7th Grade Art EnrichmentUnit: Art Movements

What is an art movement? Art Movements are create by a group of artists that usually have the same goal for their artwork. This goal is based on style, intent, message, and delivery. Artists work together to explain what their art is about. Sometimes they have meetings, manifestos and publications explaining their artwork and ideas. These art movements usually coincide with a set number of years in history. Some examples of art movements you may be familiar with include: Pre-historic art, Egyptian art, Renaissance art, Modern art, Op art, and Photorealism.

For this project, you will explore two artists from different art movements: Leonardo Da Vinci (Renaissance) and Vincent Van Gogh (Post-Impressionism).

DirectionsPart 1: Leonardo Da Vinci

1. Biography and reflection: Read the biography on Leonardo Da Vinci. Write a one paragraph reflection on what you learned about his life, his work, and the time period.

2. Photo project: Take a look at examples of Da Vinci’s paintings. Can you recreate them? Look around your house for costumes, props, or objects to arrange into one of his works of art.

3. Grid drawing: Using the grid drawing method, enlarge the image of Mona Lisa. Simply copy each line/shape in the corresponding boxes of the blank grid to enlarge Da Vinci’s famous painting.

Part 2: Vincent Van Gogh1. Biography and reflection: Read the biography on Vincent Van Gogh. Write a one

paragraph reflection on what you learned about his life, his work, and the time period. 2. Photo project: Take a look at examples of Van Gogh’s paintings. Can you recreate them?

Look around your house for costumes, props, or objects to arrange into one of his works of art.

3. Grid drawing: Using the grid drawing method, enlarge the image of Starry Night. Simply copy each line/shape in the corresponding boxes of the blank grid to enlarge Van Gogh’s famous painting.

**If you have access to internet, PLEASE join

Mrs. Cloud’s 7th Grade Art Google Classroom and complete this project

through the classroom page! Many of you are

already part of the classroom or have been

invited. For the May enrichment project I

provide directions, videos, and interactive activities. Please e-mail Mrs. Cloud for the google classroom

code: amanda.cloud@casdonlin

e.org**

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was born to Piero da Vinci, a notary, and Caterina, a peasant woman.

Leonardo grew up in his father's home, and was exposed to Vinci's painting traditions. When he was 15 years old he became an apprentice at the renowned workshop of Andrea del Verrochio in Florence. Even as an apprentice Leonardo demonstrated incredible artistic talent.

Leonardo spent many of his young adult years working for Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later found work in Rome, Bologna and Venice. He spent his last years in France.

Because Leonardo's interests were so varied, he was easily distracted and had trouble completing projects. During the 17 years he spent working for the Duke of Milan (1482-1499) da Vinci completed only six works, including The Last Supper and The Virgin on the Rocks. Dozens of paintings and projects were never completed.

Da Vinci has come to be regarded as one of the greatest painters of all time, and quite possibly the most talented person that has ever lived. Helen Gardner remarked that "the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent... His mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote."

Throughout his life his interests led him to develop many talents and become many things including a mathematician, inventor, engineer, scientist, anatomist, painter, sculptor, botanist, architect, musician and writer. He has been described as a renaissance man "whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention."

Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 in Amboise, Touraine which is today Indre-et-Loire, France. The Last Supper and Mona Lisa are among his greatest artistic achievements. The Mona Lisa is among the most recognizable artworks in the world.

www.makingartfun.com Copyright 2009 www.makingartfun.com

Leonardo da Vinci’s Artwork

Choose one of the works of art below to recreate. Use costumes, props, or even family members can get in on the fun!

Here are some examples of finished photo re-enactment projects

Lady with an Ermine, 1490

The Annunciation, 1475

Grid Drawing Directions:

Recreate the Mona Lisa by copying each line and shape in the

corresponding section of the larger triangular grid. Be patient! It takes tim

e and practice. Erase lines and adjust if you need to!

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was born on March, 30th 1853 in a village in the southern Netherlands, to Theodorus van Gogh, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. Vincent's sister described him as a serious and introspective child.

In 1860 Vincent began attending the Zundert village school. He remained there for only one year, and then continued his education in his home with his sister Anna, until he was sent away to boarding school in 1864. In 1866 he began attending middle school in Tilburg, where he was given his first instruction in drawing.

Van Gogh spent his young adult life working for art dealers.

He also took an interest in the vocation of his father, and became a missionary worker in an impoverished mining region in Belgium in 1879. In the following year Vincent took the suggestion of his brother Theo, and decided to become a painter. After several years of study he completed his first major work, The Potato Eaters (1885).

In the beginning, Van Gogh limited his color pallet to dark colors. When he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris his style changed, incorporating brighter colors and developing a painterly style that was uniquely recognizable. Van Gogh worked hard, and produced more than 2,000 paintings, drawings and sketches in the last ten years of his life. His best-known works were created in the last two years, a time in which he suffered from mental illness which eventually led to his suicide.

Vincent van Gogh died on July 29, 1890, having produced some of the best known and most expensive works of art in the world today. His painting The Starry Night (1869) has become one of the most celebrated art masterpieces of all time. Van Gogh pioneered the art movement that came to be known as Expressionism, and dramatically influenced the art of the 20th century, and specifically the Fauves (The Wild Beasts) and German Expressionists.

www.makingartfun.com Copyright 2009 www.makingartfun.com

Van Gogh’s Artwork

Choose one of the works of art below to recreate. Use costumes, props, or even family members can get in on the fun!

Here are some examples of finished photo re-enactment projects

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889

Starry Night, 1889

Grid Drawing Directions:

Recreate Starry Night by copying each line and shape in the corresponding section of the larger triangular grid. Be patient! It takes time and practice. Erase lines and adjust if you need to!