Find the five differences: The Bedroom

• Art and design
• Primary Education

Introduction

In this brief game, the class will take a close look at Vincent van Gogh's painting 'The Bedroom' and then find the differences in five modified versions.

Instructions

General learning objectives

- This lesson will introduce the class to Vincent van Gogh and one of his most famous paintings.

- By looking closely at details, they will discover what makes five modified versions of The Bedroom different from the original.

No materials needed.

Optional variations

1. Have the children work separately or in pairs. For each modified version, they can write down the difference from the original. Afterwards, you can see who has the most correct answers.

2. After talking about the last difference, discuss whether the changes affected the mood or atmosphere of the painting. Which difference made the painting seem very different? And is it really OK to change a work of art, making it different from the artist's original idea or creation?

Background information

This painting from 1888 shows Vincent van Gogh's bedroom in the yellow house that he rented in the southern French city of Arles, in a square called Place Lamartine. There he painted famous works of art such as The Yellow House and Sunflowers.

Briefly tell the class something about the painting The Bedroom and the artist, or ask them what they think of it. Then let them know that you're all going to play a game and tell them to look at the painting very carefully. We look at things every day – but taking a careful look is not nearly as easy as it seems. When looking at paintings, there are some tricks that you can use.

Continue: For instance, you can draw imaginary lines on the painting. Can you see that Vincent made the bed so big that it's in both halves of the painting? That draws your attention to it right away. So does the colour.

- Now draw some other lines on the painting, or ask a student to do it. Draw diagonal lines showing the directions of the walls, the bed frame, or the floorboards. The shape of the room doesn't look quite right, but in fact, it really did have a funny corner like that, and it wasn't a perfect rectangle.

Tell the class: When you 'trace over' the painting with your eyes, you see more and more details. Ask students to describe some details of the painting. Then explain the assignment: After [a certain number of] seconds, the picture will disappear from the board. When it reappears, something about the painting will be different. Then explain how the class discussion will work.

Did you look closely?

Now find the difference!

To avoid confusion, every modified version is marked with the words,

'What is wrong with this painting?'

You can ask the children to tell you their answers or circle the details on the board using the drawing function.

Answer: The mirror to the left of the window has been switched with the painting to the right of the window.

After every modified version, the original painting is shown again on the board. This will make it clear what was different about the previous version. It also allows the class to take another look at the original in preparation for the next version.

Did you look closely?

Now find the difference!

Answer: The two lower works of art on the right-hand wall are missing.

Did you look closely?

Now find the difference!

Answer: The cloth draped over the end of the bed was originally hanging next to the door on the left.

Did you look closely?

Now find the difference!

Answer: Now there's only one pillow on the bed instead of two.

Did you look closely?

Now find the difference!

Answer: The back of the chair next to the bed has disappeared.

Afterwards, you can briefly discuss the game. Was it easy or hard? Which difference was the hardest one to find?

www.vangoghmuseum.nl

If there's still time, the class can take an even closer look at the painting. On the Van Gogh Museum website, you can zoom in on details of The Bedroom.