Download Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night: A Lesson in Expressionism and more Summaries Painting in PDF only on Docsity! Art Masterpiece: 2nd Grade, Lesson 2 (November) Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Starry Night (1889) Oil on Canvas, 29” × 36 ¼” - The Museum of Modern Art, New York Art Style: Expressionism Art Terms: Movement, Line, Color (Warm and Cool) Activity: Watercolor Resist “Starry Night” Landscape Medium: Watercolor and Crayon Meet the Artist He was born in 1853 in The Netherlands. He wanted to be a preacher, but he was actually a schoolteacher in England, and then he became an art dealer. After that period of time, he moved to France and painted or drew 2000 works of art in the next 10 years of his life. His closest friend and relative was his brother, Theo, who also supported him financially. He spent his life in poverty, choosing to spend money on paints rather than food to eat. While he was strongly influenced by the Impressionists of the day, he became much bolder in his paintings. He was a pioneer for Expressionism. Expressionists profoundly show their emotions through their paintings. Van Gogh never felt that his art was appreciated, which pained him very much. It wasn’t entirely true; many of his fellow painters saw him as a genius. He was a prolific painter and in the end, produced a painting a day. However, he only sold 1 painting during his lifetime. After Van Gogh’s death, it was his brother Theo’s wife who made sure that Vincent Van Gogh got the attention he deserved in his lifetime. His paintings are some of the most expensive in the world to purchase. Art Style Expressionism Art that is meant to express emotions rather than physical reality. Art Terms Movement The path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often to a focal area. It can be directed along lines, edges, shapes and color. Line An element of art. A continuous path of a point as it moves across a surface. A line can vary in length, width, direction, curvature or color. Color (Warm and Cool) Warm colors come forward toward the eye and cool colors recede or fall into the distance. Think of the sun for warm colors – Red, Yellow, Orange. Think of distant hills or a snowy day for cool colors – Green, Blue, Violet. Questions about Starry Night What colors do you see? Are they mostly cool colors or warm? What do the swirling lines remind you of? What do they represent? How does this motion make you feel? What is the dark image in the middle of the painting? What time of day is it? Is Starry Night a good title? Would you want it in your room? How do you think Van Gogh felt when he painted it? What is he expressing? Activity Watercolor Resist “Starry Night” Landscape - Watercolor and Crayon Supplies Watercolor paper – 8 1/2” x 11” Black construction paper – 4.5” x 11” Crayons – blue, orange, yellow, white *Tempera paint – blue (watered-down) *Paint brushes or sponge brushes Scissors Pencils Glue sticks *By the sink, set up one or two watercolor stations with watered-down blue tempera paint and wide paint brushes or sponge brushes.
