Millet
to Matisse Lesson Plan: High School Level
Lesson
Plan: Informal Group Portraits
In the
Style of Mary Cassatt
Grade level: 9-12
Art Class
Concept/Objective:
Students will understand one artist’s approach to the Impressionist’s
use of art elements and design principles.
Students will create an Impressionistic painting that contains
two figures.
Students will understand the concept of an informal portrait.
Students will understand how the Elements of Art and the Principles
of Art can be utilized to create a moment in time.
Questions
to Guide Your Instruction
- What is
a portrait? What is an informal portrait?
- What are
some visual clues that tell us this is not a posed portrait?
- Why did
the artist crop the figures?
- How has
the artist used painterly brush strokes to enhance the subject?
- Describe
how the value and intensity of the colors create form in the
figures.
- Where and
how has the artist repeated shapes in the painting?
- Describe
the brush marks and colors used in the figures and the background.
- Do you
think the artist tried to express the relationship between the
two figures?
- Do you
think the artist tried to express what she herself was thinking?
Core Content
Links
AH-H-4.1.31, AH-H-4.1.33, AH-H-4.1.34, AH-H-4.2.31, AH-H-4.2.32,
AH-H-4.2.34, AH-H-4.2.36, AH-H-4.2.37, AH-H-4.2.38
Vocabulary
Informal
Portrait
Expressive
Value
Intensity |
Impressionism
Positive /negative space
Painterly
Repetition |
Complimentary
Colors
Consistency of style
Cropped
Balance |
Materials
- A copy
of the Mary Cassatt Mother and Child painting from the
digital brochure or another source
- Possibly
other copies of Mary Cassatt’s work, such as Sleeping
Baby, The Bath, The Boating Party
- Paper,
poster board, or canvas 18”x24”
- Tempera
or acrylic paint
- Color Wheel
- Newspaper
to cover tables
- Paper towels
- Access
to water for clean up
- Sponges
for clean up
- Paint brushes
(medium to large)
- Paint pallets
- Chalk
- I ndividual
water containers
Lesson
Plan
- Define
and discuss the qualities of an informal portrait, using the
Mary Cassatt as an example
This
informal portrait depicts:
a Two or more people involved in an activity.
b. The subjects do not make eye contact with the viewer.
c. The figures are cropped as in a snapshot and often asymmetrical.
d. The painting shows a relationship between the figures.
- Overview
of Mary Cassatt and her painting
Mary Cassatt (1845-1926 studied art in the United States at
the Pennsylvania Academy of Art. When she as twenty, she left
against the wishes of her parents to study in Paris. She was
immediately drawn into the world of the impressionists and was
befriended and influenced by Edgar Degas. Though helped by him,
Cassatt developed her own style that combined the Japanese inspired
asymmetrical composition, active brushwork and clarity of detail.
Cassatt’s work was admired in Europe, though was not recognized
in the United States.
Cassatt worked with printmaking, pastel and with oil paint.
Her work is known for loose brushwork and bright colors. Contour
lines were often used to reinforce the edges of the figures
and to add to the solidity. The compositions were often asymmetrical
and carefully designed to keep the eye moving around the page.
Mothers and children were Cassatt’s favorite subject.
- Directions
for painting:
Figures for this assignment can be drawn from direct observation,
(students in study hall), or a compilation of people from magazines.
(only one person from each photo) It is not important that the
faces look like the people or photos.
a. Students
should make preliminary sketches that contain these guidelines
- Two
or three figures
- Figures
are not making eye contact with the viewer
- Figures
are cropped
- Figures
seems to be interacting with each other
- Minimum
negative space
- Asymmetrical
or triangular composition
b. When
students have received approval for their sketches they
are ready to begin.
- Draw
plan on paper, canvas etc. with a light colored chalk
- Mix
all your colors
- Do
not use black or gray paint; use blues and violets instead.
Mix blue and brown to create a dark color
- Use
loose brush strokes that look like dabs and dashes
- Paint
the background early in the painting process
- Paint
light warm colors in the light and cool colors in shadows
- Repeat
colors throughout the painting for unity
- Add
detail and some contour lines toward the end of the painting.
Web links:
www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cassatt
www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/cassatt_mary.html
Links to images online (some nudity); links to articles and online
image archives.
www.boston.com/mfa/cassatt/exhibition.shtml
Assessment:
Prompt:
Mary Cassatt was a painter identified with the Impressionist art
movement. She adapted the practice of capturing figures involved
in everyday life.
Directions:
- Students
will research the portraits of Mary Cassatt to determine how
she used the art elements and design principles in the manner
of the Impressionists.
- Students
will do plans based on student models or photographs to experiment
with the use of compositions favored by Mary Cassatt in her
informal portrait paintings.
- Students
will paint informal group portraits based on their plans.
- A class
critique will assess how effectively the students met their
aims with the painted portraits.
4 -
The student completes a portrait-painting project.
The student designs an effective informal portrait painting that
clearly reflects an understanding of all the elements of art and
principles of design that accompany the lesson.
The portrait clearly demonstrates expressive brushwork and color.
The project reflects the student’s best effort and craftsmanship.
The student follows all directions, and asks questions whenever
uncertain.
The student is an active participant in the class critique, whose
remarks reflect a clear understanding of the project and the critique
as a tool for assessment.
3 -
The student completes a portrait-painting project.
The student designs an effective informal portrait painting that
generally reflects an understanding of most the elements of art
and principles of design that accompany the lesson.
The portrait generally demonstrates expressive brushwork and color.
The project reflects a good effort and craftsmanship on the part
of the student.
The student follows most directions, and usually asks questions
when uncertain.
The student is a good participant in the class critique, whose
remarks generally reflect a good understanding of the project.
2 -
The student completes a portrait-painting project.
The student designs an acceptable portrait painting that reflects
an understanding of some the elements of art and principles of
design that accompany the lesson.
The portrait has some expressive brushwork and color.
The project reflects an acceptable effort and craftsmanship on
the part of the student.
The student follows some key directions, and sometimes asks questions
when uncertain.
The student is an adequate participant in the class critique,
but is one doesn’t usually offer remarks unless called upon.
The student’s remarks generally reflect an adequate understanding
of the project.
1 -
The student completes a portrait-painting project.
The student designs a portrait painting that reflects an inadequate
understanding of a few the elements of art and principles of design
that accompany the lesson.
The portrait has nominal expressive brushwork and color.
The project reflects a minimum effort and craftsmanship on the
part of the student.
The student follows a minimum of directions, and tends not to
ask questions when uncertain.
The student is an inadequate participant in the class critique.
The student doesn’t usually offer remarks, and if questioned,
the remarks reflect a minimal understanding of the project.
0 -
Blank, no answer or irrelevant response
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