Today in art class I introduced the kids to French Impressionist Claude Monet and we learned how his studies in light influenced the entire Impressionist movement in art history.
Monet liked to get out of the studio and paint things as he saw them in person. He often made series of paintings of the same subject under different conditions: different times of day, different weather and seasons would change the entire way he saw the subject. Because Monet was trying to capture a moment as he saw it he stopped trying to paint slowly, carefully and taking time to mix colors and instead started to throw layer upon layer of quick strokes on his paper to represent the subject in that very moment. Details were no longer important to Monet- and other artists began to follow this style. We took a look at a series of paintings he did of the Rouen Cathedral in France.
By painting the colors that appeared on the gray stone cathedral in different lighting he showed the French public an entirely new way to view one of their most beloved landmarks. He chose to paint a subject that was familiar to everyone and give it new interest.
For the art project today the kids used their gouche paints to create a series of seasonal paintings of a tree. They imagined one tree and how it would look during each of the seasons and then used layers of paint to create the look they wanted.
Here they are working hard- learning to apply lighter colors over the darker ones.
And here are their completed tree series.
Next week we will study Renoir and his use of brush strokes in portraits.
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