Presentation Van Gogh The bedroom
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Worksheets
Items in this lesson
Slide 1 - Slide
For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with the Van Gogh Museum: it’s a museum dedicated to the artist Vincent van Gogh, located in Amsterdam in The Netherlands and it houses the largest collection of works and letters by Vincent van Gogh worldwide.
Slide 2 - Slide
This is a quote by Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo, dating on or about Friday, 20 September 1889. It shows that the artist himself already saw the importance of bringing children into contact with works of art.
Slide 3 - Slide
We think it is a lovely quote to accompany the mission of the museum, which is inspiring a diverse audience with the life and work of Vincent van Gogh and his time.
Slide 4 - Slide
Learnings Van Gogh goes to school integrated in this programm.
Slide 5 - Slide
- 21st century skills
Critical thinking
Creativity
Collaboration
Communication
Information literacy
Media literacy
Technology literacy
Flexibility
Leadership
Initiative
Productivity
Social skills
Slide 6 - Slide
Introduce yourself and explain that you will be coming to give a number of lessons about Vincent van Gogh. You have even brought one of his paintings with you. It’s not the real thing, but it almost looks like it is.
Don’t reveal at this point which painting you’ve brought. The museum edition is on an easel, with a cloth draped over it.
Explain that you’re going to make something in each lesson:
Lesson 1. A story
Lesson 2. A drawing
Lesson 3. A painting
Lesson 4. A photo
Lesson 5. An exhibition of everything you’ve made
Slide 7 - Slide
Explain: before we start exploring the life of Vincent, and we discover whether you already know something about him, let’s have a look at Vincent himself, and whether you are like him. I’ve got ten statements. Think for yourself whether you think each one describes you. You don’t need to share your answers. Keep a count of how many times you answer yes.
Discuss the fact that anyone who often answered ‘yes’ is like Vincent in some ways.
Slide 8 - Video
Film clip: My Story, duration: 4:51 min
Slide 9 - Slide
The film ends with the question ‘what are you good at?’.
Ask the kids what they are good at. Ask them some more questions about it.
Was it difficult to learn? Did you have to do loads of practising like Vincent, or were you good at it straightaway? Is it fun to learn something, or is it only fun once you can do it? Have you ever had the feeling that you were born to do something? Like dancing or football, for example?
And if the kids can’t think of anything they’re good at, ask them what they would like to be good at. And what is ‘good’ anyway?
Make a link to the museum edition of The Bedroom. Vincent was really pleased with the painting you’re about to show. He made several versions of it.
Slide 10 - Slide
Now reveal the museum edition (maybe get one of the kids to help). Does anyone know this painting?
Explain that the painting you’ve brought along was made with a 3D printer. First the real painting was scanned. Then this print was made from the scan. All the lumps of paint in the original are also in this fake version.
In the following slides, you and the kids will investigate the colours, shapes and lines in the painting (VTR: colour shape line)
Invite the children to come and feel the painting in small groups. They can run their open hand over the lumps of paint. Where are the thickest lumps? Mention that you’re not usually allowed to do this in a museum, as it would damage the painting. Unfortunately, Vincent is no longer around to make a new one.
Slide 11 - Slide
Look for the reds, blues, greens and yellows in the painting. Are there any other colours? Did Vincent also use black and white?
Slide 12 - Slide
Explain that the colours we see in the painting now are not the same as the colours Vincent used. Most of the red paint he used was not light-resistant, and it gradually faded out of the image. That’s why the purple wall is now light blue. The floor was also much redder.
Which colours do the kids like best? The original colours, or the colours as they are now?
Slide 13 - Slide
Discover the many angular shapes in the painting. Have the kids point out a number of squares and rectangles, or point them out yourself. For example: the paintings on the walls, the mirror, the rectangular window with the square pains, the back wall, the drawer in the nightstand, the panels in the door, the door itself, the pillows.
Some squares are drawn in the perspective of the room. For example: the paintings on the side wall, the seats on the chairs.
Point out a number of shapes that are rounded, or irregular: the wash basin, the towel, the hat on the coat rack, the curved bedhead.
What shapes are not in the painting? Vincent didn’t paint any shadows under the furniture. He got the idea from Japanese prints (see hotspot). Japanese artists also often left out the shadows. By doing this, Vincent kept the painting simple and calm.
