines in thispainting. Where are they?

• Where are thelights coming from?

• What are the people onthe stage doing?

• Where is the man in

the lower left-handcorner looking?

• What colors do yousee in the painting?

• What shapes arerepeated in this painting?

Activities

The ArtsDiscover how different kindsof lights affect colors andshadows of objects. Set up astill life for your students. Puta clear glass, a piece of cloth,and a tall, shiny object suchas a colorful plastic cup on alarge, white piece of paper.Use candlelight and aflashlight covered with tintedMylar to add color, electriclight, and sunlight. Recordwhat happens to the colors,shadows, and shapes of theobjects as the light changes.Create drawings from theseexperiments.

Math or ScienceAsk your students to look atthis transparency next to theother Degas reproduction inthis packet, Before thePerformance. During the late1800s, Frenchmathematicians formalizedsome of Augutin Cauchy’sand Evarist Galois’s ideasinto what we call algebra -math in which letters are usedto represent basic numberrelationships. Some of these

letters are constants, valuesthat do not change. Someletters in algebra arevariables, values that changeand are different. Have thestudents look for things thatthese two reproductions havein common (the constants)and how they are different(the variables). Then make alist of each category. Whichis the longer list?

Language ArtsThis painting captures theexperience of attending anopera, one of the artist’sfavorite forms of enter-tainment. Ask your studentsto write a review of a specificwork from their own favoriteform of entertainment. It maybe a movie, play, computergame, or television show.

Social StudiesThe painting features threedifferent types of people. Theactors are on the stage. Themusicians are in the orchestrapit. The audience membersare sitting in the front rows.Divide the class into teams ofabout five students each. Thesmall groups will work

together to develop their ownscript or story line for amusic video. It must relate tothe painting. It could be aboutthe audience, stagehand,usher, musicians, and/or theactivity on stage. Each teamwill develop a short story lineor script describing theirproposed video. What kind ofmusic is being played? Arethe actors dancing or posedstanding still? Is the audienceenjoying the performance?Try to make the videoinclude some historicallyaccurate details.

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Lesson #3

Gustave Caillebotte(KIE-ye-bot)French, 1848-1894Le Pont de l’Europe (The Bridge ofEurope), 1876Oil on canvas49 1/4 x 71 in.

Petit Palais Musée d’Art Moderne, Geneva,Switzerland. Image: © Petit Palais Musée d’ArtModerne, Geneva, Switzerland.

SubjectThe Bridge of Europe andtwo other Paris scenesexhibited at the thirdImpressionist exhibitionestablished Caillebotte as apainter of modern-city life.He depicted a more sober,realist Paris than his fellowImpressionists, exposing thesocial ten- sions that underlaythe industrial city and its newsociety. Six boulevardsconverged at the famousBridge of Europe, a wonderof technology that straddledthe rail yards of the GareSaint-Lazare, one of Paris’smajor train stations. Here onthe bridge is a moment fromeveryday life, juxtaposingtwo social classes thatfrequented the streets of thecity. Leaning on the rail atthe right is an artisan/laborer,while on the left, a man andwoman of higher socialstature walk toward us andgaze at each other.

The gentleman, who isrendered as a flâneur, orman-about-town and observerof modern life, may be a self-portrait of the artist. He is

separated symbolically andphysically from the laborerbut looks toward him.Simultaneously, the bridgerail creates a line ofperspective from the laborerback to the couple. Perhapsthis visual link reflectsCaillebotte’s personalstruggle to bridge twoworlds, those of wealthygentleman and democraticImpressionist. The coupleand even the dog in theforeground walk at the fastpace typical of city dwellers.Is the elegant gentlemantrying to leave the lady withthe parasol behind? Notice,too, how the immense steelgirders of the bridge, the veryessence of modern, industrialParis, dominate the picture.This realist’s viewpoint, in allits brute strength, dwarfs theParis of strollers, tree-linedboule- vards, and shimmeringlight.

StyleThe elements of perspectivein this painting areremarkably deep. The linescreated by the railroad

bridge, row of buildings,curb, and dog, which repeatthe “X” shape of the bridgegirder, draw us into thescene. Before he began topaint, Caillebotte mademeticulous sketches on thisbridge and in his studio,arranging and re-arrangingthe elements to achieve thisintriguing composition. Thepainting’s cool, stark lightingand crisp forms underscorethis flâneur-artist’sassessment of Paris’stransformation.

ArtistThe great realist writer EmileZola was so taken by the“beautiful truth” in GustaveCaillebotte’s work that hewrote, “When his talentbecomes a little more brokenin, Monsieur Caillebotte willcertainly be one of theboldest of the group.” But thewealthy Caillebotte isprobably better known forbuying up the works offellow Impressionists and, in1894, bequeathing them tothe French government fordisplay at Paris’s Musée de

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Luxembourg. Of sixty-sevenworks, the museum acceptedonly thirty-eight, citing lackof space and the still-controversial image ofImpressionist art. Included inthe final bequest were two

works by Cézanne, seven byDegas, eight by Monet, sevenby Pissarro, two by Manet,six by Sisley, and six byRenoir. Caillebotte’s giftmade up the first museumexhibition of Impressionist

art at the Musée deLuxembourg in 1897. Notuntil the 1950s didCaillebotte’s own paintingswin the attention theydeserved.

Looking Questions

• This is a painting ofParis. What does theartist include to show youthat this is a city ratherthan a country scene?

• Describe the clothingeach person is wearing.

• Is there anything thatrepresents nature in this

painting? Notice the skyand bits of green.

• What geometric shapesdo you see? Where doyou see “X” shapes?Where do you see ovals?What shapes are theshadows? What shapesrepeat to create patterns?

• Notice the steam from

the train and the clouds.Why do you think theartist chose to includethese elements?

• What colors are theshadows?

• Do you see any red in thepainting? Where?

