Art Lesson for The Family School
Dutch Still Life Masterpieces, Extraordinary Ordinary Things
The children will learn that still life paintings became very popular in the Netherlands, and that male and female artists learned to observe carefully and create lovely paintings using ordinary objects. They will recognize that when we are still we notice all the ordinary extraordinary people, and things, and moments God has placed in our lives.
Academic Concept: Still life paintings became very popular in the Netherlands. Male and female artists learned to observe carefully and create lovely paintings using ordinary objects.
Gospel Principle: When we are still we notice all the ordinary extraordinary people, and things, and moments God has placed in our lives.
Preparation & Materials
Several pieces of the same kind of fruit or vegetable, one for each child
Vocabulary
still life- a work of art depicting mostly inanimate (non-moving) objects, usually common items like food or flowers
vanitas painting- a vanitas painting, while possibly containing lovely objects, always includes some reference to man's mortality - most often a human skull or decaying flowers
LESSON
Attention Activity
Each of you choose an apple (or other fruit or veggie) from this basket full of apples. Don’t eat it. Just look at it closely for the next minute. Notice all the details you can about your apple. Now I want you to all put your apples back in the basket. } Mix up the apples.
- Can you find which one was your apple? How do you know it is yours? (Accept any answer.)
} If the children couldn’t find their apple do it again. Let’s do it one more time. Choose an apple again, and this time look even more closely.
- Did you notice anything new about your apple when you took more time to really look? (Yes.)
- Tell me about your apple and what makes it unique. (Accept any answer.)
You can use your apple later as part of your art project, or you can eat it while we learn about artists who stopped to REALLY look at the details of seemingly simple things.
In our last lesson we learned that in the 16th and 17th centuries (1500-1600) there was an explosion of great art in the Netherlands. We have studied artists who painted religious art, portrait art, genre art and landscape art. But, there was also a burst in popularity for still life art- art. Still life art depicting mostly inanimate (not living), non-moving, objects like food and flowers. Before this time still life art wasn’t nearly as appreciated or respected as the other genres, but thanks to some master artists of the Dutch Golden Age, still life paintings became valuable as well.
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621)
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder was the first artist to make still life art using flowers popular. He led a host of other artists to paint in this genre, or style of art. His floral bouquets included all kinds of flowers bunched together in symmetrical arrangements. He was known for his scientific accuracy- the painted flowers looked exactly like they really look in nature. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosius_Bosschaert)
This painting is called Flower Still Life, by Bosschaert } Show (1) Flower Still Life, by Bosschaert
- Do the flowers in this painting look real? (Yes.)
- Do the insects look realistic? (Yes.)
- How many insects can you count? (At least six.)
Let’s learn about another Dutch Still Life master, Willem Kalf.
Willem Kalf (1619-1693)
Willem Kalf was a very skilled still life artist. He liked to paint expensive objects for the new class of wealthy merchants in the Netherlands. To the rich people of Amsterdam, Kalf’s paintings of fine objects were irresistible and he was able to sell his work easily. Kalf’s paintings all had a similar structure and he even used the same objects in many paintings. He draped a cloth over a table, added gold and silver goblets, and a Chinese porcelain pot. Then he would add some other unique object for color and interest. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant. Perhaps this is why all of Kalf’s paintings feature expensive cloth and carpets. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Kalf)
This is a still life by Kalf. } Show (2) Still Life with Drinking Horn, Lobster and Glasses, by Kalf
- Do you know what any of the objects are in this still life? (Lobster, drinking glasses, drinking horn).
- Can you tell that some of the objects are finely crafted, or worth a lot of money? (Accept any answer.)
- Do you see a fancy cloth in this painting? (Yes, under the lobster platter.)
Dutch men were not the only ones to became famous for their still life art. Female artists also became masters of still life painting. Let’s learn about two of them.
