Charlotte Mason Picture Study
Charlotte Mason, on appreciating art.
There are few subjects regarded with more respect and less confidence in our schools than this of 'Art.' Of course, we say, children should have their artistic powers cultivated, especially those who have such powers, but how is the question.
But we begin now to understand that art is ... of the spirit, and in ways of the spirit must we make our attempt. We recognise that the power of appreciating art and of producing to some extent an interpretation of what one sees is as universal as intelligence, imagination, nay, speech, the power of producing words. But there must be knowledge and, in the first place, not the technical knowledge of how to produce, but some reverent knowledge of what has been produced; that is, children should learn pictures, line by line, group by group, by reading, not books, but pictures themselves. (Volume 6, Towards a Philosophy of Education, pgs. 213-215)
Why Is It Important to Study the Life and Works of an Artist?
1. Artist study will give the children a lasting memory of the great works of art and the artists who created them.
2. Artist study reinforces a child's habit of observation. Practiced regularly, children will learn that a work of art's meaning and content cannot be taken for granted at first glance. Works that children (and adults!) would commonly walk by at a museum now become objects of reverence and worthy of close examination.
2. Artist study reinforces a child's habit of observation. Practiced regularly, children will learn that a work of art's meaning and content cannot be taken for granted at first glance. Works that children (and adults!) would commonly walk by at a museum now become objects of reverence and worthy of close examination.
"For, don't you mark, we're made so that we love
First when we see them painted, things we have passed
Perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see."
-Robert Browning, "Fra Lippo Lippi", 1855
From the artist's biography and the context of his/her paintings, children gain a greater understanding of history, geography, artistic mediums, world religions, other cultures, and socio-economic characteristics of the time.
4. Children experience great joy when they get to see one of the originals in person.
4. Children experience great joy when they get to see one of the originals in person.
Charlotte says...
We hear of a small boy with his parents in the National Gallery; the boy, who had wandered off on his own account, came running back with the news,––"Oh, Mummy, there's one of our Constables on that wall." In this way children become acquainted with a hundred, or hundreds, of great artists during their school-life and it is an intimacy which never forsakes them. A group of children are going up to London for a treat. "Where would you like to go?" "Oh, Mummy, to the National Gallery to see the Rembrandts." Young people go to tea in a room strange to them and are delighted to recognise two or three reproductions of De Hooch's pictures. In the course of school-life children get an Open Sesame to many art galleries, and to many a cultivated home; and life itself is illustrated for them at many points.
Picture Study Method
1. Prior to studying a picture, you can introduce the children to the artist by briefly sharing some background on the artist, if possible from a living book written for children on that artist. It is nice for children to learn where the artist lived, the historical or religious context of his work (if relevant), where he may be placed on the timeline of history, his family, friends and outside influences, the subject of his work, and the general type of his pictures (engraving, woodcut, oil painting, watercolor, drawing, etc).
For narration purposes, the biography can be divided into as many parts as pictures that you have planned to observe with your child(ren). If you study the works of one artist six times in a term, you can divide his biography into six parts and have the child re-narrate the previous part each week, preparing him to hear a new section of the artist's biography. Again, this reading should be brief (5 minutes or so). If you enjoy the biography but don't finish it during the term, you could consider adding it to free reading. Remember, it is not for us to teach all the details about the artist, but for the pictures themselves to teach the children.
2. Distribute picture face down on a cleared desk. It is very important that each child have her own print of the work to be studied. If we have a very large print, two children could share. If it is a small print, it is best to make good quality color copies for each child.
3. If this is the child's first artist study experience, explain that the first thing they should do is develop a first impression of the picture, then look at the major parts. Who or what is in the picture? What colors are used? Is there action in the picture or are the subjects still?
4. When ready, have students turn the pictures face up and study them silently for several minutes. Sometimes we play classical music (no lyrics) in the background, softly so as not to distract.
5. Direct the children to turn the picture face down again. They should not try to peek; all of these observances come from their memory. Ask the children to tell you everything they see in the picture but tell them that they cannot repeat anything previously said. There should be no further direction from the teacher. If children can read, or if you want to keep a record of their observations, it is fine to list their observations on paper or on a whiteboard.
For narration purposes, the biography can be divided into as many parts as pictures that you have planned to observe with your child(ren). If you study the works of one artist six times in a term, you can divide his biography into six parts and have the child re-narrate the previous part each week, preparing him to hear a new section of the artist's biography. Again, this reading should be brief (5 minutes or so). If you enjoy the biography but don't finish it during the term, you could consider adding it to free reading. Remember, it is not for us to teach all the details about the artist, but for the pictures themselves to teach the children.
2. Distribute picture face down on a cleared desk. It is very important that each child have her own print of the work to be studied. If we have a very large print, two children could share. If it is a small print, it is best to make good quality color copies for each child.
3. If this is the child's first artist study experience, explain that the first thing they should do is develop a first impression of the picture, then look at the major parts. Who or what is in the picture? What colors are used? Is there action in the picture or are the subjects still?
4. When ready, have students turn the pictures face up and study them silently for several minutes. Sometimes we play classical music (no lyrics) in the background, softly so as not to distract.
5. Direct the children to turn the picture face down again. They should not try to peek; all of these observances come from their memory. Ask the children to tell you everything they see in the picture but tell them that they cannot repeat anything previously said. There should be no further direction from the teacher. If children can read, or if you want to keep a record of their observations, it is fine to list their observations on paper or on a whiteboard.
Charlotte says...