Activities

The ArtsCreate a lesson about one-point linear perspective. Putan overleaf of Mylar on thistransparency and draw thereceding lines of the bridge,street, and buildings. Showand explain the vanishingpoints and horizon line.

Math or ScienceThe following terms are oftenused in science and/or math:growth, life forms, direction,rhythm, balance, repetition,weight, angles, light, shapes,triangle, rectangle, circle,square, curves, movement,direction, motion, size,

pattern. Have your studentscircle any of these words thatthey could use to talk about apart of this work of art. Askthem to write at least threesentences using the circledwords to describe thispainting. For example: “I seeseveral cut-out shapes withcurves on the bridge.”

Language ArtsDid you notice the dog in thepainting? Why do you thinkthe artist chose to include thedog? Have your studentsdevelop a short explanationof what the dog is thinking. Isthe dog a stray or does he/shebelong to someone in thepainting? Where is he going?Why? Where does the dog

sleep? What does the dogeat? Notice the dog’s tail.What feeling does the tailconvey?

Social StudiesLook closely at the painting.Discuss how clothingdescribes a person’s place insociety or reflects a certainoccasion. Look at thispainting and discuss eachperson’s role. Have thestudents look throughmagazines and cut out imagesof fashion that describe aprofession, an occasion, oreven a class of society. Askthem to create a costumecollage using the images.

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Lesson #4

Berthe Morisot(more-ee-SOH)French, 1841-1895Summer’s Day, about 1879Oil on canvas18 x 29 5/8 in.

The National Gallery, London, England. Image: © TheNational Gallery, London, England.

SubjectIn this, perhaps her mostfamous painting, BertheMorisot captures twoapparently middle-classladies in a moment of quietthought. (The women havenot been identified andprobably are models whoposed for Morisot.) Theyfloat lazily in a boat on thelake in the Bois de Boulogne,a large, wooded park on theedge of Paris. Morisotpainted them as if she weresitting next to them, and wellshe might since the fashion-able Bois was not far fromher home. It was con- sideredsafe and accept- able for awoman of Morisot’s socialclass to stroll, picnic, andeven paint here. Unlike hermale counterparts who couldset up an easel in city streetsand café-concerts, Morisotstayed close to home andpainted real-life momentsfrom her immediate world -elegant women getting out ofbed, relaxing in the garden,or dressing in their boudoirfor a night at the opera.

StyleIntrigued by the play of lighton her subjects, Morisotpainted the swans, thereflections in the lake, andthe ladies themselves in thequick, zigzag brushstrokesfor which she’s known. Intypical Impressionist style,the composition is off center,with the blue-coated womanpartially cropped by the edgeof the scene. Yet notice howsimilar brush- strokesthroughout the painting pull ittogether. This sketchy texturecaptures Morisot’s open-air“impression” of the moment,though art critics of the timeoften mistook her loose stylefor sloppiness. “Why, withher talent, does she not takethe trouble to finish?”complained one earlyreviewer. But other criticsraved about Morisot’s pearly,soft color harmonies. “Shegrinds flower petals onto herpalette,” gushed one writer,“so as to spread them later onher canvas....”Artist

Berthe Morisot struggled tobe taken as seriously as malecounterparts of the time.Reared in a conservative,cultured family, she receivedthe art lessons given allyoung ladies of her class. Shewas excluded, as a woman,from nude life-drawingclasses, but her abilityemerged in paintings of theoutdoors and domesticscenes. She married thebrother of her mentor,Èdouard Manet, andexhibited in all but oneImpressionist show. Duringher lifetime, Morisot’scanvases often fetchedslightly higher prices thanthose of her male colleagues,but she remained modest. Shehad merely wanted to capture“something of what goesby...the smallest thing,” shewrote in later life. “Anattitude of Julie’s (herdaughter), a smile, a flower, afruit, the branch of a tree, anyof these things alone wouldbe enough for me.”

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Looking Questions

• What type of locationdo you see in thepainting?

• What time of day is it?• Describe the clothes that

the women are wearing.• Although there are very

few outlines, what otherkinds of lines do you see

in the painting? Wheredo you see zigzag, curvy,or straight lines? Whatkinds of lines repeat?

• Is there any black in thepicture? Where?

• The painting shows uspart of the boat and thetwo women riding in it.

What else do you thinkwas in the boat outside ofour view? Do you thinkthe artist or someone elsewas in the boat?

ActivitiesThe ArtsMany colors, lines, andshapes are combined to createthe illusion of sunlit water inthis painting. Have thestudents create drawings ofwater. Use felt tip pens toapply color in short zigzagstrokes. Experiment with avariety of colors over thepage rather than coloring inlarge blocks of one color.Draw a river or seascape, orarrange a still life with a glassof water as one of the objects.

Math or ScienceAsk the students to count thedifferent blues they see in

this reproduction ofMorisot’s painting. Howmany greens and yellows arethere? Are any other colorgroups represented? If youwere designing a set ofcrayons for the colors in thispainting, how many would bein the box? What would youname some of the colors?Just for fun, see if you cangive them all science-typenames, like Sulfur Yellow!

Language ArtsThe two women appear to beenjoying a relaxed, sunnyday. Have your students writea dialogue between the twowomen in the boat. First,create a one-line description

of the characters. Next, createa dialogue between them.Perform the play for the restof the class. You may want toinclude the artist as anothercharacter in your play.

Social StudiesAsk your students to imaginethat they are riding in theboat with the two women.Perhaps they are reportersinterviewing the womenabout their lives. Write ashort newspaper article fromthis interview. Read theinformation section about theartist and painting to give thearticles more details.

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Lesson #5

Claude Monet (mow-NAY)French, 1840-1926The Cliff at Fécamp, 1881Oil on canvas25 5/8 x 32 in.

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Aberdeen,Scotland. Image: © Aberdeen Art Gallery andMuseums, Aberdeen, Scotland

SubjectThis cliff painting is one of aseries created at Grainval,just south of Fécamp on theNormandy coast. It reflectsthe artist’s philosophy that“landscape is nothing but animpression - an instantaneousone.” Monet waited andwatched the shifting sun andshadows and then quicklybrushed in the moment hewanted. He liked to paint thesame scene many times so hecould study the effects ofchanging light and weather.Children frequently trailedthe artist and carried hiscanvases.