Maria Van Oosterwijck (1630-1693)
The first of our female Dutch Still Life masters is Maria Van Oosterwijck. When she was very young her father, a minister, recognized her interest and ability in art. He took Maria to a still life painter’s studio where she learned and studied for many years. Although many gentlemen offered, she never married. She said her art was the most important thing to her. Maria had no children of her own, but she raised her orphaned nephew. Her still life art was very well respected and she sold paintings to famous royalty like The Holy Roman Emperor and King Louis XIV. She was very religious and she would use a butterfly in her still life paintings as a symbol of the resurrection, and new life. In her still life paintings she also used vanitas symbols, like skulls, wilted flowers, or half eaten fruit. These symbols were used to show man’s mortality or the limited time man has on the earth. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_van_Oosterwijck)
This painting by Maria Van Oosterwijck is called Vanitas-Still Life } Show (4) Maria Van Oosterwijck, Vanitas-Still Life (1668), oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Can you spot any vanitas items in Maria’s painting? (Skull, dead and wilting flowers, hourglass, insects.)
- Do you see the butterfly? What did the butterfly symbolize in her paintings? (The resurrection.)
Rachel Ruysche (1664-1750)
Another excellent female Dutch still life artist was Rachel Ruysche. Here is a portrait of the artist. } Show (5) Godfried Schalcken, Portrait of Rachel Ruysche (before1706), Cheltenham Gallery
Rachel Ruysche was the daughter of a great scientist. From her father she learned to look closely at nature and to record it carefully. When she was fifteen years old she was apprenticed to a Dutch master artist who helped her perfect the art of creating still life paintings of fruits and flowers. She married and became a mother of ten children. She always loved to paint and continued to paint until she was 83 years old! She painted flower arrangements that were NOT symmetrical, with wild stems and a black background. These unique qualities gave her paintings liveliness and energy. She spent a lot of time on each and every flower petal, using her brush strokes to make each flower exactly as it really appears in nature. (http://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/rachel-ruysch)
Here is one of Rachel’s floral paintings. It is called Vase with Flowers. Notice the dark background and wilted stems. } Show (6) Rachel Ruysche,Vase with Flowers (1700), oil on canvas, The Hague, Mauritshuis.
Rachel Ruysche and the other Dutch Still Life masters brought out the beauty of some of God’s seemingly ordinary creations through their still life paintings. They made still life paintings respected and valuable throughout Europe. “Still life paintings became very popular in the Netherlands. Male and female artists learned to observe carefully and create lovely paintings using ordinary objects.” } Write this academic concept on the board.
GOSPEL CONNECTION
The artists we have talked about today painted the beauty in some of God’s most ordinary creations—fruits, flowers, insects, etc.
- What does is mean to be still? (Accept any answer.)
- What skills do you think a “still life” artist needs to have before they even begin to paint an object? (Accept any answer.)
A still-life artist must be able to notice what is extraordinary about ordinary things. They must appreciate the beauty in things that other people hardly notice. After noticing, they must carefully observe objects, looking closely and studying them. Then, they can begin to paint or draw.
A “still life” artist has to learn to “be still” and take time to see what busy people often miss.
Just like a “still life” artist, when we are still and really look closely at things, we can see beauty and details in the people and things around us that we didn’t notice before.
- Have you ever sat still, quieted your busy mind, and just looked at something for a while? (Yes.) What? (Accept any answer) } Help the children think of such times.
I want you to close you eyes for a minute and imagine what it feels like:
- To quietly watch a deer from the road.
- To sit still and look at a new born baby.
- To sit quietly and hold the hand of an elderly person.
- To sit and study the movement of an ant.
- To sit and watch the way a river flows.
- To look closely and carefully at a flower...a magnificent mountain...the stars...a sunset... a beautiful piece of art.
- To be quiet and observant enough to notice when another person is hurting and needs our help.
- To really look at your brother or sister blow out the candles on their birthday cake and open a gift.
- If you could describe how you feel during such times, what word(s) would you use? } Ideas might include: fascinated, grateful for the creations of God, reverent, thankful, amazed, happy, in awe etc.