Slide 14 - Slide
Discover the lines that define the painting. Vincent used thick outlines around the furniture. Look for example at the thick black line along the bottom of the bed, or the lines around the nightstand and chairs. Vincent used green lines to indicate the floorboards. Simple lines define the panels in the door. He also used diagonal lines to show how the mirror and his paintings were hung on the wall.
Slide 15 - Slide
Show Vincent’s pen and ink drawing of his bedroom. He made the same picture using different materials. Can the kids spot any new lines in it?
There are more lines in the floor. Vincent also put horizontal stripes on the mirror, the back wall and the windows. He put slightly curved stripes on the wash basin to emphasise its rounded shape. On the blanket, too, the stripes curve over the side of the bed.
Slide 16 - Slide
Give the following assignment:
Get your worksheet.
Make a square using your thumbs and index fingers and look through it at the sketch of The Bedroom on the screen. Choose a little bit of the drawing (like a bit of the floor or bed cover) and try to draw what you see in the first square. Try to follow the stripes as well as you can.
Choose an entirely different bit of the drawing and do the same again.
Discuss: What have you discovered?
In this drawing Vincent used short stripes that continue on one after another, are placed above/below/beside one another, or at right angles. This gives the drawing rhythm.
Slide 17 - Slide
Vincent wanted to make a painting that makes you calm. He wrote about it in a letter to Theo. Do the kids think he managed it? Who gets a completely different feeling from this painting? That’s quite possible, because art is always very personal.
Slide 18 - Slide
You’re now going to tell the class more about Vincent van Gogh’s The Bedroom. Ask the kids to listen carefully, because the information will be useful later for their written assignment.
Vincent van Gogh’s bedroom was in the yellow house in Arles, France (in the painting on the slide). It was on the first floor, behind the green shutters. Vincent used the ground floor as his studio.
In the distance you can see a steam train. When he had to go on a long journey, Vincent usually went by train.
Vincent also painted the little café you can see. He sometimes ate there with Joseph Roulin, the postman who was also his friend.
Vincent often saw the Roulin family in Arles. He asked them to model for his paintings (see hotspot).
Slide 19 - Slide
Point out the portraits of Camille and Joseph Roulin. Joseph Roulin was a postman, and he must have handled lots of letters from Van Gogh. Camille was his son. Vincent van Gogh also painted his famous Sunflowers at the yellow house. He went out with all his painting stuff for long walks, and painted outdoors. Sometimes he finished the painting at home.
Slide 20 - Slide
Get your worksheet.
Tell the kids that they are going to write a story to go with Van Gogh’s painting The Bedroom. It doesn’t have to be true, they can make everything up if they want. They can use the information about the yellow house, the train, the letters, the Roulin family etc., but they don’t have to. It can also be about something like a cat sneaking into the bedroom.
The kids should write a short story with a clear beginning, middle and end. They can choose from three options:
- What you see in the painting is the beginning of the story
- What you see in the painting is the middle of the story
- What you see in the painting is the end of the story
First make a mind map, with all your ideas for the story. Write down individual words. Then think of the story.
Slide 21 - Slide
Tell the kids: Vincent also told stories in his letters. He often did a little sketch too. When you’re done, decorate your story with one or more little sketches.
Discuss the stories. Who wants to read theirs out?
Slide 22 - Slide
Tell the kids: Vincent shared his stories in letters to his brother Theo. Theo was very important to Vincent, because he supported him and believed in his art. Who would you like to share your story with? What do they mean to you?
Slide 23 - Slide
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Slide 24 - Slide
Explain that today you’re going to be looking at depth, or perspective as it is called. A canvas is a flat surface; it only has a height and a width. But Vincent painted what he saw around him showing height, width and depth. Ask the kids if they can see how he did that in The Bedroom.
- Everything that’s further away is smaller
- Things that are further away are also higher up the canvas
You can see this if you compare the two chairs and if you compare the foot of the bed with the head. Point this out on the museum edition.
- If the kids are more advanced: all the lines moving away from the viewer’s position come together at an imaginary vanishing point that you can’t see because of the back wall. Point out how, for example, the lines depicting the floorboards and the walls of the room seem to move towards the same point.
Slide 25 - Slide
The kids might indicate that they feel the perspective in the painting is not quite right. There are several reasons for this:
- Vincent’s room was not square, it had a diagonal wall that came to a point in the back right corner (check the hotspot). That is why the line between the floor and the back wall slopes slightly upwards.
- Vincent painted freehand. The lines creating the perspective are not therefore perfectly straight. But Vincent liked that.