StyleThe writer Guy deMaupassant also followedMonet in his quest forimpressions and vividlydescribed the artist’s gifts:“He would pick up with afew strokes of his brush thefalling sun ray or the passingcloud, leaving aside the falseand conventional. I saw him

seize a sparkling downpourof light on the white cliff andfix it in a shower of yellowtones which made the effectof this fleeting and blindingmarvel seem strangelyastonishing.” This painting isMonet’s reaction to a briskspring day at Fécamp, as thebreeze ruffles the sea, andclouds tumble by in aluminous sky. Like a trueImpressionist, he has appliedbrushstrokes of brilliant blue,green, and yellow incontrasting patterns. Someviewers can see animal-likeshapes in the rocks of TheCliff at Fécamp - perhaps theonly sign of life in a scenethat is without humanevidence. The swirlingambiguity of cliffs and sea isdizzying and adds to thesense that we are there.Notice the off-centercomposition of the cliffsagainst the sea. Like otherImpressionists, Monet wasprobably influenced by theasymmetrical compositions

of popular Japanese wood-block prints.

ArtistTechnological advances -portable easels and metaltubes that stored paintindefinitely - allowedImpressionists like Monet totake extended painting tripsoutdoors. A wide range ofpigments was also available,though Monet used a small,typical Impressionist paletteof eight to ten colors. “Thereal point,” he wrote a friend,“is to know how to use thecolors.” Despite failingeyesight, the artist paintedwell into his eighties. Thepublic discovered his workby 1890, and his fortunesquickly improved. By 1920,the painter who once hadstruggled to feed and clothehis family complained aboutthe “too-frequent visits frombuyers who often disturb andbore me.”

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Looking Questions

• Describe the shapes thatyou see. What shapes arerepeated?

• Notice brushstrokes ofwarm colors next tobrushstrokes of coolcolors.

• Name two colors thatcontrast.

• Where do the colorscontrast?

• Do you see any outlines?

• Look carefully at thetextures of the plants,rocks, water, and sky.How do the brushstrokesdescribe differenttextures?

Activities

The ArtsJoin the students as you pickup an imaginary brush andpretend to paint this painting.Next, take the studentsoutside (or work from visualre- sources like old calendars)to create a landscape usingacrylic, tempera paint, or oilpastels. Look for differenttextures and colors asstudents paint directly on thepaper or canvas withoutsketching in outlines. Afterthey finish, have the studentslook at the painting again.What do they notice nowabout the painting that theydidn’t notice at first?

Math or ScienceScientists John Dalton,Stanisloa Cannizzaro, andAmedeo Avogadro allworked in Europe at the sametime as the Impressionists

did. The Impressionistpainters were interested inhow smaller parts (likebrushstrokes, bits and blobsof paint, and colored dots)make up the whole (apainting). The scientists madediscoveries about atoms(smaller parts) and matter(the whole). Have thestudents make four headingson their paper - gas, liquid,solid, other. Next, analyzethis whole painting by listingits smaller parts. Write undereach of these four headingsthe parts that apply to it. Forexample, list breeze, air, andatmosphere under theheading of gas. Use the sameheadings and analyze otherworks in this set.

Language ArtsTell the students to imaginejumping into the painting.How would it feel to be onthese cliffs? What would the

ground feel like? Is it warmor cool? Where is the lightcoming from? How does thescene smell? How is theweather? Ask the students toexplain their thoughts bywriting a paragraph thatdescribes the experience ofjumping into the painting.

Social StudiesHave the students look at theland in the painting. Noticethe plants, rocks, and view ofthe water. Imagine that theclass owned the landrepresented in thereproduction. Generate a listof ways to use the land. Willit be kept as open space,become a park, or bedeveloped into a resort hotel?What other uses can youthink of? Vote on how youwould use the land.

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Lesson #6

Paul Cézanne (say-ZAHN)French, 1839-1906Still Life with Pears,about 1885Oil on canvas15 x 18 1/8 in.

Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany.Image: © Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne,Germany.

SubjectThis is one of more than 170still life paintings PaulCézanne created in hislifetime. At first glance, it’s asimple arrangement of pearson a tabletop, but a secondlook shows us that the objectsare not true to nature. What,for example, is the gauzyblack mass to the right of theplate? Is that really draperyprotruding stiffly beyond thetable’s edge? Indeed,Cézanne liked to makeordinary objects lookunfamiliar, a radical idea inthe late 19th century. To him,studying nature was merelythe first step in making art.After that, Cézanneexplained, the artist should“make pictures that teach ussomething.” Often that“something” was to see ascene from different points ofview. Like his fellowImpressionists, Cézanne wasintrigued by the opticsciences. Notice how hedistorted perspec-tive in thispainting by showing thetabletop parallel to the pictureframe on the right, but pulledaway from the wall on the

left. Is that a strip of woodslashing flat across thebackground? The artist seemsto have lifted the back of thetable and tipped it forward.The objects on it appear toslide into our laps.

StyleLike other Impressionists,Cézanne painted with quick,visible brushstrokes, layingon colors next to each other.In this painting, the red pearappears more intensely redwhen placed among the greenpears. Cézanne understoodthat when complementarycolors like red and green(found on opposite sides ofthe color wheel) are placedadjacently in a painting, theyvibrate with intensity. Manyother Impressionist paintersused contrasting colors todescribe the play of light onthe surfaces of forms.Cézanne often used colors toarticulate the forms and thecomposition. For instance, inthis painting the arrangementof the three pears on the rightand the three pears on theplate is emphasized by bits ofblack and contrasted with the

one red pear. The odd-numbered groupings ofsimply shaped objects incontrasting colors arecharacteristic of Cézanne’sstill life paintings. Cézannetried to show internal con-struction of the forms that hepainted, “nature as cylinders,sphere, and cones,” in hiswords.

