Lesson 1: This is Vincent

• Art
• Primary Education
• Secondary Education
• Age 8-13

Instructions

Equipment

Digital Blackboard/screen

Internet connection

For each student:

A pencil (grey)

Coloured pencils

Pencil sharpener

Eraser

a few sheets of paper

Approximate timings for this lesson:

15 minutes                Intro and are you like Vincent 

10 minutes                True or false 

5 minutes                  Film clip + what are you good at 

20 minutes               Audio assignment + Introduction Almond Blossom

15 minutes                Draw assignment 

20 minutes               Friendship tree assignment

5 minutes                 Discuss assignment and lesson

Total 90 minutes

This is Vincent 

Title: Self-Portrait as a Painter

Date: 1887-1888

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Give a brief introduction. Explain that the next three lessons will be about Vincent van

Gogh and his work. There will be lots of assignments to do. You don’t need to be good at it. ‘I always draw what I cannot, so that I may learn to do it’, Vincent once wrote to his brother Theo.

Over the next few lessons we’re going to make some art together. We’ll start today

by making a friendship tree. But first, let’s learn a bit more about Vincent.

Are you like Vincent?

I don’t know what I want to be yet

1

I’m stubborn

2

I like nature

3

I find it difficult to stick to rules 

4

I work hard / don’t give up easily 

5

I fall in love very easily

6

I like to do things in a new or different way 

7

One day I’m happy and full of energy, and the next I’m tired and feeling down 

8

I want to mean something (to others/the world) 

9

I make my own choices, even if they are not popular 

10

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. 

True of false?

Check what the students already know about Vincent van Gogh. Explain that you’re going to show eight slides, each with two statements. One is true and one is false. What do the students think, and why? 

First, read out both statements, so they can think for a moment. Then read them again. Anyone who thinks the statement is true should stand. If they think it’s false, they stay seated. This gives you an idea of what the kids already know, and you can gather some basic information. Use the information in this guide to give and explain the right answer for each slide.  

True of false?
Statement 1:

1. Vincent van Gogh lived from 1853 to 1890
2. Vincent van Gogh is still alive

The first statement (A) is true. 

Vincent lived over 130 years ago. He only lived to the age of 37. 

True of false?
Statement 2:

1. Vincent was a Dutch artist who moved to France
2. Vincent was a French artist

The first statement (A) is true. 

Vincent was Dutch, but he made a lot of his paintings in France. He moved to Paris to get inspiration from French artists. He later moved to the French countryside because he loved painting it. Point out the different places on the map (see next slide).

Orange arrow is pointing to The Netherlands

Blue arrow is pointing to  France

Old map: 1843

True of false?
Statement 3:

1. Vincent painted the Sunflowers, the Potato Eaters and 43 other paintings
2. Vincent made more than 850 paintings

Statement B is true. 

Vincent made more than 850 paintings in his life. We don’t know exactly how many, because lots of them have been lost. He also painted over some, and he swapped his paintings for other artworks. But he made many many paintings in just 10 years, that is certain. He called himself a ‘painting-locomotive’ (Vincent lived in the age of the steam train). 

True of false?
Statement 4:

1. This is a photo of Vincent van Gogh .
2. This is a self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh.

Both are true. 

The photo shows Vincent at 19, when he did not yet know he would become a painter. He had put on his best clothes for a photograph that was going to be a gift for his father. In the self-portrait Vincent is a grown man. He painted himself looking in the mirror. Do the kids think the person in the photo and the self-portrait look the same? Unfortunately, there are no photo portraits of Vincent as an adult. 

True of false?
Statement 5:

1. Vincent was already producing amazing paintings when he was 12
2. Vincent had to practise a lot to become a good painter

Statement B is true. 

Vincent practised a lot to become a good painter. He had a hard time with perspective and proportions, for example. He made lots of studies so he could master these things. He also looked at a lot of art by other people, and read about art, teaching himself more and more. He developed a quick, rhythmic style of painting. He wrote that he had painted Wheatfield with Crows in an hour and a half, but it had taken him ten years to be able to do that. 

See quote on the next slide.

'I keep on making what I can't do yet in order to learn to be able to do it.'

Vincent wrote:

True of false?
Statement 6:

1. We do not know what Vincent was trying to say in his paintings
2. Vincent wrote hundreds of letters about his art

Statement B is true. 

Vincent sometimes wrote two letters a day, most of them to his brother Theo. A lot of his letters have survived and they have been published. A lot of what we know about Vincent van Gogh comes from his letters. 

True of false?
Statement 7:

1. Vincent got money from his brother Theo to buy painting stuff
2. Vincent was a poor artist

Statement A is true. 

Lots of people think that Vincent was a poor artist. Actually, he had plenty of money, he just spent it rather quickly! He mainly bought lots and lots of painting stuff, but he also had to pay his rent. Vincent didn’t earn any money himself. He got it from his brother Theo, who tried to sell Vincent’s paintings in exchange. Theo continued to send Vincent money for ten years to help him make his living as a painter. 

True of false?
Statement 8:

1. Vincent did not become famous until after his death
2. Vincent sold some paintings before they were finished because they were so popular

If only the second statement were true! Unfortunately, Vincent only sold one painting during his life: The Red Vineyard (see next slide).

Statement A is true. 

Info

Title: The Red Vineyard

Date: 1888

Collection:  Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.

After answering the true/false questions, the kids know quite a lot about Van Gogh. Tell them that you’re now going to watch a film clip in which will they will find out more about him.

(ESPAÑOL) Film clip: La historia de mi vida, duration: 4:51 min

What are you good at? 

What are you good at?

