Impressionism and Japonism

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La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume), 1876, by Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 231.8 x 142.3 cm, MFA Boston
Student RAP Project on Impressionism and Japonism
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Claude_Monet-Madame_Monet_en_costume_japonais.jpg

How the West met the East and how Impressionism was influenced by Japanese Art!

My Summative Projects, I call them RWAP (Writing Research Art Project), ask students to focus on 4 parts: 1. Write a well thought Project Title 2. Provide colored copies of at least 2 artworks related to their Project, correctly identified. For the correct identification, I expect them to write the name of the artist (if known), the title of the work, date, medium, and current location, 3. Prepare the required Writing Assignment, 4. Do the Art Assignment which is open to student imagination and creativity.

For the Impressionism and Japonism RWAP Project students are asked to Investigate Impressionism and Japonism, and how the first was influenced by the second. Students are asked to focus on Monet’s painting La Japonaise exhibited in 1876, and attracting a lot of attention, of his wife Camille, dressed in a fine kimono, in front of a background of Japanese Uchiwe fans.

Japonism is the word used to describe the influence of Japanese art on European art and culture. Astounded by the great influence of Japanese art, the French journalist Philippe Burty wrote an article to describe strong European interest for Japanese artworks. The article was published in 1876 and the word Japonism became instantly popular. Students are asked to study the following articles:

https://www.theartstory.org/movement-japonism.htm

La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume), 1876, by Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 231.8 x 142.3 cm, MFA Boston
Painted Fans Mounted on a Screen, Early 17th century, Tawaraya Sōtatsu , (Japanese, fl. ca. 1600-1643), Edo period, Color, gold, and silver over gold on paper
H: 170.2 W: 378.5 cm, Freer Gallery of Asian Art, Washington DC s

Impressionism and Japonism: the Activity

Students are further asked to read on Monet’s La Japonaise:

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/la-japonaise-camille-monet-in-japanese-costume-33556\

For Painted Fans Mounted on a Screen Read:

http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectNumber=F1900.24

The Writing Assignment for this RWAP on Impressionism and Japonism is to write about: A. A paragraph on fans in Japanese culture and art, the folding fan or the Uchiwa type, B. Why were fans so popular then? Was their use simply practical? How else were fans used by both men and women? Students can write about the use of fans in Japanese or European culture.

For Japanese fans Read:

http://www.fancircleinternational.org/history/japanese-fans/

For student Art Assignment I can only suggest… decorate the pages of your RWAP Sketchbook, like Monet, with Uchiwa fans a or dazzle us with something glitzy like the Edo Screen. Most important… Be imaginative, Creative, Original!!!

For Student Project Worksheet… Click HERE!

For a PP on student Work (Grade 9 ESL students of different levels)… Click HERE!

June in Greece is so hot…, I use a Japanese Fan!!!

Augustus of Primaporta VS Aulus Matellus

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Grade 6, Social Studies Unit Project on Roman Government

How two great Roman statues can be used to discuss the Roman Government.  “Augustus of Primaporta VS Aulus Matellus” is a Project my spirited Grade 6 students enjoy doing for their Social Studies Roman Unit.

Aulus Metellus, 1st century BC, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Florence
Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century AD, marble, Vatican Museums

A lot of my Projects, I call them RWAP (Research Writing Art Project), ask students to focus on 4 parts: 1. Title 2. Provide colored copies of at least 2 artworks related to their Project, correctly identified. For the correct identification, I expect them to write the name of the artist (if known), the title of the work, date, medium, and current location, 3. Writing Assignment as required, 4. Art Assignment is open to student imagination and creativity.

For the Augustus vs Matellus Project students are asked to study their Social Studies Textbook Unit on Roman Government, and the following Khan Academy articles:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/etruscan/a/larringatore

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/a/augustus-of-primaporta

Their Writing Assignment is to 1. Create a Ven Diagram comparing Matellus to Augustus. They are asked to use their RWAP Book and write in Bullet Points their Comments. 2. Write a paragraph presenting which of the two statues they prefer, explaining why by giving at least 3 reasons.

Their Art Assignment is to “study” the two statues and…  Be imaginative! Be creative! Be original!

For a PP on student Work… Click HERE!

For Student Project Worksheet… Click HERE!

"Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain" Activity Bulletin Board Presentation

Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain

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"Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain" Activity Bulletin Board Presentation
“Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain” Activity Bulletin Board Presentation

The end of the Academic year approaches fast and my wonderful Grade 5 students created an inspiring final Poster/Project on “Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain.”

As the Grade 5 Host Country Studies teacher, I thoroughly enjoy exploring, along with my students, various aspects of Greek Cultural Geography! During the last 8 Lessons, we focused on the region of Epirus and its rich cultural heritage. We talked about the region’s geography, history, art, culture, heritage, and mythology. The “Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain” Activity was the Unit’s culminating student challenge. I believe they all passed with flying colors!!!

Enjoy PowerPoints and Student Activity. Bear in mind that it can easily be adapted for whichever Mountain, wherever in the world, you choose to explore!!

The following quote and site will introduce you to the Pindos Mountain National Park. “The park is, for the most part, a large wooded valley encircled by peaks, all over 2000 meters. Almost eighty species of birds live in the Pindos area, including the Imperial, golden, and short-toed eagles, the lanner falcons, the Egyptian vulture, and quite a few species of breeding woodpeckers. This is also one of the areas where bears, wolves, and wild cats are found, as well as red squirrels, wild boar, roe deer, beech martens, and otters (along the streams). A large variety of reptiles, amphibians, and insects complete the picture.”
http://pindosnationalpark.gr/en/

ARCTUROS is a non-profit, non-governmental, environmental organization (NGO) founded in 1992, focusing on the protection of wildlife fauna and natural habitat, in Greece and abroad. The ARCTUROS site greatly helped students find information so as to finish their project. Explore their site… it’s amazing, as amazing is the work they do!

http://www.arcturos.gr/en/

“Wildlife and the Pindos Mountain” Activity 

For a PowerPoint on Epirus and Pindos Mountain… Click HERE!

For Instructions on the Project… Click HERE!

For a PowerPoint on Student Work… Click HERE!

For a DRONE experience over Pindos Mountain and its famous Vickos Gorge… Click HERE!

Enjoy… and think creatively!

Gilgamesh, the Sumerian Hero

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Could “Gilgamesh, the Sumerian Hero” help you better understand… How do heroes accomplish such amazing feats? Or what turns an ordinary man into a hero? Have you ever wondered if we are all a little bit of a hero? What do great cities like Uruk look like?

The Sumerians, like many people of the Bronze Age (starts about the mid 4th millennium BC to about 1000 BC the latest), had a very spirited oral tradition. There were no books at the time, available for people to enjoy reading and get their imagination run uncontrolled and wild. Storytellers played an important role, getting people excited with stories about the great Heroes, fantastic achievements, strict morals and ethics. Gilgamesh, the Sumerian Hero, never failed to dazzle the Sumerians and he dazzles us today!

Gilgamesh was, the story tells us, one of the kings of the Sumerian city of Uruk.  His name is on the list of kings of Sumer recovered from the library at Nineveh.  Did he exist as a real person or was he just made up by the Sumerians?  We may never know.  Like many other Heroes around the world, he was a part god and part human. He was also endowed with divine powers, a great sense of duty and ethics. Could we call Gilgamesh the first superhero?

Imagine… the unimaginable, and Gilgamesh did it. Along with his faithful friend Enkidu (friendship is always important for a Hero) they traveled the world fighting terrible monsters, rescuing people in need, moving mountains and rivers… in other words, protecting and saving the people of Sumer from any imaginable calamity. How do we know all these amazing facts? Clay tablets, preserved at the Library of ancient Nineveh and written in cuneiform writing, inform us with interesting details!

“Gilgamesh, the Sumerian Hero,” Educational Videos and Interesting PowerPoints

Introduction to Mesopotamia and the Epic story of Gilgamesh
Based on a 4000 year old story the Epic of Gilgamesh, this is an animated comic created by Sean Goodison for his degree project for his final year of studying computer graphic design.

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/story/sto_set.html

https://studylib.net/doc/5237467/gilgamesh—the-first-superhero-

For the PP on “Gilgamesh,” the “teachercurator” prepared… Click HERE!

“Gilgamesh, the Sumerian Hero” and Interesting Student Activities

For Information on Student Activities… Click HERE!

For Student Worksheets… Click HERE!