ArtistPaul Cézanne was born to awealthy family in the town ofAix-en-Provence. Tempera-mental and shy, he became anartist against his father’swishes. Fellow artist CamillePissarro introduced him toImpressionism in the 1870sand became a lifelong friend,encouraging Cézanne to paintfrom nature and providingemotional support. Still,Cézanne grew disillusionedwith Impressionism,distrusted fellow artists, andrefused to exhibit with thegroup after their secondshow. “I wanted to make ofImpressionism somethingsolid and enduring, like theart in museums,” he oncesaid.

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Looking Questions• What is a still life? Why

would someone paint astill life?

• Does this painting seemradical to you in anyway?

• Discuss Cézanne’schoice of objects. Dosome of them seem oddor distorted?

• Are there any colors thatsurprise you?

• What circular shapes doyou see? What do thecircular shapes represent?

• Where do you seetriangles?

• Straight lines? Curvylines?

• Where do you see thecolor yellow in the

painting? Why do youthink the artist chose touse yellow?

• What shapes did hechoose to repeat?

• Do some of the objectshave similar colors?

Activities

The ArtsFirst, place a sheet of clearplastic over the transparencyand draw the basic geometricshapes of the still life.Cézanne said he wanted to“treat nature by the cylinder,the sphere, the cone.” Set upa still life of objects withsimple shapes like soft drinkcans or bottles and a bowl offruit on a cafeteria tray. Askthe students to draw from it.Challenge your students tosimplify the image bydrawing only three-dimensional geometricshapes.

Math or ScienceName at least three geometricsolids or flat shapesrepresented in thiscomposition. How manyshapes or forms appear to betouching each other? Howmany are overlapping?Carefully copy at least twodifferent shapes by drawingtheir outlines on a piece ofpaper and cutting them out.See if someone else can findwhich ones you copied.

Language ArtsDiscuss the definition of stilllife with your students. Then,tell them to “write a stilllife.” Each student lists theirfavorite personal objects anddraws their outlines. Next,the objects are cut out and

glued to another piece ofpaper. After that, the studentswrite descriptions of eachobject around the outline ofthe cut-out shape. This way,the students will have awritten and visual descriptionof the objects.

Social StudiesThe artist Paul Cézanne hasmoved through a timemachine to be the art teacherfor the class. The studentshave the opportunity to askCézanne questions about thechoices he made as an artist.What questions are theycurious about? Write down afew questions after readingthe information and lookingat the transparency

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Lesson #7

Vincent van Gogh(van-GO)Dutch, 1853-1890Self-Portrait with aStraw Hat, 1887Oil on pasteboard16 x 12 3/4 in.

Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation),Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Image: © Van GoghMuseum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation),Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Subject“Ah! Portraiture, portraiturewith the thoughts, the soul ofthe model in it,” Vincent vanGogh exclaimed to his art-dealer brother, Theo. VanGogh’s compassionate heartand interest in individualcharacter - plus the wish ofthis lonely man to knowhimself and others - findexpression in his portraits.Van Gogh was probablymore interested in the humanface than otherImpressionists, whom heencountered for the first timein 1886. The artist paintedtwenty-two self-portraitswhile living with his brotherin Paris from 1886-1888.Later ones, like this Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat,reveal the artist’s crumblinghealth. The three-quarterprofile, deep shadows, andtight mouth suggest a mansuffering physical andemotional stress. A hauntedgaze from one blue and onegreen eye both pleads for ourhelp and pushes us away.

Van Gogh is dressed in theyellow straw hat and workcoat of the peasant laborer, anoften-worn costume befittinghis self-image as a workingman’s artist.

StyleVincent van Gogh came toImpressionism late, as manyof the movement’s founderstook other paths. Heembraced their palette oflighter colors over the dark,heavy forms of his earlywork. Notice how the daubsof paint change direction toexpress different forms andtextures in the face. The blue-stroked background contrastsvividly with the yellows inthe head. Van Gogh delightedin color and studied itscombinations all his life. “Iam always in hope of makinga discovery there, to expressthe love of two lovers by awedding of two comple-mentary colors, theirmingling and their opposi-tion, the mysteriousvibrations of kindred tones,”

he wrote. “To express thethought of a brow by theradiance of a light toneagainst a somberbackground.”

ArtistThe son of a Dutchclergyman, van Gogh triedand failed at dealing art,teaching, and religiousevangelism before turning todrawing and painting at agetwenty-seven. He was a self-taught and virtually un-noticed painter who sold onlyone artwork during hislifetime. Soon after finishingSelf-Portrait with a StrawHat, van Gogh left the bustleof Paris for the south ofFrance. There he sought thedirect inspiration of natureand the color, light, andnatural forms he admired inJapanese prints.Unfortunately, his attacks ofmental illness continued, and,at the age of thirty-seven, hetook his own life.

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Looking Questions• Describe with words

the different wayslines are used in thispainting.

• Next, ask students toanswer without wordsby using their handsonly. Have thempretend to use theirhands to paint the

short brushstrokes of thepainting.

• How does the artistshow shadows?

• How does the artistshow the contours of theface?

• Where are primarycolors used?

• What is the focal point?Why?

• What colors are the eyes?• How would the painting be

different if van Gogh weredirectly facing the viewer?

Activities

The ArtsAsk the students to pretendthat they are the artist, vanGogh, in this picture. Havethem explain what kind ofday they had when theypainted this picture. How didthey feel? How would theydescribe the clothes theywere wearing? Have themthen create their own self-portraits. Use the same sizepaper as the painting, 16 x 123/4 inches, and use oil pastelsand watercolors. Discusscostume, color, line, andmood. How do theseelements affect the painting?

