Name of Project:
Themes of European Art
Classroom, School:
Universals of Culture, Barton Open School, Minneapolis
Cooperating teacher:
Allison Rubin-Forrester
Grade Level:
7th and 8th
Presenter's Name:
Jennifer LaCasse
Subject and Curricular Link:
Multimedia Drawing and European Art History
Overview of Project
The students strengthened their recognition of themes in the visual art of a
particular geographic region, as well as their ability to identify an artwork's country of origin.
The students explored what art reveals about the values of a culture (family, religion, freedom,
the land, etc.). The students then created an original work of art reflecting what is important
in their own lives.
Essential Question(s)
What does the artwork of a region tell us about the values of the people that live there?
What is an important aspect of your life in the place that you live?
Prior Knowledge
Basic understanding of the development of European civilization
and familiarity with some basic styles and genres of art.
Timeline
This was a two-day lesson. The first day consisted of a brief, interactive
European art history lesson. The teams of students matched images of both fine and folk art with
a European country and gave a brief explanation for their discussion. The students presented their
guesses to the class. On the second day the students created a work of art based on their own
interests and the visual characteristics of the art from the region they were studying.
Examples of student or artist work
Multiple images of both fine and folk art from each region: Spain/ Portugal;
France/ Switzerland; England/ Ireland; Germany/ Poland; Italy/ Austria; Norway/ Sweden/ Finland;
Greece/ Macedonia; The Netherlands/ Belgium.
Assessment
On the first day of the lesson the students showed what they had
learned together by presenting their worksheets to the rest of the class. During the
last 15 minutes of the second day, each student to shared their artwork and described what
regional style and subject matter they chose to use.
Materials
The students were given the choice to work with any of the following:
colored pencils, charcoal, acrylic paint, chalk pastels, pen and ink.
Teacher Vocabulary
In many parts of the world, art can be broken down into two groups:
folk art and fine art. Folk art is the signature style of a culture that is embedded in
their history and everyday lives. Fine art is also influenced by culture, but the individual
style of the artists is the defining factor. (Excerpt from worksheet)
Procedures
Day one:
1. Divide students into 6 groups.
2. Distribute unlabeled images of artwork from each region, along with identification worksheet.
3. Using their prior knowledge and critical analysis skills, the students must match each image with a region.
4. Each team presents their guesses and explanations to the rest of the class.
5. Ask students to make a list of personally important things about where they live.
Day two:
1. Review previous day's lesson, including students' list of important characteristics of home.
2.Inroduce assignment: ÒCreate an original work of art that exemplifies both a style from your region and a subject that is important in your own life.Ó
3. Work time and brief reflection person for last 15 minutes of class.
Teacher Reflection
This lesson was planned to compliment Allison's unit on European history.
Each student had selected a country to study in depth and report on to the rest of the class.
This lesson included a mini survey of European art history with an emphasis on universal
themes in art. The artwork that each student created was included in their final
presentation on their country.