Re-training Van Gogh The bedroom
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Hi, welcome everyone! I am .. co developer of the lessons.
I am currently working from the office of the Van Gogh Museum: it’s a museum dedicated to the artist Vincent van Gogh, located in Amsterdam in The Netherlands
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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.
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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.
-- Developed program existing of several lessons around an artwork. THe artwork which is central in the lessons we will d
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- 21st century skills
Critical thinking
Creativity
Collaboration
Communication
Information literacy
Media literacy
Technology literacy
Flexibility
Leadership
Initiative
Productivity
Social skills
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FIrst lessons
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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 7 - Video
Film clip: My Story, duration: 4:51 min
Slide 8 - Tekstslide
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. Or is there something what they like to do. 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.
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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.
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Look for the reds, blues, greens and yellows in the painting. Are there any other colours? Did Vincent also use black and white?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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 39 - Tekstslide
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.
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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.
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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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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.
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