Math or ScienceYour students are allmultimillionaires. They havejust learned that this paintingby van Gogh recently sold forfifty million dollars to aprivate investor. They have achance to bid on the rights tothe movie Titanic. They alsohave a chance to acquire theoriginal of this van Goghpainting. If each costs exactlyfifty million dollars, and this

painting is 16x12 inches,what is the price per squareinch? If the movie runs 187minutes, what is the price perminute? Should size or lengthfactor in determining the costof a work of art? If thestudents had the opportunityto own the original van Goghpainting, or the movieTitanic, would they spend themoney on the painting or themovie rights? Why?

Language ArtsThe artist Vincent van Goghwas intrigued by the conceptof painting portraits and self-portraits. When he lived inParis, he painted twenty-twoportraits in less than twoweeks. He carefully selectedcolors for their potential toconvey feeling andexpression, in addition to aconvincing representation.Have the students write aself-portrait, using onlywords to describe theirpersonality, moods, andfacial features. Have themuse several descriptive colorsfrom the color wheel. Forinstance, “Sometimes I feel

as blue as the deep bluevelvet night sky.”

Social StudiesVincent van Gogh and hisbrother Theo had a close andsupportive relationship.When they were adults, Theosupported Vincent financiallyand emotionally. Vincenteven lived with his brotherfor a while. Theo managed aParisian art firm. Heintroduced Vincent toImpressionist artists such asGauguin and Degas. Haveyour students find examplesof supportive relationships inrecent newspapers. Perhapsthey will find articles aboutteachers who helped theirstudents, sisters or brothersthat helped each other, orheroes that sacrificed theirown security to help others.Ask them to write an essayabout supportiveness andencouragement with severalexamples.

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Lesson #8

Pierre-Auguste Renoir(ren-WHAR)French, 1841-1919Woman Playing a Guitar, 1896-97Oil on canvas31 7/8 x 25 5/8 in.

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France.Image: © Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon,France

SubjectJulie Manet, daughter ofImpressionist Berthe Morisotand Èdouard Manet’s brother,Eugène, was charmed todiscover this painting inprogress in Renoir’s studio.“He’s doing some ravishingthings with a guitar;” shewrote, “a woman with awhite muslin dress, held bypink bows, leans gracefullyover a large brown guitar,with her feet on a yellowcushion... It’s all colored,soft, delicious.” Julieprovides a perfect descriptionof this work, which capturesa contemplative moment.Julie no doubt saw otherpaintings from this series ofmen and women playing theguitar, done late in Renoir’scareer. The subject may haveappealed to the artist forseveral reasons. Maybe theguitarists were successors toRenoir’s earlier paintings ofyoung women playing thepiano. Or perhaps he wasinspired by the seductiveSpanish dancer “la BelleOtero,” who performed withParis’s famous entertainment

review, the Folies-Bergères.The artist also loved theenchanting lute players of18th-century French paintingand, especially, the womenplaying musical instrumentsby 19th-century painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.Renoir’s career veered fromthe Impressionist’scontemporary Paris life, andthe modern dress worn by hisearlier models. This guitar-player wears a simple, whitecostume. The solid, triangularcomposition recalls themonumental figures ofclassical painters Titian andRubens centuries earlier.

StyleColor and composition makea dramatic impact in thispainting. Notice the varietyof colors in the skin anddress: warm yellow-gray andpink tones where the figurecatches the light, and coolblue-gray and green shades inthe shadows. Rich andglowing, the color harmoniescapture the play of light andshadow that so interested the

Impressionists. In terms ofcomposition, the woman,chair, and guitar are paintedto emphasize and repeatvoluptuous curves. Thecurves in the foreground areanchored in space by thecrisp verticals and horizontalsof the background.

ArtistThe son of a tailor, Pierre-Auguste Renoir studied withMonet at the classical Ècoledes Beaux-Arts. As anImpressionist, he paintedhuman figures enjoyingmodern pastimes in light-filled gardens, outdoorrestaurants, and cafes. Softbrushstrokes and luminouscolor characterize his work.“For me a picture should be apleasant thing, joyful andpretty - yes pretty!” he said.Later in life, he favored themore conservative subjects,solid figures, and centeredcompositions of earlier,academic art. Like fellowartists Monet and Cassatt, hewondered if theImpressionists’ views of afleeting moment in modern

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life would interest future generations.

Looking Questions• This painting shows us a

woman playing a guitaras she sits on a cushionedchair. Describe thefurnishings that you see.

• What shapes and colorsare repeated in thisimage?

• Where do you seecurving lines?

• What color are theshadows?

• What is the focal point ofthis painting?

• How did the artistindicate the focal point?

Activities

The ArtsAsk the students to draw oneof their hands. Try drawingthe hand alone, and thendepict it holding a pencil orpaint brush. Have them usechalks or pastels and includeall of the colors that are intheir skin. Consider the poseor position. Does it lookforceful or gentle? Whatcolors did they use?

Math or ScienceMany things are repeated inthis painting. Play a countinggame with your students tosee how many things arerepeated. Ask how manybows they see. The first

student that says the numbermust point out where thebows are. If they can identifythat number of bows, theywin that question. Repeat thisprocess with the followingthings: circles, rectangles,straight lines, and curvy lines.The right answer is not themain goal of the game. Thegoal is to get the students toobserve the painting closely.

Language ArtsHave the students pretendthey are either the musicianin this painting or the artistwho is creating the painting.Then, have them create adiary as if they were one ofthese people. Have themdescribe the moments

surrounding the creation ofthis painting.

Social StudiesThe woman in this painting isplaying a guitar, which is ahobby or leisure-timeactivity. List other late 19th-century, leisure-timeactivities by looking at theother transparencies.Compare and contrast themto the leisure-time activitiesof present day. List thesimilarities and differences.How accurately did the artistdepict the guitar and itsplaying? Check with theguitarists in the class.

