Lesson 1

Step back in time

Still life painting has a long tradition in Western art history.

In the three activities in Lesson 1 students will investigate the history of the genre of still life painting and write a short answer response to one Dutch still life painting.

Harmen Steenwyck, An allegory of the vanities of human life, 1640, 39.2 x 50.7 cm

Image accessed from The National Gallery London via a creative commons agreement, 17/03/2020

Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples, 1895, 65 x 80 cm

Image accessed from Art Institute Chicago via a creative commons agreement, 17/03/2020

Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888, 92 x 73cm

Image accessed from The National Gallery London via a creative commons agreement, 17/03/2020

Activity

  1. Read the article How Artists Have Kept Still Life Painting Alive Over Thousands of Years and complete the quiz below to ensure you understand the genre of still life and art specific language.

Judith Leyster, Flowers in a Vase, 1654, 69.7 cm x 50.4 cm

Image accessed from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judith_Leyster_-_Blompotje_1654.jpg 17/03/2020

2. Look again at the article linked above called How Artists Have Kept Still Life Painting Alive Over Thousands of Years . Using the examples listed, compare two different artists’ approaches to the still life genre. What are the similarities and differences? Consider subject matter, colour, composition, technique and arrangement of objects.

Hint: You might want to create a table to compare the two works. Upload your comparison to your class's shared digital platform.

3. Conceptual Framework- artist-world

  • Watch the video below.
  • Then, answer the question below.
  • What does 'Fruit and Insects' (1711) reveal about the artist the artist Rachel Ruysch and her world?

Upload your short answer typed response (no more than two paragraphs) to the shared digital platform used by your class for peer or teacher feedback. Hint: refer to both the quote and the artwork.

The Conceptual framework category of the artist refers to the time and place in which they lived, their values, ways of working and relationships with others.

The Conceptual framework category of the world refers to the ideas or values of the time and place, interests, representations of class, race, gender or events of significance.

The Conceptual framework category of the artwork refers to the use of materials, techniques, symbolism, the concepts explored in the work and the subject matter.

For more on the Conceptual Framework follow the link below to access a Stage 6 conceptual framework scaffold.