The film ends with the question ‘what are you good at?’. Ask the students 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 students can’t think of anything they’re good at, ask them what they would like to be good at. And what is ‘good’ anyway?

Listen to the audio

Today we’re going to be looking at a very special painting by Vincent van Gogh. But

before we look, we’re going to listen.

Close your eyes and listen. The audio fragment will take you into the world of Van Gogh’s painting for 5 minutes. Listen carefully. Where does the sound take you?

What do you think the painting looks like?

How did the students find the experience of listening? Ask them to think about what place the sound described. The audio fragment was made on the basis of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. What do you think it looks like? 

Have the students sketch the painting as they imagine it. NB: it doesn’t need to be a

good drawing.

Discuss the drawings. Did they all draw the same thing? Or not? What was it that the students heard that made them draw this? 

Let’s see what Van Gogh’s painting actually looks like!

Title: Almond Blossom

Date: 1890

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

NB: If you have a museum edition, this is the moment to reveal it!

Discuss with the students:

What are the similarities and differences between the painting and the students’

drawings? Were they expecting this painting? Why/why not?

This is almond blossom. We see a tree in blossom against a blue sky. Vincent

probably didn’t paint an actual tree. He took a branch inside, painted it and then

added a clear blue sky behind it.

Almond blossom was one of Vincent van Gogh’s favourite subjects, because it

symbolises new life. He made the painting as a gift for his brother Theo and sister-in-

law Jo, who had just had a baby boy, whom they called Vincent Willem. They were

really pleased with the painting, and they hung it in a prominent place, above the

piano in their sitting room.

In his letter telling Vincent about the birth of his son, Theo wrote: ‘As we told you,

we’ll name him after you, and I’m making the wish that he may be as determined and as courageous as you.’ Theo and Vincent were very close – so close that he even

named his son Vincent!

Let’s find out more about their relationship. We’ll start with the Van Gogh family.

This was the family of Vincent. Vincent's father was a pastor, and his mother was a housewife. He was not their first child, but sadly, the first Vincent had died at birth. Fortunately, the second Vincent was a healthy baby. In fact, three younger sisters and two younger brothers came after him. Vincent had a special relation with his brother Theo! 

Vincent

Theo

Vincent

Vincent and Theo were the only ones in the family who worked in the art world. They

both began in the art trade. Theo would be an art dealer his entire life, but it was not

for Vincent. He left the art trade, and for a while he was unsure what to do, until Theo

advised him to become an artist.

Theo helped Vincent with money, so that he could buy things like paint and materials.

And he invited Vincent to come and live with him in Paris. When Vincent moved to

the South of France after two years in Paris, Theo stayed in the French capital. But

they kept in touch. Vincent could always count on the support of his younger brother,

even when things were not going well. Theo wrote, ‘I actually have no other friend but you, and when I feel wretched you are

always in my thoughts.'

Theo and Vincent remained close for the rest of their lives, and always kept in touch.

They did not live near each other, and there was no internet or telephone back then,

so they wrote each other letters.

Theo van Gogh

Emile Bernard

Paul Gauguin

Joseph Roulin

Augustine Roulin

So as well as being Vincent’s brother, Theo was also his best friend. Vincent had

other friends besides Theo.

He became friends with a number of artists, including Emile Bernard and Paul

Gauguin. And when Vincent moved to the South of France, he also became friends

with the Roulin family – postman Joseph Roulin, his wife Augustine and their three

children.

These people were important for Vincent. He wrote to them and exchanged ideas

with them. Who’s important in your life?

Who’s important in your life?

Explain to the students that you’re going to make a friendship tree. You can add the

people who are important to you to your tree in a moment. Who should you include?

Who are you close to?

Before we start on the tree, let’s first have a think about what it should look like. Let’s

see how Vincent drew trees.

Title: Tree and Bushes in the Garden of the Asylum

Date: 1889

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Examine this painting with the students. Vincent painted this tree with lots of little

stripes. Get the students to practice – can they paint a tree in two minutes using just

little stripes?

Title: Trees in the Garden of the Asylum

Date: 1889

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Here, Vincent only drew the trunk and a few branches clearly. He made thick pencil

lines for the trunk and branches, and used thin lines for the leaves.

How does it work out if the students draw a tree like that? Trunk and branches with

thick lines and leaves with thin ones?

Title: Provencal Orchard

Date: 1888

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Here, Vincent used pink and white watercolour paint for the blossom on the trees.

Make a tree in grey or black pencil and add a bit of colour with one coloured pencil.

Title: Almond Blossom

Date: 1890

Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Vincent painted this tree as if he were standing under it looking up. Draw a tree from

a weird perspective. Maybe standing under it looking up, or flying over it looking

down.

Which of Vincent’s techniques would you like to use?

What season is it?

What’s the weather like?

What colours are you going to use?

Where is your tree?

Are there any flowers or animals around?

Are you going to make a really precise drawing? Or just a rough one?

What perspective are you going to draw your tree from?

We’ve practised drawing trees. Let's decide what the tree of the students should look! Go through the questions so that the students know

what their tree will look like. Get them to sketch out their idea, and give them the

opportunity to change something if they like. Then the students can draw their

friendship tree.

Make a friendship tree.

Once the trees are finished, get the students to put the people who are important to them in it. They could include relatives, friends, teachers.

The students can write the names of the people, or draw hands or little portraits.

FINISHED?

Place or hang the drawings 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 trees where you can easily tell who painted it?
• Who used unusual perspectives, lines or colours?
• Did you enjoy making the paintings?

Explain: in the following lessons you will get to know the artist in you better and better. Keep everything you’ve made during this lesson, even the sketches that are not finished, or which you think are not so good. In lesson three we’ll look back at all the artworks you've made.