Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Outreach Programs Exploring Impressionism: The Art of Claude Monet Teaching Resources Overview: During Exploring Impressionism, students learned to identify elements that made the ​ ​ ​ Impressionist art movement distinct from what had come before in European art. Teachers and students can continue their exploration of Impressionism by writing letters to Claude Monet and casting their vote for a favorite MFA Impressionist artwork. Curriculum: Visual Arts, History, Language Arts & Literacy Grade Range: 1 – 5 ​ ​ Letters to Monet The American artist John Singer Sargent was interested in Impressionism and met Claude Monet in Paris around 1876. The John Singer Sargent Archive at the MFA includes 15 letters from Sargent to Monet that highlight their lifelong friendship. Read aloud one or two of Sargent’s letters to Monet and show the image of the handwritten letter (if available below). ● Letter from Sargent to Monet, July 1888 ● Letter from Sargent to Monet, 1891 ● Letter from Sargent to Monet, September 1, 1891 ● Letter from Sargent to Monet, 1894 ● Letter from Sargent to Monet, December 28, 1894 Introduce, or review, the basic components of a letter with your students and then ask them to write a short letter to Claude Monet. What would they tell him? What would they ask? Boston Loves Impressionism: Recount In 2014, the MFA asked the public to vote for their favorite Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork in the museum’s collection. There were 50 different artworks in the running and – after 41, 497 votes were cast – the following five came in at the top: 1. Houses at Auvers, 1890, Vincent van Gogh (4,464 votes) ​ 2. Water Lilies, 1907, Claude Monet (3,543 votes) ​ 3. Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, original model 1878–81, cast after 1921, Edgar Degas (2,869 votes) ​ 4. Boulevard Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, in Winter, 1875, Claude Monet (2,839 votes) ​ 5. Meadow with Poplars, about 1875, Claude Monet (2,523 votes) ​ Image Credits: Boulevard Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, in Winter, 1978.633; Water Lilies, 19.170; Grainstiack (Sunset), 25.112 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Outreach Programs Exploring Impressionism: The Art of Claude Monet Teaching Resources Look at the top five artworks with your class and discuss the ELBOW concepts (Everyday Life, Light, Brushstrokes, Outdoors, Weather) they can identify in each work. Afterwards, take a class vote to determine which of the top five artworks is their favorite! Videos ● Cleaning Monet’s Canvases by Harvard Art Museums ​ Andrea von Hedenström, paintings conservation fellow at the Harvard Art Museums, discusses the process of removing layers of varnish from Claude Monet’s paintings. ● A New Gallery Dedicated to Monet by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ​ Get a look inside the MFA’s Monet gallery and hear curator Katie Hanson talk about Monet’s use of different motifs (snowy towns, water lilies, grainstacks, etc.) throughout his career. Books ● Katie Meets The Impressionists by James Mayhew (age range: 4-7) ​ ● Charlotte in Giverny by Joan MacPhail Knight (age range 8-11) ​ Image Credits: Boulevard Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, in Winter, 1978.633; Water Lilies, 19.170; Grainstiack (Sunset), 25.112 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​.