A friendly picture-dealer supplies us with half a dozen beautiful little reproductions of the work of some single artist, term by term. After a short story of the artist's life and a few sympathetic words about his trees or his skies, his river-paths or his figures, the little pictures are studied one at a time; that is, children learn, not merely to see a picture but to look at it, taking in every detail. Then the picture is turned over and the children tell what they have seen,––a dog driving a flock of sheep along a road but nobody with the dog. Ah, there is a boy lying down by the stream drinking. It is morning as you can see by the light so the sheep are being driven to pasture, and so on; nothing is left out, the discarded plough, the crooked birch, the clouds beautiful in form and threatening rain, there is enough for half an hour's talk and memory in this little reproduction of a great picture and the children will know it wherever they see it, whether a signed proof, a copy in oils, or the original itself in one of our galleries.
6. Direct the children to turn the pictures face up again and look for more detail; look closely at foreground, background, details, color, feeling of movement, and so on. This period of silent observation should last a few more minutes. Suggest that they shut their eyes. Can they see a complete picture in their minds? If not, they should have another look.
7. Ask for additional observations. Encourage children to narrate everything they see without repeating previous observations. This time they are allowed to look at the pictures during their narrations.
8. Can they guess at the title or perhaps when it was painted? After they've finished picture study, share the title of the picture and the date of its completion. If able, draw the dimensions on the board with a ruler, and if the work is larger than can be shown on a board, demonstrate the dimensions as realistically as possible (obviously demonstrating the Sistine Chapel ceiling would be a challenge, but perhaps to demonstrate the size of one panel would suffice).
9. In the event that an artist includes hidden meanings, messages or pictures within pictures within his work (e.g. Albrecht Durer, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo - this was common with the Renaissance artists), it may be helpful to point these out to the child(ren) and explain the meaning if it is not obvious. With practice, they will enjoy examining an artist's other works to find additional secrets.
7. Ask for additional observations. Encourage children to narrate everything they see without repeating previous observations. This time they are allowed to look at the pictures during their narrations.
8. Can they guess at the title or perhaps when it was painted? After they've finished picture study, share the title of the picture and the date of its completion. If able, draw the dimensions on the board with a ruler, and if the work is larger than can be shown on a board, demonstrate the dimensions as realistically as possible (obviously demonstrating the Sistine Chapel ceiling would be a challenge, but perhaps to demonstrate the size of one panel would suffice).
9. In the event that an artist includes hidden meanings, messages or pictures within pictures within his work (e.g. Albrecht Durer, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo - this was common with the Renaissance artists), it may be helpful to point these out to the child(ren) and explain the meaning if it is not obvious. With practice, they will enjoy examining an artist's other works to find additional secrets.
Points to Remember
1. The entire study should take no more than thirty minutes.
2. Resist the temptation to lead the discussion by providing your own observations.
2. Resist the temptation to lead the discussion by providing your own observations.
Charlotte says...
It will be noticed that the work done on these pictures is done by the children themselves. There is no talk about schools of painting, little about style; consideration of these matters comes in later life, but the first and most important thing is to know the pictures themselves. As in a worthy book we leave the author to tell his own tale, so do we trust a picture to tell its tale through the medium the artist gave it. In the region of art as else-where we shut out the middleman.
3. Study 2-3 artists per year, with a minimum of 4 pictures and ideally 6 works of art. One idea is to alternate Artist Study with Composer Study.
4. Particularly in the early years, there is no need to introduce periods or styles of art. As the years pass, given consistent artist study, children will naturally notice the differences between artistic styles and typical subjects. Reading biographies and placing the artist on the timeline of history will further their understanding of the historical context of the artist's life and work. As the child reaches the middle and high school years, they will have been exposed to enough artists to easily segment artists into periods. For example, after studying three Impressionistic painters, the Impressionist style and period will be engrained in the child's mind. When she studies a Renaissance painting, it will be clear that it is of a different artistic period. If you alternate composers and artists throughout your school years, children will be able to see patterns in the history, culture and typical subjects of the artists and composers and history and literature they have studied.
5. Color copies on card stock cost between $.50 and $1.00. Libraries or used book stores often have inexpensive coffee table books that include biographical information and more than six large prints by the same artist. These are often very reasonably priced and can be used year after year.
6. Fine Art is not only 2-D works, such as paintings and prints. It includes sculpture, metal engraving, woodcut blocks, and other 3-D mediums. If it is possible to study these works of art in person at a local gallery or museum, that is ideal. Otherwise, it is possible to use the internet or pictures of the work to successfully study these pieces.
4. Particularly in the early years, there is no need to introduce periods or styles of art. As the years pass, given consistent artist study, children will naturally notice the differences between artistic styles and typical subjects. Reading biographies and placing the artist on the timeline of history will further their understanding of the historical context of the artist's life and work. As the child reaches the middle and high school years, they will have been exposed to enough artists to easily segment artists into periods. For example, after studying three Impressionistic painters, the Impressionist style and period will be engrained in the child's mind. When she studies a Renaissance painting, it will be clear that it is of a different artistic period. If you alternate composers and artists throughout your school years, children will be able to see patterns in the history, culture and typical subjects of the artists and composers and history and literature they have studied.
5. Color copies on card stock cost between $.50 and $1.00. Libraries or used book stores often have inexpensive coffee table books that include biographical information and more than six large prints by the same artist. These are often very reasonably priced and can be used year after year.
6. Fine Art is not only 2-D works, such as paintings and prints. It includes sculpture, metal engraving, woodcut blocks, and other 3-D mediums. If it is possible to study these works of art in person at a local gallery or museum, that is ideal. Otherwise, it is possible to use the internet or pictures of the work to successfully study these pieces.
