The Flight

by with No Comment 20th century ArtArtBasil and Elise Goulandris Foundation AthensPowerpoints
Georges Braque, 1882 – 1963, Essor (The Flight) I, 1961, Coloured Lithograph on Arches paper, 31/100, 48 × 65.5 cm, Published by Adrien Maeght, Paris, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens
https://goulandris.gr/el/artwork/braque-georges-flight-1

There is a small Georges Braque Lithograph, at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, titled The Flight. It caught my attention and my thoughts ran wild. I saw a soft lilac bird run, a heavy black duck dancing and a white bird, beautifully outlined over the black one, fly… away! It reminded me of Nietzsche’s idea of …dancing before flying and I felt good, content and accomplished. Please don’t ask why, this small Lithograph felt like a monumental accomplishment, like steps to freedom.

For George Braque, experimenting with the motif of birds in flight, started in1949 and never ended. He even visited the famous bird sanctuary in Camargue, in the south of France. This experience, as you can read, broadened his interest in birds flying, and led to his “metamorphose” bird motif “afresh.”

“One summer, few years ago, I was in the Camargue. I saw some huge birds flying above the waters. From that vision I derived aerial forms. Birds have inspired me, and I try to make the best use of them that I can in my paintings. While they interest me as living animal species, I have to burry in my memory their natural functions as birds. This concept, even after the shock of inspiration which has brought them to life in my mind, must be deleted, so that I can draw closer to my essential preoccupation: the construction of pictorial art. Painting alone must impose its presence on what relates to it, and metamorphose it afresh; everything that goes to make up the picture must be integrated in this presence, and must efface itself before it.”

More on Braque’s fascination with Birds, “Apropos another bird painting, Braque talked to me about his visits to the Camargue, where our mutual friend the ornithologist Lukas Hoffmann… had established a vast bird reserve, La Tour du Valat. …Braque told me how the apparition of a heron flying low above the marshes had inspired his large 1955 Bird Returning to Its Nest, of all the late paintings the one that meant the most to him. Maybe because I shared his feelings for the Camargue, Braque gave me an oil study for this haunting work. I remember him saying how, on still, grey days, the sky seemed to reflect the lagoons rather than the other way round, and the birds seemed to swim through the air… ”

The Art Book Tradition in Twentieth-Century Europe, Edited by Kathryn Brown, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 2013 by Ashgate Publishing, page 54 https://books.google.gr/books?id=zEMrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Braque+and+Camargue&source=bl&ots=sLPlE6IiJu&sig=ACfU3U29l5ZOfxZgXeBAxTBGDRKti-F73g&hl=el&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigrvj2lcLmAhVNKuwKHZkyDkIQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Braque%20and%20Camargue&f=false

Inside the Artist Studio of Georges Braque by John Richardson, November 13, 2019, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Copyright © 1999 by John Richardson Fine Arts Ltd. Published by Knopf on November 12th with a new introduction by Jed Perl https://lithub.com/inside-the-artist-studio-of-georges-braque/

A PowerPoint of my favourite paintings of Birds and Flying, by George Braque… HERE!

“Bourgeois” Portrait

by with No Comment ArtBasil and Elise Goulandris Foundation AthensStudent Activities

Your tour of the new Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens should start from the 4th floor… recommends the helpful Museum operator, and I hesitantly followed his recommendation. I was pleasantly surprised! An impressive “Bourgeois” Portrait of Basil and Elise Goulandris welcomed me, setting the tone for what I was about to experience.

Painted four years after Basil Goulandris’s passing, this eye-catching Portrait of the famous art collectors by George Rorris introduces you to the “atmosphere” that prevails in the latest cultural addition to the Athens Museum circuit! It’s grand, elegant yet understated. Basil Goulandris, clad in a dark suit, stands tall and aloof, staring at you intensely. Elise on the other hand, wearing the softest of pink, sits charmingly on an armchair and looks beyond you. They are surrounded by three favourite paintings from their legendary collection and a mirror that holds a secret worth exploring!