In this video Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells us how important it is for us to slow down and really notice the people, and things, and moments that matter most. Notice all the ordinary extraordinary things in this video. } Show (7) Moments that matter most.
It is not easy in a busy world to slow down like the “still life” artist and really look—really notice the ordinary extraordinary things, but it is very important!
- What kinds of things keep us from being still and noticing? (TV, computer games, music, being too focused on ourselves, not getting outside enough, to many activities etc.)
- What might we do as a family so that we have more time for being still? } Adapt this discussion to the needs and ages of your children.
One of the most powerful things we can do is ask Heavenly Father in our prayers to help us slow down and pay attention and really appreciate the little things that are most important. } Show the children the still life painting you have printed off. This painting is called ______. It is by the artist, _________. We are going to place it somewhere in the house to remind us that, “When we are still we notice all the ordinary extraordinary people, and things, and moments God has placed in our lives.” } Write this gospel principle on the board.
ART PROJECT
Art Supplies
Littles: Special toy or stuffed animal, art paper, coloring tools
Middles: At least three special objects that represent or mean something to the child, art paper, acrylic paints
Bigs: At least three special objects that represent or mean something to the child, art paper, acrylic or oil paints, painting supplies
Littles Activity: Still Life
- Choose a special toy or stuffed animal.
- Look closely at the details of your toy.
- Using art paper, draw and color your special toy.
- When you finish coloring, place the artwork in the art notebook behind the My Art Projects divider.
Assignment: Write three ways that you can “be still”, or calm your mind, when you are upset.
Middles Activity: Still Life Drawing
- Choose at least three special objects that mean something to you.
- Set your objects in front of you, arranging them together in a group. Sometimes overlapping objects improves the composition of the picture.
- Examine your objects closely.
- Sketch your group of objects in pencil on your paper.
- After you have a rough sketch, finish the drawing with color pencils.
- When you finish coloring, place the artwork in the art notebook behind the My Art Projects divider.
Assignment: Write ways that you can “be still”, or calm your mind, when you are upset.
Middles/Bigs Activity: Still Life Painting
- Choose at least three special objects that mean something to you.
- Set your objects in front of you, arranging them together in a group. Sometimes overlapping objects improves the composition of the picture.
- Examine your objects closely.
- Sketch your group of objects in pencil on your paper.
- After you have a rough sketch, redraw the still life onto art paper. Look back and forth from your painting to the still life to find the correct shapes, values, darks and light areas.
- Find the light source for the still life and start painting in the values of each object. You will need to paint broad shapes of values and slowly layer the painting with highlights and details.
- Be mindful of the textures of each object and use your brush strokes to show the textures. For example, if the texture is fuzzy, use short quick brush strokes to make a soft fuzzy texture; or if the texture is metallic, use smooth contour brush strokes and look for the light reflecting off the metal.
- Paint in the the background, using broad strokes.
- Paint the surface the objects are sitting on. Add shadows on the table.
- When your painting is complete, take a photograph of the painting and place the artwork in the art notebook behind the My Art Projects divider.
Assignment: Do a word study of the word “still”.
MORE FUN WITH DUTCH STILL LIFE
Further Research: Explore simple yoga and calming meditation skills for children.
Family Night Idea: Study the story of the Savior calming the sea, and sing “Master the Tempest is Raging.”
Lesson Plan Resources
(1) Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Flower Still Life (1619), oil on copper, Getty Center
(2) Willem Kalf, Still Life with the Drinking-Horn, Lobster and Glasses (1653), oil on canvas, London, National Gallery.
(3) Wallerant Vaillant, Portrait of Maria Van Oosterwijck, (1617), oil on canvas, Amsterdam,Rijksmuseum
(4) Maria Van Oosterwijck, Vanitas-Still Life (1668), oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum
Research Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosius_Bosschaert
http://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/rachel-ruysch