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Lesson #9Edgar Degas (duh-GAH)French, 1834-1917Before the Performance,about 1896-98Oil on paper laid on canvas18 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.Image: © National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh,Scotland

SubjectBefore the Performancedepicts a favorite Degassubject, an off-guard momentin the life of the Paris balletdancer. As the last minutes tocurtain time tick by, theselittle “rats” (a commonnickname for the company’sadolescent dancers)daydream, gossip, and adjusttheir costumes. By the 1890s,Degas had little need to sellhis work, thanks to earliercommercial success andinherited wealth. He was ableto take more risks artistically,as demonstrated in themoodiness of this painting.Notice how the dancers’faces are blank andexpressionless; they stand tothe rear of the picture space,as if alienated from theviewer. The artist no longertried to render his subjects’feelings. “They call me thepainter of dancers,” Degassaid, “without understandingthat for me the dancer hasbeen the pretext for paintingbeautiful fabrics andrendering movement.”

StyleThe artist was fascinated bythe succession of movementsand gestures - one reason, nodoubt, that he painted dancersin so many positions. Heliked the artistic tension ofarms and legs straining andtwisting at odd angles,apparent in the two dancerson the right of this painting.The figure bisected by thepicture frame (left) and theslash of trees across thebackground show theinfluence of photography onDegas’ compositions. Somephotographs capture unusual,spontaneous compositionswith figures, and objectscropped off rather than wholewithin the image. Blurrededges and delicateapplication of paint give thepainting a two-dimensional,decorative feeling remini-scent of the Japanese printsso popular at the time. Degasalso used more brilliant,expressive colors than inearlier works. The orangetutus are a soft smudge ofpaint, resembling the original

pastel that inspired thispainting.

ArtistEdgar Degas was born to anaffluent Parisian bankingfamily and briefly studiedlaw before turning to art.Although a founding memberof the Impressionist groupexhibitions, Degas neverreally thought of himself asan Impressionist. He hadreceived academic arttraining. He worked morerealistically than the otherImpressionists for much ofhis career. His drawing skills,obvious in the clear,deliberate lines around hispainting subjects, also sethim apart from Monet,Renoir, Sisley, and manyothers. Unlike his fellowImpressionists, who werecriticized for sloppybrushwork and lack of finish,Degas was sometimesquestioned for the “low-life”subjects he paintedobsessively: laundresses,dancers, and street women. Inlater life, the artist movedaway from realism toward a

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looser style that wouldinspire a new generation of

painters. This looser style was due, in part, to his failingeyesight.

Looking Questions

• Squint your eyes anddescribe the colors,shapes, and patterns thatyou see.

• Where is the source oflight?

• Name the colors that arerepeated.

• What complementarycolors do you see?

• What did the artist cropor cut off at the edges ofthis painting?

• Cover the bottom third ofthe transparency. Howdoes it change?

• Cover all of thetransparency except oneof the dancers. What didthe artist choose tosimplify or eliminate?

• Imagine that all thedancers were wearingpink instead of yellowand orange. How wouldit change the mood of thepainting?

Activities

The ArtsLook at all the differentpositions the dancers’ bodiestake in the painting. Recruit afew willing students to posein the same positions thedancers took while the artist,Edgar Degas, sketched,photographed, or paintedthem. The rest of the studentswill sketch a series of quickdrawings capturing themovement and gesture of thebody rather than making itanatomically correct. Usecharcoal crayons or softpencils for this exercise.

Math or ScienceOne influence onImpressionist painting wasthe invention of the camera inthe middle of the 19thcentury. There was no longera need to paint a person orevent with complete accuracybecause a photograph could

be taken instead. Thecomputer was invented in themiddle of the 20th century.What new kinds of art has thecomputer influenced orenabled? Ask the students towrite an essay about thesetwo inventions and theirimpact on the world of art.

Language ArtsHave the students compose astory describing the move-ments of the dancers in thepainting. List words thatdescribe the dancers’ actions.What happened after themoment you see in theimage? The title of thepainting is Before thePerformance. Have thestudents write what theyimagine the performancewould be like.

Social StudiesThis painting has severalcolors, like buttery yellowsand peachy oranges. Write arecipe for this painting.Include measurements, all theingredients you can find, thetime to prepare, and anyspecial “cooking” or“viewing/consuming”instructions. Write anotherrecipe for one of the othertransparencies (maybe theother Degas) and see ifsomeone else can guesswhich recipe matches eachimage. For example: “Youwill need orange, yellow,brown, black, white, andgreen paint. Mix paint totaste. Apply paint liberally tobackground, foreground, anddancers’ costumes andsparingly to bodies and faces.Sprinkle white paint togarnish. Enjoy this satisfyingpainting again and again!”

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GlossaryAcademy or Academic art - Art createdaccording to the prescriptions of the officialacademies of painting and sculpture whichflourished in Europe from the 17th to the 19thcenturies. French Academic art of the late19th century was characterized by idealizedmythological or historical subject matter,mixed, modulated colors, and a smooth,highly polished finish.

background - The surface or area againstwhich objects are seen or represented.

Barbizon School - A group of Frenchpainters who, from about 1830 to 1870, livedin or near the town of Barbizon, at the edge ofthe forest of Fontainebleau in France. Therethey painted the animals, landscapes, andpeople of the region. The group wasdistinguished by painting outdoors rather thanin studios, as had generally been the practice.The work of the Barbizon painters included awider scope of subject matter, greater realism,and fresher color than that of the other Frenchpainters of the time, who followed thetraditions of historical scenes and idealizedstyle favored by the conservative FrenchAcademy. The Barbizon painters areconsidered by many as the precursors ofImpressionism in their informality andinsistence on naturalness rather than idealism.

color wheel - Conventional means ofarranging the primary colors (blue, red, andyellow), their principal mixtures or secondarycolors (orange, green, and violet), and otherprincipal mixtures or hues, so as todemonstrate their sequential relationship.Colors that fall directly opposite one anotherin the color circle are called complementarycolors.

complementary color - A primary colorwhose placement opposite the secondary colorproduced by the other two primaries on thecolor circle makes it seem brighter or

stronger. For example, red strengthens green,blue strengthens orange, and yellowstrengthens violet.

composition - The combination of elementsin a painting or other work of art that providesorder or structure to the scene.

cool color - A color that suggests sensationsof coolness, such as blue or its associatedhues, blue-green, and blue-violet. In painting,cool colors appear to recede from the pictureplane and therefore suggest depth.

dandy - A man who affects extreme elegancein clothes and manners.flâneur (Fr.) - This French word describes anidler or stroller.

focal point - The area in a pictorialcomposition to which the eye returns mostnaturally.

foreground - The part of a picture or viewdepicted as nearest to the viewer.

horizon line - In linear perspective, the linewhere sky and earth seem to meet. It is on thisline that the vanishing point is located.

