First and Second Grade Lessons (Picasso)

So for the First and Second Grade Lessons I introduced them to Pablo Picasso.  Here are some points I made to each class:

- He was born in 1881 and died in 1973 (that gave him a lot of time to create artwork!)

- His father was an artist and art teacher

- He began painting realistically but moved on to paint in an abstract/cubist manner

- He created over 20,000 drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures

For the First Grade class I added a bit of info about his Rose Period:

- He moved to Paris, France in 1900

- Rose Period lasted from 1904-1906

- Made use of orange and pink tones in his artwork

- Was inspired by the circus performers (specifically the harlequins/clowns)

(Given the opportunity to do this lesson again, I'd point out Paris, France on a world map)

So for First Grade we discussed the word "harlequin" and how it was the name of the type of clown Picasso was inspired to draw/paint while in Paris.  We looked at an image of a young harlequin boy he painted.  I asked "What are some things you notice about this painting?" and made a point to focus on the clothing (funny hat, ruffles, diamonds on his costume, etc.).  Diamonds are an essential part of identifying a harlequin from a regular clown.  Then I showed two images of contemporary clowns (focusing on just their faces) and we discussed the various geometric shapes found on them.  We went over the different geometric shapes we know and demonstrated how to cut them out of construction paper.  Then we thought up of different ways we can arrange these shapes to create a clown face.  Finally, we're going to incorporate a bit of newspaper by adding those essential diamonds on our harlequin's shirts (I'll discuss how Picasso incorporated newspaper in his collage pieces).  

Vocab: Harlequin, Geometric Shapes, Collage

For Second Grade we viewed two of Picasso's cubist portraits (Portrait of Dora Maar and Portrait of Marie-Thérèse).  Again I asked the students "What are some things you notice about these two paintings?" which they pointed out the colors, shapes, and the arrangement of facial features.  This is another project that focuses on geometric shapes and referenced the oil pastel blending lesson from the class before.  We drew self-portraits in Picasso's cubist style and used oil pastels to blend/mix the colors together to create new ones.  Finally, the students practiced their cutting and gluing skills by cutting out their completed self-portraits and gluing them on a fresh piece of construction paper.  I hope to hang their artwork in the hallways very soon!

Vocab: Cubism, Geometric Shapes

This lesson was inspired by the Picasso lesson on Deep Space Sparkle, a wonderful art teacher blog.