MMA - René Magritte

This summer a tutoring client and I are going through the Magnificent Modern Art course from Art History Kids together. It's been really interesting so far. Art History isn't something I ever really learned about, so it's new to me. And so, of course, I'm going to keep some notes here as we go along!

Last week it was the Harlem Renaissance and the artist Elizabeth Catlett.

This week we are studying

René Magritte
Surrealism (1942 - 1966)

sample artwork from the art movement

Salvador Dali
The Persistence of Memory
1931

Leonora Carrington
Self-Portrait
1937-1938

Marc Chagall
The Promenade
1917

sample artwork from this artist

Time Transfixed
1938

The Treachery of Images
1929

The Blank Signature
1965

focus piece of art from this artist

The Son of Man
1964

element & principle of art and design

BALANCE

other notes (my suggestions)

the juxtapositions assignment reminds me of


How to Make a Zero Backwards: An Activity Book for the Imagination by Richard Kehl

the symmetry assignment reminds me of Form Drawing, of course!



look at images from KLee wall calendar

look at images from Dali wall calendar

I have taught The Persistence of Memory many many times when teaching about Human Anatomy & Physiology (the Nervous System). It is one of the pieces of artwork for which I have a tactile diagram!

here's an excerpt from my 2020 Teaching About ASL and Braille post:

Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment

I absolutely love the section on Tactile Diagrams in Art Beyond Sight and it does have a few pages printed on swell paper. We didn't get into tactile diagrams today but I have enjoyed teaching about them in the past. Here's a video that shows how they are made:


You can find a lesson plan from Art Beyond Sight that includes a Tactile Diagram for Dali's The Persistence of Memory (PDF) and the accompanying narrative for guidance of the hands (PDF).

Sadly, I don't have swell paper or a heat diffusing machine... but I did once have a very old photocopier machine in my classroom that actually gave us a textured paper when we printed this out! It was wonderful for the kids to experience. If I had known that all photocopiers don't give the same result I would have printed a hundred so that I always had them for future classes!

and more...

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters
by MaryAnn Kohl and Kim Solga
Paul Klee - "One Line Designs," pp.62-63
Marc Chagall - "Scenery Mural," p.76
René Magritte - "Giant Tennis Shoes," p.77
Salvador Dali - "Dream Photographs," p.78
Alberto Giacometti - "Sticks 'n' Straws," p.79
Joseph Cornell - "Portrait Box Collage," p.94

available online as a FREE PDF from Bright Ring Publishing

we did "One Line Abstract Design" on p.63
this would work well with watercolor pencils





Using Art to Create Art: Creative Activities Using Masterpieces
by Wendy Libby
Marc Chagall, pp.41-44
Salvador Dali, pp.45-48
Paul Klee, pp.117-123
Joan Miró, pp.133-136

update:
Magritte, Master of Surrealism, Joins the $100 Million Dollar Club
The New York Times - Nov 19, 2024

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