Little information is unfortunately provided by the Foundation on the “whats, the hows and the whys” of this painting. I hope, as time progresses, part of their “Permanent Collection” site will get richer with short descriptions and information on each and every one of their paintings. https://goulandris.gr/en/collection/works-of-art and https://goulandris.gr/en/artwork/rorris-george-portrait-of-basil-and-elise-goulandris

Basil and Elise Goulandris were known for their passionate love of the arts. They were avid collectors, famous for their superb “taste” and acute “eye.” ‘I spent months at a time with Basil and Elise when I was a child,’ says Fleurette Karadontis ‘they had no children of their own — they looked on the paintings as their children. The works were a genuine presence in their lives, a constant part of the conversation. Basil might suddenly say: look there, I never realised that the colour of the shirt in that painting is the same as the wall behind that still life. Or he would look at some cubist painting and ask: how many people do you see in it because I think there are three.’ https://www.christies.com/features/A-gift-to-Greece-the-Goulandris-Foundation-10209-1.aspx

For High School level student Activities on the George Rorris “Bourgeois” Portrait of Basil and Elise Goulandris… Click HERE!

Renaissance Triptych… fresh

by with No Comment ArtRenaissanceStudent Activities
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Sienese, c. 1255 – 1318
The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, a component of the original Maestà, 1308/1311, tempera on a single panel, NGA, Washington, DC

Renaissance Triptych… fresh is a RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project) designed for my high school elective class on Art History. It touches upon Sienese 14th century Art, Duccio, the great master of the time, his most important oeuvre, the Maestà altarpiece, and Triptych Icons.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Triptych as “a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side.” It further defines Triptych as having Greek roots. “Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos (“having three folds”), formed by combining tri- (“three”) and ptychē (“fold” or “layer”),” and it continues “although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/triptych

Wonderful information on Duccio’s Maestà can be accessed at https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.10.html and basically https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/duccio-the-nativity-with-the-prophets-isaiah-and-ezekiel.html

“On the day on which it was carried to the Duomo, the shops were locked up . . . and all the populace and all the most worthy were in order next to the said panel with lights lit in their hands, and then behind were women and children with much devotion; and they accompanied it right to the Duomo . . . sounding all the bells in glory out of devotion for such a noble panel as was this.” Anonymous mid-14th-century description of a procession to carry Duccio’s Maestà from the artist’s studio to the Siena Cathedral (L. A. Muratori, Rerum italiarum scriptores (Bologna, 1931–1939), xv/6, 90

The Renaissance Triptych… fresh RWAP is… HERE!

For a PP on Student work inspired by Renaissance Triptych… fresh RWAP, please… check HERE!

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock

by with No Comment ArtPowerpointsRococoStudent Activities
The work of a Grade 9 student! on the Tick-Tock, Bedroom Clock RWAP

Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock was inspired by the Getty Museum Activity: http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/decarts/decarts_lesson05.html. It has developed into a RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project) much liked by my students.

How fascinating can a Rococo Clock be to a High School student today? I am always surprised to discover that students respond positively and enthusiastically to the enjoyable, cheerful and carefree style of the 18th century we call Rococo. “Artists working in this frivolous aesthetic built upon the flamboyance of the Baroque period, adapting its awe-inspiring aesthetic to produce equally extravagant yet distinctively playful works of art.”

Do you know that “The term Rococo is derived from rocaille, a special method of decorating fountains and grottoes that dates back to the Italian Renaissance?” Artists using this technique “would mix seashells, pebbles, and other organic materials with cement, culminating in a naturalistic, under-the-sea-inspired medium.”

Rococo Decorative Arts are equally important and fascinating to painting and sculpture. They “often incorporate intricate, asymmetrical forms.” Their “serpentine silhouettes are inherently naturalistic yet undoubtedly exaggerated and are found in a range of objects, including intricate tables and eye-catching candelabra…” and Tick-Tock Clocks… I would add.

All quotations come from April 29, 2018, well-written to say the least article titled Celebrate the Elegance and Exuberance of French Rococo Art at MY MODERN MET https://mymodernmet.com/rococo-art/ site.

For more examples of student work, please… check HERE!

The Tick-Tock Bedroom Clock student Worksheet is… HERE!

A PowerPoint on Rococo Clocks is… HERE!

The Jasper Cup from Vatopedi

by with No Comment ArtByzantiumPowerpointsWorksheets

The Jasper Cup from Vatopedi is one of the most famous Late Byzantine works of art. It is a Chalice of silver-work and stone-carving, a rare example of refined craftsmanship, one of the finest pieces of the Palaeologan period. It belonged to Manuel Cantacuzenos Palaeologos (1349-80), Despot of Mystra, son of Emperor John VI Cantacuzenos (1347-54) and grandson of Theodore Palaeologus, Despot of Mystra.

