by Claude Monet
Learn more from on the Philadelphia Art Museum's page
Location: Second Floor, Gallery 261 (On the second floor, walk through the European Art 1850-1900 Impressionism wing and stop in the large open space with seating. Look for the Water Lilies at 4 o'clock.)
Before you view the painting, think of your ideal natural scene.
Close your eyes and IMAGINE.
What does it look like?
If you were there in person what would it sound like?
What would it smell like?
Once you have viewed the painting think about what was similar and different from the scene you imagined.
Place yourself in Monet’s shoes and imagine what the area around him would have sounded like.
Would there have been running water? Birds?
What smells could be around him from the painting?
We may assume that the arts are only at home in the humanities, but this is not the case.
Introduce (or reintroduce) the idea of systems and systems theory.
Then, for a warm up activity, share a puzzle with students with a low number of pieces.
Purposefully remove a piece of the puzzle so students cannot "solve" it.
When students realize this, explain that this missing piece is similar to an ecosystem. Specifically, push students to consider how each animal and living organism plays a vital role within the system. Without one the ecosystem could not exist.
Now, relate this understanding back to the painting. Imagine removing one of the parts. Would the painting remain the same?
For our research:
Did you take a photograph of this painting? If so, why? Were you planning on sending this photograph to anyone? Who? How come?