Monet's Colors
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CLAUDE MONET – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION Step 1 - Introducing the Claude Monet Slideshow Guide MOTIVATION BEGIN READING HERE (Do not enter the slide show until prompted) Do you have a good imagination? Today I want you to imagine 100 years into the future! Imagine yourself learning about master artists, as you are today, and hearing your name announced as someone who changed art history forever. Imagine someone saying __________ (CHILD’S NAME) changed the course of art history 100 years ago, and we are going to learn about what an important artist __________ (CHILD’S NAME) was and how that happened. Would that surprise you? That’s how surprised the artist Claude Monet would be if he could hear us today! He didn’t have any idea that what he was trying to do would change art forever. Today we are going to learn all about this famous man and look at some of the paintings that made him famous. We will see what he looked like, but even more importantly, we will hear how a person who really knew him described his personality. I want you to listen and be able to tell me how Monet felt about his work and what made him lose his temper. Click Start Lesson To Begin 1. SLIDE – Portrait of Monet by Renoir Click The Audio Button SCRIPT: I am a reporter who visited Monet at his studio. I wanted to meet this famous man, talk to him, and see him at work at his home. Three things about Monet really struck me: He was a very unusual man, his eyes had a questioning look to them, and he was a very careful dresser. He had a long, white bushy beard and wore a battered, old hat whenever he went outdoors. My interview with him was rambling, and he jumped from one idea to another. He didn’t seem very self-confident about his work and questioned whether he was a good artist. They said Monet was a serious man. He had a most beautiful tenderness and love for children, birds and flowers. This warmth showed in his wonderful, warm smile -- a smile no friend of his can ever forget. I also interviewed some of his friends. His friends described Monet as being even- tempered most of the time, but occasionally he lost his temper over his painting. His reasons for getting angry were always the same -- a painting that failed or a change in the weather that forced him to stop painting. End Of Audio – Continue Reading 1 CLAUDE MONET – Ages 8 – 9 | MeetTheMasters Online Edition CLAUDE MONET – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION How did Monet feel about his talent? (DIDN’T THINK HE WAS A GOOD ARTIST) Have you ever questioned whether you are a good artist? Isn’t it amazing that Monet felt just like you, and he was an extraordinary artist! What made him lose his temper? (WEATHER, BAD PAINTINGS) Did he take his artwork very seriously? (YES) How did this uncertain, young, struggling artist get his start? Monet and several other artists could not get anyone to exhibit their paintings. They were rejected time and time again. So they decided to hold an exhibition of their own paintings. They borrowed a studio from a photographer friend who was going on vacation. They put up some posters around Paris to advertise, and a few curious people came to see their artwork. A reporter from a Paris newspaper attended and wrote a review of their show. Among other negative comments, he said the painting showing fishing boats at dawn looked to him like a piece of wallpaper had been left out in the rain too long! 2. SLIDE - IMPRESSION SUNRISE This was the painting that reporter was writing about. It was titled, Impression Sunrise. The reporter picked up on that title and called these new artists “The Impressionists.” That name stuck, but today reviewers praise them for their genius and creativity, rather than making fun of them. Does this look like a sunrise to you? Is it a detailed picture? (NO) Do you see the dabs of color that Monet painted? (YES) Let’s pretend you are a reporter who has been sent to review this painting. What would you say about it? Show me your opinion by “thumbs up” if you like it, or “thumbs down” if you don’t like it. Your opinion about a piece of artwork is called a CRITIQUE, and everyone can have a different opinion about art. There are no right or wrong opinions in art! Almost no one at the time of the exhibition believed that the Impressionists were serious. The public thought their art was very strange and a ridiculous joke at best. As time went on, a few paintings sold, and a small number of reporters had the courage to support the Impressionists in public, but most reactions were negative. Click Next To Change Slide 3. SLIDE – MONA LISA One of the reasons that people did not like the work of the Impressionists was because of their new use of color. Here is an example of what a painting looked like before Monet changed the use of color in art. Are there any clear, bright colors in this painting entitled 2 CLAUDE MONET – Ages 8 – 9 | MeetTheMasters Online Edition CLAUDE MONET – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION Mona Lisa? (NO) Monet came along and started painting in bright, clear colors, and people were not ready to accept this new look. The Impressionists held six more exhibits over the next few years, but Monet did not enter all of them. Art collectors began attending their shows, and the word gradually spread until the Impressionists became famous. Monet was considered their leader. He is given credit for being the Father of Impressionism. Why did so many people make fun of Impressionism when it was new? Let’s discover that by looking at another painting by Claude Monet. - Click Next To Change Slide 4. SLIDE – WOMAN WITH A PARASOL Is this a bright, colorful picture? (YES) Is it different from our last slide, Impression Sunrise? (YES) How is it different? (BRIGHTER, MORE COLOR, MORE DETAIL, SUNLIGHT) Yes, color and light were the most important differences in Impressionist paintings. For 500 years pictures were painted mostly in tones of browns and grays. Is this painting in browns and grays? (NO) In fact, the Impressionists never even used brown and black paint at all. So that was a big change! Look at the colors in this outdoor scene. Impressionists didn’t mix their colors on a palette. They dabbed them next to each other right on the canvas, so it gave a spotty effect when you looked closely. Look carefully at the hill in the foreground. Can you see different dabs of color, instead of a blended green? (YES) When Monet looked at nature, he did not see areas of carefully blended color, he saw millions of flecks of color, and that’s what he painted. Click Next To Change Slide 5. SLIDE – IMPRESSIONIST’S PALETTE This will show you how this was done. What two colors do you mix to make green? (BLUE AND YELLOW) There is another way to mix green that the Impressionists used. Here you see little separate dabs of blue and yellow painted very close to each other. What overall color do you see? (GREEN) That’s how Monet used color and how he painted all the greens in his landscapes. Let’s now discover that same use of color in another Monet painting. - Click Next To Change Slide 6. SLIDE – WOMEN IN THE GARDEN Can you see different colors of green in the trees? (YES) Hold up your fingers to show me how many different women you think modeled for this painting. There was really only one! Monet posed his wife, Camille, four different ways in different dresses. They are dressed very fashionably for that day. Can you guess which one is the real portrait of his wife? The real Mrs. Monet is the one seated in front with her 3 CLAUDE MONET – Ages 8 – 9 | MeetTheMasters Online Edition CLAUDE MONET – AGES 8 – 9 | ONLINE EDITION face lighted under the umbrella. Monet painted outdoors in his garden all summer on this picture, but he wasn’t able to finish it before winter came. That posed a problem! Can you guess what he did so he could finish it indoors? I’ll give you a hint. The painting was originally planned to feature three women in the garden. Instead of adding more garden in the background, he added another woman to fill up the space. Let’s pretend again that you are a reporter. What kind of a review would you give this painting titled, Women in the Garden? (THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN) Do you see black or brown in this painting? (YES) Do you remember what I said about the use of the colors black and brown by Impressionists? (THEY DID NOT USE BLACK OR BROWN) - Click Next To Change Slide 7. SLIDE - COLOR CHART How then did these colors appear on his canvas? Monet mixed COMPLEMENTARY colors to get black and brown. Are complementary colors close together on the color wheel or opposite each other? (OPPOSITE) Can you tell me two complementary colors you see on this chart? (PURPLE-YELLOW, RED-GREEN, BLUE-ORANGE) Monet could have mixed any two complementary colors to get the black he used. The Impressionists didn’t believe in using black or brown right out of the paint tube, because those two colors are not true colors found in a rainbow.