The Cup, carved out of a piece of jasper, was created in a Byzantine workshop, in the shape of an antique broad-lipped wine-cup. The inscription on its rim reads “and he gave it to his disciples and apostles saying, drink of this, all of you …”. As this is the prayer from the Eucharist, as given in the Liturgy of St Basil, the Vatopedi Chalice was used as an ecclesiastical vessel.

The base is octagonal, its eight sections decorated with medallions containing, alternately, cruciform monograms and half-length hierarchs holding open scrolls. The monograms identify the owner of the vessel: M (Manuel), Δ (Despot), Κ (Cantacuzenos), Π (Palaeologus). For a more detailed presentation of the Chalice, please check: https://www.elpenor.org/athos/en/e218ci14.asp

The metalwork decoration, following byzantine models, intriguing techniques, and borrowed Gothic motifs, proves that a “Byzantine-Gothic” marriage of styles can create exquisite results.

For a PowerPoint on Byzantine Chalices, please… Check HERE!

For the Student Activity, I was inspired by Sarah Stone’s Work on “Byzantine Chalices”. I showed the students her work http://www.sarah-stone.net/byzantine-paintings.html and HERE! is what my Grade 4 students created!!!

Byzantine Chalices, inspired by The Jasper Cup of Vatopedi and Sarah Stone’s Byzantine Paintings

Inspired by the François Vase

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtArtLesson PlansPotteryPowerpointsSocial StudiesStudent Activities
Bulletin Board Presentation – Grade 7

Inspired by the François Vase is a Grade 7 Activity my students enjoy doing!

François Vase is exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology in Florence. It is “a large black-figure krater, a large vase in Ancient Greece believed to be used for watering down wine, from c. 570 BC. The design is fascinating and, if one looks carefully, you will find both the signature of the potter, Ergotimos and the painter, Kleitias. This krater is named the “François Vase” after the archaeologist who found it in 1844. ” https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/maf-archeological-museum.html

François Vase, large Attic volute krater decorated in the black-figure style, by Kleitias(painter) and Ergotimos(potter), c. 570-565 BC, Florence National Archaeological Museum

The François Vase Activity

Instructions on what to do: During class, students are introduced to ancient Greek pottery, and more specifically the importance and characteristics of the François Vase. This Activity is based on the classroom lectures, student research on the subject, and ultimately student creativity and imagination. So, ……

  1. Students are asked to READ the attached sites and WATCH the provided Videos: https://www.florenceinferno.com/the-francois-vase/ and https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft1f59n77b&chunk.id=d0e2374&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=ucpress and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1oONbq2ik
  2. Students will be provided with a Template of a Volute Krater. This template will be their work canvas! to create a “new” version of the François Vase.
  3. For the Volute Krater Template, a big thank you to IMGBIN and go to https://imgbin.com/png/ZZBrSTGn/krater-volute-line-art-vase-drawing-png
  4. Students are asked to design a “new version” of the François Vase inspired by their favorite novel, poem, myth, comic story or their own life!
  5. They may consider the following poem by Archilochos of Paros, 8th century BC lyric poet (Willis Barnstone, trans., Greek Lyric Poetry [New York: Schocken Books) as a source of inspiration:

The PowerPoint, teachercurator has prepared, can be seen if you… Click HERE!

For more examples of student work… Click HERE!

Prehistoric Pottery of Thessaloniki

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtArtPotterySocial StudiesStudent Activities
Student Work in the RWAP Sketchbook

My Grade 6 Host Country Studies Class is on the History, Art and Culture of the city we live in, Thessaloniki, and our first RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project) is on the Prehistoric Pottery of Thessaloniki.

Archaeologists and Art Historians love Pottery! Even the smallest broken pieces, or sherds as they are called, indestructible as they have been for thousands of years, carry valuable information. They tell us how people lived, cooked, or stored their food, they show us ways of decoration and artistic expression. Pottery helps specialists date a site or relate an archaeological site to specific communities and groups of people. In other words, Pottery, humble as it might be, is of great value!

