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Michelangelo Buinarroti - A
Famous Artist
This lesson allows students to study the work of the famous Michelangelo
and to try their hand at painting a Sistine Chapel "ceiling"!
To begin the lesson, discuss the background of this famous man. Share stories
of his life as he grew to become the famous artist. These sites provide
excellent biographies of Michelangelo...
Michalengelo Biography
Site
Discuss some of Michelangelo’s famous works. If possible, download some
of the paintings and print them with a colour printer. Have students discuss
the elements of design used by Michelangelo in groups. Encourage students to
talk about colour, line, texture, etc. See this site for samples of his
work.
Tell the students about Michelangelo’s famous work painting the Sistine
Chapel. Ask the students to guess which part of the chapel he painted (the
ceiling). Discuss as a group what painting upside down would be like and how it
might affect his work - difficulty, time, materials, etc. Share pictures of the
Sistine Chapel paintings. This site has the ceiling in several sections to
study.
Tell the class that they will be working as a group to paint their own
simplified version of a "ceiling". As a class, chose an overall theme that
you want to depict in the painting. Cut several large sheets of paper into
pie shapes with rounded ends. Show the class how when all the pieces are
finished and put together they will make a large circle (this is your
simplified shape). Divide the class into groups. Each group will work on a
section of the "ceiling". Groups must cooperate to decide what will be
painted in their section. Now tape the sheets to the bottom of several
tables. (NOTE: You might need to get your custodian to help out here by
lowering the table height). Cover the floor with newspaper or drop sheets
and go to work! (HINT: Be sure to take photos of this event to display with
your finished product!)
When all groups are finished, have them paint a black
outline around their pie-shaped paper. Display all "pie" pieces together in
a circle to represent your own ‘ceiling’!
- Shayni Tokarczyk
Pablo Picasso
 
Consider introducing your students to Picasso during your
art classes. Read to the students about Picasso's life, explaining that
his artwork often reflected his mood/feelings at that particular time in
his life. There was a long period in his life where he painted in blues
(after a friend's suicide) and times where he painted in bright, happy
colours (when he was in love). I hand out a mini copy of Picasso's
"Still Life on a Pedestal Table" to each student and have them glue it
into their art journal. We discuss how to "critique" an art piece and
they write about this piece. I encourage them to write about how the
painting makes them feel, the colours, lines and textures used, the
message Picasso was trying to send, and whether or not they like the
painting.
The second step is to have the students try their own Picasso piece.
I bring in a variety of "strange" materials, such as vases, stuffed
animals, containers and odds and ends and we set up two displays. The
students choose the one they want to try. The results were way beyond
what I had imagined and the kids loved the activity. The picture to the
right represents a student sample.
Discovering the
Primary Colours with Piet Mondrian
If you are interested in teaching your students about the
primary colours of red, yellow and blue, be sure to check out the work by artist
Piet Mondrian. Mondrian created many works but a large portion of them were done
with only the primary colours. By using horizontal and vertical black lines
intersecting at right angles with small rectangles of colour (red, yellow or
blue), Mondrian produced several works of abstract art. These are excellent to
introduce your students to these vibrant colours. Be sure to check out some of
Mondrian's sites (see below) to download and print samples of his work and a
biography to share with your students.
Sites to visit with biographies and samples of Piet
Mondrian's work...
- Shayni Tokarczyk
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