Art Class- Part I (of two)

Class date: Friday, Jan. 22nd

For today, instead of literature class, I will share with you a glimpse of our art appreciation class.

We looked closely at three paintings featuring a 17th c. priest, a Roman deity, and a young girl from Louisiana, respectively. So what do these have to do with The Hunchback of Notre Dame? As Andy said, "You always have a reason, Mr. Travers." But, for now, enjoy the art!

When introducing a work of art, I have the students do a "reading"--they write everything they see in the image as they are seeing it, for five minutes. Their pencil does not leave their paper. When they're done, we share with each other the descriptions, identify the insightful observations, and start to piece together the moment being depicted.

Today, with the help of the students' "readings", I will introduce you to each of the artworks. (The links take you directly to high quality images of the artworks. All quotes below, unless otherwise noted, are drawn from the students' own "readings".)

The Gray Cardinal

http://sandstead.com/images/mfa_boston/GEROME_The_Gray_Cardinal_1873_source_sandstead_d2h_00.jpg

A group of colorfully arrayed fops are "tipping their hats and bowing" as they climb a grand staircase. They all bow towards an emaciated priest in a worn brown cassock. He, surprisingly, does not seem to take notice of the adulation. (At this point, I asked the students how they’d feel if everyone in the class bowed down to them as they walked in! "I'd love it," exclaimed one of them.) The priest, rather, is absorbed in his book "minding his own business". (Even the guard and the figure on the top balcony are staring at him!).

Father Joseph, the priest, was the handpicked confidant of Cardinal Richelieu. The most powerful figure on the staircase was specifically chosen because he took no notice of power.

The Problem We All Live With

http://afrocityblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/norman-rockwell.jpg

A sweet young African-American girl marches forward in the middle of four serious-looking "men with suits and badges" who are "escorting her." A tomato "looks as if [it] has been thrown" from where the viewer stands. A racial epithet is graffitied on the wall. An angry crowd is implied. The young girl, "school supplies in her hand", is un-fazed by the belligerent onlookers. She takes long strides, eyes forward, fists clenched—"she is walking like the guards" remarked Hank, observantly. She is mimicking them.

In her memoirs, Mrs. Bridges recalled that when she arrived for her first day of school--the first day of integrated schools in Louisiana--she wondered if the crowd outside the school was celebrating Mardi Gras.

The Birth of Venus

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_The_Birth_of_Venus_(1879).jpg

The beautiful goddess of love stands surrounded by a group of nymphs "hugging their husbands" and cupids. "All eyes are fixed on her", "admiring the goddess." (Several of the students, with their knowledge of the attributes of Greco-Roman gods learned last year, identified her in their readings!) The celebration of her birth is accentuated by the male figures "blowing conch shells", the spiraling cloud of "cupids flying around" like a flock of celebratory doves being released, and a dolphin drawn shell-chariot. The goddess has her eyes half-closed and "is oblivious" to the attention she receives. (As Adan identified, her pose suggests that she is waking up!)

So, what do these paintings all have in common? And how are they related to our novel?

Stay tuned!

(The conclusion of the art class will be in the entry for Tuesday, Jan. 26th)