Paintings and their stimulating role in teaching and learning: An Afterthought

 

In previous posts I have illustrated how we can use paintings – famous or lesser known – to build lessons around them. This time I will use two paintings of the same artist to show what we can make of each one of them.

The artist is Guy Rose, an American impressionist born in the late nineteenth century.

The first painting we will be looking at is called The Difficult Reply.

We can begin by asking the students to describe their immediate reaction to the image. What do they find striking? Is there a detail that caught their eye at a first glance? What is it?

It could be the flowery patterns on the young woman’s dress, the curtains and the carpet or the way the colours of the carpet blend in with the green fields outside. Or it could be the meditative mood of the girl. Or what about the bow on her thick ebony hair? Whatever it is, ask them to write a couple of sentences to explain why they noticed this detail first.

Following that, draw the students’ attention to the title of the painting and get them to write down some questions regarding the letter she is writing and her living circumstances.

• ·       Who is she writing to?
• ·       What question was she asked that she finds hard to reply to?
• ·       What is the content of the letter?
• ·       Does she live alone?
• ·       If not, where is the rest of the family?

Whatever the recipient of the letter they came up with, get half of the students to write the letter she received, which prompted the title of the difficult reply. Allow them to work in pairs. The rest of them will write her reply to the letters written by their classmates.

 

The second painting is a landscape, and I am aware that landscapes do not offer much scope for use of language except at higher levels. However, using a painting doesn’t necessarily involve a sophisticated use of descriptive language.

After a brief reference to the poppy field and the wood behind, challenge the students to add one or two items to the image, which will somehow create a dramatic effect. Again working in pairs or groups will allow them to compare notes and come up with a bolder suggestion. They can let their imagination run wild as long as they can justify their answer.