For information on the Stone Age and Greece in particular, go to http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2016/04/003-stone-age-greece.html

Prehistoric Pottery of Thessaloniki is a Topic and a Project that can be adapted for any Pottery period you explore in your class!

The Project should cover at least 2 pages in the student RWAP Sketchbook. RWAP stands for RESEARCH-WRITING-ART-PROJECT. I usually ask my students to buy an A4 Sketchbook and all RWAP Projects are done there. An alternative option is to use an A3 sized poster paper.

Each RWAP should include 4 parts: a. Title, b. Coloured or B/W copies of at least 2 artworks related to the topic of the Project, correctly identified, c. Writing, d. Art

For the Prehistoric Pottery of Thessaloniki Project, students are asked to:

a. Title: Think and then apply a representative Title for their Project

b. Research: Find photos of at least 2 Greek Prehistoric Potteries, photocopy them, and use them in their RWAP Sketchbook, correctly identified.

c. Writing: Answer the following questions: 1. Which is more important, the shape of the vase or the decoration? Why do you think so? 2. How were the details of the vases created: with paint or by some other means? Look closely and try to identify patterns in the decoration.

d. Art: Become a prehistoric pottery maker! There is so much to get you inspired!!! BE CREATIVE!

The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki site is quite informative https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/prehistoric-macedonia

For student RWAP Sketchbooks… Click HERE!

Renaissance Student Revisited

by with No Comment ArtStudent ActivitiesUncategorizedWorksheets
Vincenzo Foppa, 1427- 1515
The Young Cicero Reading, c.1464, fresco, 101.6×143.7 cm, Wallace Collection, London
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-young-cicero-reading-209572

Renaissance Student Revisited is my new post. It is inspired by the 15th century Italian Renaissance painting of The Young Cicero Reading, a wonderful example of a Renaissance Student engrossed in his studies!

BEST WISHES to all students, parents and teachers who are about to start a new and exciting academic adventure! May their trip be fruitful, productive and successful!

Some suggestions for Renaissance Student Revisited Activities

Discuss with students where and how Young Cicero is presented READING. Ask students to write a paragraph describing WHERE and HOW they like to READ a book.

This next Activity is for younger students. Use the provided Worksheet, and ask students to answer the recommended questions.

Ask students to pick up a favourite BOOK and then POSE like CICERO. Take their pictures and create a Renaissance Student Revisited Bulletin Board Presentation with your students READING!

This is a Grade 6 Social Studies Activity. Ask students to create an A3 size poster on CICERO. The Poster should include a well-thought title, pictures of artworks depicting CICERO, and information about his life and work.

For the teachercurator Worksheets… Click HERE!

My precious Grade 2 students

Learning from Ancient Greek Pottery

by with No Comment Ancient Greek ArtArtPowerpointsStudent ActivitiesWorksheets

Learning from Ancient Greek Pottery Activity will introduce you to the 5 STEPS involved in exploring a work of art: Careful Observation, Analysis, Research, Interpretation, and Critique.

This project was inspired by the Learning to Look method created by the Hood Museum of Art, as seen in https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/learn/k-12-educators/educator-resources/learning-to-look/european-art

Step 1. Careful Observation – Students are asked to focus on the work of art projected on the screen. They are asked to look carefully and describe everything they see. The process should start with broad, open-ended questions like

What do you notice when you first look at the Minoan Pot? What else do you notice?

Questions should become more and more specific, such as:

Describe the pot’s shape. Where are its handles? Where is the wider part of the pot? Where is the narrower part? Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical? How is the pot decorated? What colours do you see? What patterns?

Step 2. Analysis – Students are asked to answer simple analytic questions that will deepen their understanding of the Ancient Greek Geometric Style Pot on view.

What might the figures on the top register of the pot be doing? How are the figures represented? Who might the figure on the top register and the centre of the vase be? Is it male or female? How is this figure different from the figures on the other side? What does the information the artist provided suggest about the identity of this figure? What might this pot have been used for? What clues can you get from its decoration? After each response, students are advised to always ask, “How do I know?” or “How can I tell?” so that they will look to the work of art for visual evidence to support their answers.

Step 3. Research – The teacher is asked to provide information on all discussed Ancient Greek Pots. Students should be given time to read and further research each pot. At the end of the research period, the teacher should be available to answer questions and further enhance student query.