Japonisme (Fr.) - The widespread interest inall things Japanese - art, furnishings, costume,etc. - in France after the opening of Japan toWestern trade in 1854. The color harmonies,simple designs, asymmetrical compositions,and flat forms of Japanese wood block printsstrongly influenced Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.

landscape - A landscape is a view or vista ofnatural scenery on land, or a representation,especially painting, of the outdoors.

linear perspective - Uses real or suggestedlines converging on a vanishing point orpoints on the horizon line or at eye level, andlinking receding planes as they converge. Itprovides a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface.

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middle ground - The part of a picture or viewdepicted as the middle to the viewer.

one-point perspective - Linear perspective inwhich the eye is drawn towards a singlevanishing point in the center of thecomposition, usually on the horizon line.Synonym: centralized perspective.

optical mixtures - Pure primary colors usedin small touches in close juxtaposition so thatthey seem to merge, producing secondarycolors. This effect was used in Impressionistart.

outline - In drawing, an imaginary line whichmarks the boundary of an object or figure,without taking into consideration light, shade,internal modeling, or color.

overlap - To extend over and cover part of.

palette - 1. A portable tray (usually made ofwood) on which an artist sets out his colorsand also mixes them. 2. By extension, thechoice of colors seen in his or her work.

perspective - The method of representing athree-dimensional object, or a particularvolume of space, on a flat or nearly flatsurface.

(en) plein air painting - 1. Painted out ofdoors. The practice may have been initiatedby François Desportes in the early 18thcentury but was made a matter of doctrine bythe Impressionists. 2. Sometimes incorrectlyapplied to landscapes painted in the studiowhich employ such a direct technique thatthey seem to have been done out of doors.

primary colors - Blue, yellow, and red. Thecolors from which all others are derived, andwhich cannot be resolved or decomposed intoother colors.

provenance - The record of all knownprevious ownership and locations of a work ofart.

The Salon - An official French exhibition ofpaintings was first held in 1667 under royalpatronage in the Salon d’Apollon in theLouvre. From 1667 to 1737 the exhibit washeld annually; from 1737 to the FrenchRevolution it was held biannually. After theFrench Revolution (1789-99), the Salon tookplace once again annually. It continued to beofficially administered until 1881, when thegovernment withdrew. In that year acommittee of ninety artists, elected by all whohad exhibited in previous Salons, met to setup the Soc? ti? Nationale des Beaux-Arts.This organization held an annual exhibition ofits own from 1880 onwards.

self-portrait - An artistic image of the artist,especially one showing the face.

still life - A painting of objects.

underpainting - In traditional oil painting,the process of painting the canvas in a neutralcolor as a first step in the development oftonal values and of the composition as awhole.

vanishing point - In perspective, the pointtowards which a set of lines, which are inreality parallel to each other, seem toconverge.

warm color - A color which suggestssensations of warmness, such as red oryellow.Warm colors tend to project from the pictureplane.

Resource for art terms: Lucie-Smith, Edward. TheThames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms. London,1984. Most of the definitions in the glossary are fromthis dictionary.

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SelectedBibliography &Resources forEducators

Books

Children

Bjork, Christina and Anderson, Lena. Linneain Monet’s Garden. Stockholm: R & S Books,1987. This is a story of a little girl’s interest inMonet and her visit to Monet’s home.

Muhlberger, Richard. What Makes a Degas aDegas? New York: Viking/MetropolitanMuseum of Art, 1993. The book exploressuch art topics as style, composition, color,and subject matter as they relate to twelveworks by Degas.

Muhlberger, Richard. What Makes a Monet aMonet? New York: Viking/MetropolitanMuseum of Art, 1993. The book exploressuch art topics as style, composition, color,and subject matter as they relate to twelveworks by Monet.

Muhlberger, Richard. What Makes a VanGogh a Van Gogh? New York: Viking/Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. The bookexplores such art topics as style, composition,color, and subject matter as they relate totwelve works by van Gogh.

Salvi, Francesco. The Impressionists: TheOrigin of Modern Painting. [Masters of ArtsSeries]. New York: Peter Bedrich Boales,1994. The book includes information onindividual artists, list of key dates, historicalbackground, and nice illustrations.

Skira-Venturi, Rosabianca. A Weekend withRenoir. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. The book

briefly examines his life and influences andhas many reproductions of his works.

Skira-Venturi, Rosabianca. A Weekend withVan Gogh. New York: Rizzoli, 1993. Itbriefly examines his life and influences andhas many reproductions of his works.

Welton, Jude. Monet. [Eyewitness Art series].London: D. Kindersley/The MuséeMarmottan, Paris, 1992. This book uses thesame format for each artist with manyreproductions, details, and text.

Welton, Jude. Impressionism. [Eyewitness Artseries]. New York: D. Kindersley/The ArtInstitute of Chicago, 1993. This bookcombines biography and artistic analysis withphotos of selected works. It has many detailedreproductions.

Adults

Bade, Patrick. Degas: The Masterworks. NewYork: Portland House, 1991. The authoroutlines Degas’ life, influences, and worksand contains many color reproductions withcommentary.