- Vincent liked to exaggerate. In this painting, for example, he exaggerated the size of the bed, which makes a few things look out of proportion and it’s a bit like you’re looking at the room through a fish-eye lens.
Slide 26 - Slide
Let’s have a go ourselves! We’re going to draw a bedroom in perspective.
The kids need:
- A sheet of paper
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Black pen
- Coloured pencils
Slide 27 - Slide
Then, on the smartboard, show (1 and 2) a rectangle with another smaller rectangle inside it. Join the points (3).
This gives you a room with two side walls, a back wall, a floor and a ceiling.
Have the kids do the same, and help them if necessary. They should draw freehand, just like Vincent, so no rulers. Crooked is cool! Make sure they sketch rather than drawing thick lines which will be difficult to rub out later.
Slide 28 - Slide
Now ask the kids to rearrange the furniture in their drawing of Vincent’s bedroom. Putting things in a different place will mean that they have to make them larger or smaller.
They should at any rate include:
- 2 chairs
- 1 bed + nightstand
- A few paintings/posters
- 1 window and 1 door
- (optional: something that isn’t in Vincent’s The Bedroom)
Have the kids sketch these things first.
Slide 29 - Slide
Now have the kids trace over their sketch using a black pen, and colour it in with coloured pencils. The thick outlines and large areas of colour will make the drawing look more like the painting.
The kids can choose their own colours. It might be fun to use entirely different colours from those in the painting.
Share: have the kids check in pairs what colours they chose and why.
Slide 30 - Slide
Complete the drawing..
Vincent didn’t sign The Bedroom. He did put his name on some of his other work though. Sometimes in a place where you really noticed it, and it was sometimes hidden.
Where are you going to sign it?
Did you think the assignment was easy? What did you find difficult?
Who is proud of their drawing, or part of it?
Slide 31 - Slide
Explain: you might have noticed that it’s quite difficult to draw not only the room in perspective, but also the furniture. Vincent found it really difficult too.
What’s wrong with the chairs in the slide? Show that the length of the legs is often wrong.
Slide 32 - Slide
But Vincent kept on practising! He wanted to teach himself how to do it. And you will also practise again next lesson, this time using paint.
Slide 33 - Slide
Explain: next lesson we’re going to paint chairs, in perspective. These paintings show two very different chairs. Can you say what the differences are?
- Simple versus elegant
- Straight / rounded
- Armrests / no armrests
- Practical versus nice to look at
- Kitchen chair versus comfy chair
- Different type of wood
- Different things on the chairs
- Painted in different colours
- Daytime/evening
Slide 34 - Slide
Explain: Look around you the next few days, at the chairs you see.
- What shape are they?
- What are they made of?
- What are they used for?
Then decide which chair you think is the nicest, most beautiful, most interesting, or just one that grabs your attention for some reason. It can be a real chair, or an imagined chair.
You can use these ideas in the next lesson when you’re painting your chair.
Slide 35 - Slide
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Slide 36 - Slide
Return to the context of Vincent van Gogh.
Explain: Vincent was living in the yellow house in Arles (France) when he painted The Bedroom. His dream was to live there with other artists and to work together. He wrote in a letter to Theo: ‘I really want to make of it – an artist’s house.’
Vincent put a lot of work into furnishing the yellow house so that he could proudly welcome other artists. He bought lots of chairs, for example – no fewer than 12! So it’s perhaps no surprise that chairs appear so often in his drawings and paintings.
You might like to read this section of letter 677 (in the hotspot)
Slide 37 - Slide
Explain: Eventually Paul Gauguin, a French artist, came to live with Vincent for a while. These are portraits that Vincent and Paul made of each other. Around this time, Vincent made two paintings of chairs: his own and Paul’s. We looked at them quickly last time.
Slide 38 - Slide
Explain: you could say that these two paintings are portraits. Each one tells us a lot about the owner of the chair.
What does Vincent’s chair tell us about him?
- He likes simple things (you can see this in the chair he chose, it’s simple)
- He likes to smoke a pipe
- He’s a practical/active person (the chair is made so you can be active when you sit on it; it would be good for drawing or chopping food, for example; it’s not made to chill out in)
- He likes to be in the kitchen
- He’s a daytime person
- Etc.
What does Paul’s chair tell us about him?
- Elegant/mysterious/stylish
- Likes reading
- Is an evening or night person
- Has style
- Etc.
Slide 39 - Slide
Explain: the chair you paint should say something about you too. So your chair will actually be a self-portrait, just like these two.
