Subjects
Fine Arts
-Visual Arts
Language Arts
-English
Grade
6-12
Brief Description
Students examine a landscape painting, consider what a depicted person sees, and write a postcard or letter from this character’s point of view.
Objectives
Students will:
Keywords
Art, paintings, landscapes, perspective, fourth wall, writing
Materials Needed
Lesson Plan
Art has always been a way to communicate via a visual medium. Yet how often have we considered what a person depicted in a piece of art thinks, feels, sees or would say if s/he could speak? People depicted in works of art, especially landscape paintings, were put there by the artist for a reason, but that reason is often not obvious. We’re going to look at some paintings and try to imagine these characters’ point of view.
Step 1: From an art book or online source such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (try searching the collection for “landscape with figures”), students select a landscape painting that features one or more people. (You may choose to screen out works with nudity or violence.) Here are several appropriate suggestions:
London (Eric Bottomley; born in 1948)
Last of the Mohicans (Thomas Cole; painted in 1827)
Return of Odysseus (Claude Lorrain; painted in 1644)
Sixth Ave. at Third (John Sloan; painted in 1928)
Landscape works by female artists include:
Tropical Landscape (Elizabeth Jerome; painted in 1871)
Field Beach (Mary Blood Mellen; painted in the 1850s)
Coach Fording a Stream (Jane Stuart; painted around 1825-30)
Encourage students to consider what a person is thinking or feeling based on what s/he sees in the painting. It is important to take into consideration where individuals are looking in the work, as elements of the painting that are outside their field of view would not impact their thoughts.
Provide (or ask students to research) the artist’s name and the year the painting was made (or the year the artist was born, which offers a rough clue about when the painting might have been made). Have students work individually or in groups to answer the following questions:
Step 2: Based on what they see within the painting, students write a postcard or letter from the perspective of one of the people shown in it. If desired, print out a postcard template for each student. If students will be writing letters and have computer access, use this editable letter template or this online letter generator.
Ask students to consider what the person would say to a friend or family member back home based on what he or she experienced in the painting. Remind students to include character perspectives that reflect social and historical contexts depicted in the painting.
Step 3: Students share their postcards/letters with the class and explain their character’s perspective within the painting.
Assessment
Evaluate students in terms of the following:
Lesson Plan Source
EducationWorld
Submitted By
Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
National Standards
Language Arts
English
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.7 Evaluating Data
NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding
Fine Arts
Visual Arts
NA-VA.5-8.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols and Ideas
NA-VA.5-8.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
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