Denvir, Bernard. The Impressionists at FirstHand [World of Art series]. New York:Thames and Hudson, 1987. This paperbackbook has first hand accounts by Impressionistartists and writers about their lives.

de la Faille, J.B. The Works of Vincent vanGogh: His Paintings and Drawings.Amsterdam: Reynal and Co./Wm. Morrow,1970. Described as the ÒdefinitiveÓ catalogof van Gogh’s work, and the only book thatcontains reproductions of all of his knownpaintings and drawings.

Lloyd, Christopher. Pissarro. New York:Phaidon, 1979. Forty-eight full-color plateswith commentary and analysis.

Moffet, Charles S., Benson, Ruth andWiseman, Fronia E. The New Painting:Impressionism 1874-1886. Seattle: R. Barton

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distributors for the United States and Canada,The University of Washington Press, ©1986,1989. This catalogue provides an overview ofthe paintings in the Impressionist exhibition.

Nunhead, Nancy. Claude Monet. London:Park Lane, 1994. Nunhead briefly introducesMonet’s life and the development of his workwith over ninety large, full-color plates.

Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism.New York Graphic Society Boston/TheMuseum of Modern Art, New York, Fourthrevised edition, 1973. The 672-page book has623 illustrations, and is a comprehensivereference.

Romano, Eileen. The Impressionists TheirLives, Their World, and Their Paintings. NewYork: Penguin Studio, 1997. This book is aconcise introduction to Impressionismincluding the historical context.

Stuckey, Charles. Berthe Morisot,Impressionist. New York: Hudson Hills Press,1987. It has biographical information andmany full-color reproductions.

White, Barbara Ehrlich. Renoir, His Life, Artand Letters. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.Publishers, New York. 1984. The book hasdetailed information; 391 illustrations.

White, Barbara Ehrlich. Impressionists Sideby Side: Their Friendships, Rivalries andArtistic Exchanges. New York: Knopf, 1996.White focuses on seven pairs of artists: Degasand Manet, Monet and Renoir, Cézanne andPissarro, Manet and Morisot, Cassatt andDegas, Morisot and Renoir, Cassatt andMorisot. She compares their treatment ofidentical subjects using reproductions, andtext.

Varnedoe, Kirk. Gustave Caillebotte. NewHaven and London: Yale University Press,1987. The book has biographical data, hisworking methods, characteristic themes, colorreproductions, and a selection of criticalresponses.

Videos

Children

Linnea in Monet’s Garden. The LinneaSwedish Film Institute, Feature InstituteNordic Film, and TV Fund, 1993. This is a30-minute story of a little girl’s interest inMonet and her visit to Monet’s home.

Adults

An Age of Reason, An Age of Passion: AFresh View, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.Produced by WNET, New York. West LongBranch, NJ: Kultur, 1989. This two-part videoseries was presented by PBS and is 114minutes long.

The Landscape of Pleasure. Written andpresented by Robert Hughes, The Ambrosevideo publishers, New York, 1988. The Shockof The New series explains the basics ofImpressionism in 52 minutes.

Monet, a Legacy of Light. Boston WGBH byPublic Media Home Vision, 1989. It is a 30-minute introduction to MonetÕs life and art.

Web Sites

The Claude Monet Home Pagewww.columbia.edu/~jns16/monet_html/monet.htmlThis is an introduction to Monet withbiographical information and an overview ofImpressionism. Discussion of Monet’smethods and techniques, formal and thematicanalysis of one of his works. Bibliography isprovided. Some sections are all text. It hasgreat reproductions and links to other sites.

Impressionism: Paintings Collected byEuropean Museumswww.Impressionism.orgThis site, created for this exhibition, hasactivities for teachers and families, essays on

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the artists, and images of many paintings inthe exhibition.

Inside Art: An Adventurein Art Historywww.eduweb.com/insideart/index.htmlThis is a great activity page for kids. There isalso a link to teacher resources.

WebMuseum Impressionismhttp://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/glo/impressionism/

This site (Sun Site Aalborg University,Denmark) has extensive information about theImpressionist artists, links to biographicalinformation with pictures of the artists andtheir works. An example is the site for AlfredSisley:http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/sisley/There is a biography, description oftechniques, and color photos of his works.

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Credits and SpecialThanks

This Resource packet has been developed bythe Denver Art Museum in conjunction withthe exhibition, Impressionism: paintingsCollected by European Museum.

Project Coordinator: Sarah Hyde-KoenigEditor: Molly SquibbDesigner: Joan Pacos

Teacher Advisors: Sharon Rouse and PennySelle

Melora McDermott-Lewis, Master Teacherfor American and European Art; TimothyStandring, Gates Foundation Curator ofPainting and Sculpture and Curator of theBerger Collection; Maria Garcia, Family andKids Programs Coordinator; and MarilynKnox, Docent at the Denver Art Museum fortheir knowledge and advice.

Special Thanks to:Thanks to Kathleen Peckham Allen, MuseumEducator for School and Teacher Programs;Jill Rullkoetter, Kayla Skinner Director ofEducation and Public Programs; and

Chiyo Ishikawa, Curator of European Paintingat the Seattle Art Museum for their assistance.

Thanks also to Stacy Harnew, Head of SchoolPrograms; Lisa Rothstein, School ProgramsAssistant; Phaedra Siebert, CuratorialAssistant, European Art; H. Nichols B. Clark,Eleanor McDonald Storza Chair of Education;David Brenneman, Frances B. Bunzl FamilyCurator of European Art at the High Museumof Art for their suggestions. The on-lineversion of this resource packet was madepossible by funding from the Center forWestern European Studies, Henry M. JacksonSchool for International Studies, University ofWashington.

Seattle Art Museum on-line productioncrew: Kathleen Peckham Allen, MuseumEducator for School and Teacher Programs;Christina DePaolo, Promotions and Web SiteManager; Scott Nacke, Operations Assistant;Jill Rullkoetter, Kayla Skinner Director ofEducation and Public Programs; and JoeShuster, Chief of Information Technology.

Special Thanks to:Linnea Harwell, Sarah Hyde-Koeing and JoanPacos.