Optional: Have the kids work in pairs, thinking first for themselves and then for each other what things they could paint on their chair instead of the pipe and the book in the examples.
Slide 40 - Slide
Explain: To design a chair that suits you, think about three things:
1. Shape (straight or curved lines, closed or open, four legs or another design, armrests or not, backrest high/low, decoration, etc.)
2. Material (hard/soft, patterned/plain, old/new, etc.)
3. Colour (bright colours, contrasts, colours that are close together, pastel shades, black-and-white)
Slide 41 - Slide
Ask if the kids know the colour wheel. Point out how you can mix colours and that some colours are close together and some are far apart.
Slide 42 - Slide
Now, step by step, draw a chair in perspective with the kids.
Explain that they shouldn’t make the lines too thick, so they can be rubbed out, and they can’t be seen under the paint.
Slide 43 - Slide
First (1, 2 and 3), draw a cube with charcoal using very thin lines. The children should use charcoal.
Then (4, 5 and 6) use a thick line to draw over the lines of the cube that make a chair.
And rub out the other lines as much as possible.
Slide 44 - Slide
If you think drawing a cube is too complicated for these kids, there is another way. It doesn’t give them as much insight, but it can save time (and frustration).
Start by drawing a diamond shape (the seat of the chair) in the middle of the sheet (1).
Then draw two vertical lines of equal length pointing upwards ... (2)
And three vertical lines of equal length pointing downwards (3) + a line connecting the two lines pointing upwards (4). Show how you can make the seat and a chair leg thicker, as an example (5 and 6).
Slide 45 - Slide
Explain: now you’re going to turn this basic chair into your own chair, by changing and adding things. Show what you mean using three examples on the smartboard.
Slide 46 - Slide
Explain: now you’re going to paint your chair. Think again about what colours are best for you.
Practical instructions for the kids
- Make sure your table is completely covered, with old newspaper for example
- Wipe your brush clean on the kitchen roll before you start using a new colour.
- If you want to mix colours, take two little bits of paint and mix them on a separate piece of foil.
- Start with the chair itself. When you’re done, paint an interesting floor and wall.
Slide 47 - Slide
It’s useful to prepare little ‘palettes’ of paint beforehand (on pieces of foil for example), which you can now hand out. Several kids can use one palette; maybe groups of four, for example.
Slide 48 - Slide
Place or hang the paintings next to each other and talk about them together. You might like to use the following questions. NB: there are no right or wrong answers here.
- Are there any chairs where you can easily tell who painted it?
- Which chairs have interesting shapes or materials?
- Who used unusual colours?
- Did you enjoy making the paintings?
Slide 49 - Slide
Explain: next lesson you’re going to make a self-portrait, a photograph. And this time you really will be in the picture!
Slide 50 - Video
Option: filmclip about identity and image (1:08 min).
Slide 51 - Slide
Explain: We’re going to use all kinds of things in the self-portrait, so it’s important to get some things together and bring them. You don’t need to think about how you’re going to use them in your self-portrait yet. There’s no point, because someone else is going to use them. And you’re going to use what someone else brings.
Assignment: Bring two objects to the next lesson.
- The object should not be valuable; choose something that hardly costs anything
- The object should not be too important to you; you aren’t really attached to it
- You already have it at home
- Examples: empty pop bottle, a few pegs, a role of wrapping paper, a block of Post-It notes, a watering can, etc.
Slide 52 - Slide
Re-establish contact with the kids and tell them that today you’re going to be making the final piece of art for the exhibition. In the next lesson you will be making an exhibition.
The kids should all have brought something from home. Things for their self-portrait. Group the things together on several number of tables. If the kids haven’t brought much with them, add some extra items from the classroom. It could be anything, as long as it isn’t valuable.
Slide 53 - Slide
Explore with the kids which feeling goes best with this painting and why.
Slide 54 - Slide
Then explain: Vincent van Gogh had a dramatic life. Things weren’t always easy. His mental health problems sometimes made him feel anxious, down and unsure of himself. He was quite vulnerable, but he was also strong. He always tried to find the courage to carry on. Painting helped him, and he found nature very comforting.
He made this painting at a time when he was feeling very vulnerable, shortly after he had cut off his ear. But he carried on painting. In a coat and fur hat – pretty warm clothes. There are Japanese prints (big source of inspiration) and an easel in the background. What do you think he was trying to say by including them?
