#2038. Georges Seurat, The "Maria" at Honfleur
Art, level: Middle
Posted Tue Nov 28 07:03:14 PST 2000 by Tara Papp (
tara310@yahoo.com).
Indiana University of PA, Indiana, PA USA
Materials Required: the print The "Maria" at Honfleur, markers, pictures of ships, docks, marinas, etc., white paper 8x5
Activity Time: 50 minutes, 1 class period
Concepts Taught: Learning about pointillism
Introduction: This lesson will follow a lesson teaching perspective. The students know how objects appear to go back in space. They also learned how to make objects appear to have volume. Motivation: I will start the class introducing the term, pointillism. Pointillism is the use of tiny, dot-like brushstrokes of contrasting colors to represent the play of light in a painting. The students will understand pointillism. The students will learn basic facts about Georges Seurat and his work, "The "Maria" at Honfleur". The students will look at pictures of ships and use their understanding of perspective, from the previous lesson, to draw ships, docks, marinas, etc. The students will discuss the different parts of ships, stern, mast, ropes, deck, anchor, etc. The students will use markers to use the technique of pointillism in their work of art. The students will engage in a group critique of their works of art.
Procedure:
1. I will start the class by having half of the students come up and look at a small portion of the print up close. Then, of course, have the other half do the same. The students will discuss what they saw, small dots of color.
2. I will then uncover the rest of the print. The students will then see that the small dots of color to create an image. This is when I would explain pointillism.
3. I would then introduce the artist, Georges Seurat, and the title of the print.
4. I will talk about the artist in further detail. For example, how he was the founder of Neo-Impressionism, his influences, background information, etc.
5. If the class has no questions or anything to add to the discussion of Seurat, I will then discuss the print. This will lead into a conversation of ships. I will pass out pictures of ships as a reference. I will make a list on the board of the parts of a ship from the information I gather from the students.
6. I will then tell the children to gather around my desk. I will then explain to the students their assignment. I will start by showing examples of previous students work and an example I created.
7. The students will draw a ship, in perspective, with a sea-like environment around it. I will briefly remind them how objects appear to get smaller as they go back into space. They will be told to draw lightly so later the pencil lines will be erased. I will demonstrate at my desk.
8. I will then explain how to use pointillism to add color and volume to their ships. Remind them how objects cast shadows and have light cast on then from the direction of the sun.
9. The students will then return to their seats as I pass out the paper and markers. The students will then create their works of art as I walk around helping children individually.
10. At the very end of class each student will hang their images on a bulletin board and put the markers back in the boxes and neatly place them on the cart. The students will then sit on the floor in front of the bulletin board.
Closure: Their images will stay hanging on the bulletin board. We will then hold a group critique. I would ask the students if they like the technique of pointillism. I am sure the students will have conflicting opinions, which is good.
Evaluation/Assessment: The evaluation of the work will be a group discussion. We will discuss who did a good job using perspective and pointillism and what was difficult to do using this technique or what might have been easy and enjoyable. This will allow students to reflect on their work of art and voice their opinions of the lesson. This can also act as learning experience for myself to see how to improve the lesson for future use.