Kamares is a favourite Minoan Pottery style for many Greek Bronze Age lovers. Done on the potter’s wheel and decorated with colourful abstract patterns, Kamares Ware is probably the most famous and admired Minoan pots. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/aegean-art1/minoan/a/kamares-ware-jug

The Ancient Greek Geometric Period (1100-800 BC) is characterized by monumental grave markers in the form of large vases decorated with geometricized patterns and motifs, funerary representations and burial rituals. These Geometric period vases are among the finest examples of ancient Greek pottery. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/14.130.14/

The François Vase is a unique example of ancient Greek pottery. An Attic Volute Krater, decorated in the black-figure style, dated about 570/560 BC, the François Vase was signed by its makers, “Ergotimos mepoiesen” and “Kleitias megraphsen”, meaning “Ergotimos made me” and “Kleitias painted me”. The vase presents over 200 mythological figures, many identified by inscriptions, representing a number of mythological stories. https://www.florenceinferno.com/the-francois-vase/

Made in Athens around 515 BC, the Euphronios Krater is a unique work of art. Signed by both the potter and the painter, the Krater is decorated with a Trojan War scene: the death of Sarpedon, son of Zeus. https://smarthistory.org/euphronios-krater/

Step 4. Interpretation – How to put together the Research, Analysis, and Observation students have done so far and reach a better understanding of the art object in focus. The truth is that there are no outright or wrong answers. The work students have done so far helps them better understand, and thus interpret the meaning of a work of art.

Some basic interpretation questions for this object might be: What does the size and elaborate decoration with 200 figures, many with identifying inscriptions, representing a number of mythological themes, tell us about the ways in which the ancient Greeks valued mythology? The Vase bears the inscriptions “Ergotimos mepoiesen” and “Kleitias megraphsen”, meaning “Ergotimos made me” and “Kleitias painted me”. What do the inscriptions tell us about the role of artists/craftsmen during antiquity?

Step 5. Critical Assessment and Response – It’s time to JUDGE how successful the work of art in focus is! This is an important part of the Learning Process and students are asked to answer the provided questions supporting their opinions based on their work is done so far. “Critical assessment involves questions of value.” For example:

Do you think this amphora is successful and well done? Why or why not? Do you like this work of art? How does it relate to your life and your culture?

For a PowerPoint on Learning from Ancient Greek Pottery… Click HERE!

For a student-friendly Activity Worksheet on Learning from Ancient Greek Pottery... Click HERE!

Nebamun

by with No Comment Ancient EgyptArtPowerpointsStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Hunting Scene, c 1350 BC, Wall Painting from the Tomb of Nebamun, British Museum
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Nebamun.jpg

Among the many treasures exhibited in the British Museum is a set of 11 frescoes from the tomb of an Egyptian official called Nebamun who lived in the ancient city of Thebes during the 18th Dynasty circa 1325 BC. He was an educated man, a scribe, and an administrator in charge of grain collection for the Temple of Amun at Thebes. His Tomb, discovered in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, present-day Luxor, was richly decorated with high-quality frescoes depicting scenes of Nebamun and his family engaging in everyday life activities like hunting, attending a banquet and overseeing a count of geese and cattle.

The British Museum frescoes of Nebamun’s Tomb were discovered back in 1820 by a young man called Yanni d’Athanasi, who was at the time working for Henry Salt, the British Consul-General and collector of Antiquities. The Tomb, its location unknown today, was probably badly destroyed by d’Athanasi’s team of tomb robbers. The frescoes, however, were sold to Henry Salt and then, in 1821, by Salt, to the British Museum. Since 2009, beautifully restored, the frescoes have been displayed in a new gallery at the British Museum.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/galleries/ancient_egypt/room_61_tomb-chapel_nebamun.aspx and https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/new-kingdom/a/paintings-from-the-tomb-chapel-of-nebamun and http://www.artinsociety.com/lost-masterpieces-of-ancient-egyptian-art-from-the-nebamun-tomb-chapel.html

For an interesting 3D interactive animation of the tomb-chapel of Nebamun check… https://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/galleries/ancient_egypt/room_61_tomb-chapel_nebamun/nebamun_animation.aspx

Please check the PowerPoint on Nebamun’s frescoes “teachercurator” prepared… Here!

Student Activity on the Tomb of Nebamun frescoes can be found if you… Click HERE!