Vincent van Gogh kept painting, whatever happened. He wanted to carry on.
Slide 55 - Slide
Vincent made more self-portraits, each one different. Discuss the portraits.
- Which portrait stands out the most?
- Is there a happy portrait here?
- Which different facial expressions can you see?
- Which clothes stand out the most?
Slide 56 - Slide
Now we’re going to get to work. We’re going to do it in stages. We’ll be making an artistic photographic portrait which, if you look closely, says something about who you are. At the end of the lesson you’ll write a little label to go with the picture, explaining what you were trying to say (see hotspot).
There’s often a label next to an artwork in a museum. It gives you the most important information in not too many words. Read out the label for The Bedroom. Or have one of the kids read it.
Discuss two photographic portraits and read their labels out, so it’s clear what the kids have to do.
Slide 57 - Slide
Get your worksheet.
Explain: These are the steps to make your portrait. Mention them briefly. First choose three characteristics that suit you. In step two we’re going to use the things you brought. In step three we’ll make a quick sketch of our ideas. And in step four we’ll take the photo and write a label for it. Slide 58 - Slide
Have the kids think about what three characteristics suit them. They should write down three.
Slide 59 - Slide
Re-establish contact with the kids and tell them that today you’re going to be making the exhibition of everything you’ve made in the lessons. To inspire the kids, tell them something about what the Van Gogh Museum looks like.
Slide 60 - Slide
Explain: There’s lots of art in the Van Gogh Museum by Vincent and artists who lived at the same time as him. This is what the building looks like. Inside you can see some of Vincent’s most famous masterpieces, including The Bedroom. We also have shorter exhibitions that change a couple of times a year, so people are always thinking about the best way to show paintings and drawings.
To set up an exhibition, you have to think very carefully about what you are going to hang where. And whether you are going to hang things, or lay them down.
Slide 61 - Slide
Explain: This is a photo of The Bedroom hanging in the Van Gogh Museum, with the label next to it that we read last lesson. It’s hanging with other paintings that were all made in Arles. Because it is right in the middle, you really get the feeling that you are looking at an important piece by Vincent. The people who arranged things in the museum decided to paint the wall blue. Do you think the colour matters?
Let’s test it.
Slide 62 - Slide
You’ve brought with you four pieces of fabric the size of a sheet in different colours: green, orange, blue and brown. Together with one of the students, hold each one up in turn behind the museum edition. Do this without saying anything, until you’ve done all the colours. Hold the sheet behind the painting for at least 15 seconds. The kids should look quietly and think about what the background colour does to the painting.
After each colour, the students should write down one word to finish the sentence on the slide. Eventually, everyone will have written down four words.
Divide the class into pairs. The kids tell each other what they wrote down in random order. Then they try to guess which word belongs with which colour.
Then discuss as a class whether there were any surprises, or had they all written down more or less the same things? What did you notice about the effect of the different background colours? (e.g. a different colour can draw your eye to things in the painting that you didn’t notice before / colours seem more intense or softer / you might get a different feeling from the painting) Which colour do you think goes best with this painting?
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Slide 65 - Slide
On the other side of the wall where The Bedroom hangs in the museum is the painting Sunflowers. Hanging them like this shows that the paintings really do belong together. These are famous pictures that Vincent painted in the same period. They both have bright colours and the paint is very thick and lumpy.
Sunflowers is also on a blue wall. This makes all the shades of yellow in the painting even more yellow. You might like to refer again to the colour wheel.
Slide 66 - Slide
When the Van Gogh Museum opened in 1973 there were very different frames on the paintings than we have now. You can see them in this old photo. The frames are simpler. At the front is Vincent Willem van Gogh, Theo van Gogh’s son, who officially opened the museum.
Slide 67 - Slide
Divide the class into four groups.
1. Stories from lesson 1
2. Drawings from lesson 2
3. Paintings from lesson 3
4. Photos from lesson 4
(Optional: A fifth group can arrange an opening ceremony, with a speech and a ribbon to cut, for example, and a press release to announce it to the public)
Each group should ensure that the collection of artworks that they are responsible for is shown as well and as attractively as possible. Give each group a place where they can show their artworks. Show them the materials they can use, as discussed in lesson 4.
Slide 68 - Slide
Re-establish contact with the kids and tell them that today you’re going to be making the exhibition of everything you’ve made in the lessons. To inspire the kids, tell them something about what the Van Gogh Museum looks like.
Slide 69 - Slide
Learning objectives clear for your students
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