LEARNING RESOURCE

VISUAL ARTS

REPLACE WITH YOUR

(CREATIVE)
COVER ART

UNBOXING VISIONS
(Approaches to Art-making)
LEARNING RESOURCE for VISUAL ARTS

UNBOXING VISIONS (Approaches to Art-making)

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work
of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency
or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for
profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment
of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
trademarks, etc.) included in this Learning Resource are owned by their respective
copyright holders. Reasonable efforts have been exerted to locate and seek permission
to use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors
do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Development Team of the Learning Resource

Writer: Ian Victoriano
Layout Artist: Diwa Abueva
Management Team: Marichu Tellano and Henrietta Kangleon (NCCA), Tanya P. Lopez
(PerfLab)

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CULTURE AND THE ARTS

633 General Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila
E-mail: [email protected]
Trunkline: (02) 85272192 8527-2202 8527-2210 8527-2195 to 97 8527-2217 to 18
FOREWORD
Welcome to this Learning Resource for VISUAL ARTS.
This Learning Resource was developed by experts from the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts as a reference to aid you in developing rich, meaningful, and
empowering learning in the creative fields. Every effort has been exerted to produce a
Self-Learning Learning Resource that incorporates the most fundamental elements and
principles of each discipline, while providing a spiraled, scaffolded, and multi-sensory
approach to allow you to explore your innate creativity while building discipline and rigor
in your chosen discipline.
Each lecture, activity, or reflection here is designed to be meaningful. Each one designed
to build from the previous one, and each one with the objective of building up for the next
skill or competence. We hope that you will find these activities challenging but
empowering, and that your potential as a Filipino artist and Creative is further enhanced
and inspired.
These Learning Resources take into consideration the various limitations and challenges
brought about by the current situation, and provides you with the flexibility to manage
content and pace to your individual needs while maintaining standards for creativity,
embodying 21st Century skills, and aspiring towards artistic excellence. Beyond
compilations of dry information, these Learning Resources seek to develop Higher Order
Thinking Skills of Analysis, Evaluation, and Creation.
If you are planning to use this Resource as a facilitator or teacher, you are expected to
guide and orient your learners in the proper and efficient use of this Learning Resource.
Most, if not all activities, will entail exploration, investigation, and experimentation, as such
it is imperative that you, as the facilitator, establish the guidelines which will allow your
students to be creative but within responsible, safe, and academically-sound limits. Your
guidance and mentorship is expected and encouraged throughout the learning process.
We look forward to your journey as an artist, MABUHAY!
Hello Learner!

Do you remember having fun moments like this with your classmates? Well, we would
have wanted to meet with you in a regular classroom to work together in this exciting
endeavor of honing your talents and building your knowledge in the visual arts.

However, because of the current crisis, you will be studying through these modules
instead.

This does not mean that you will be learning less about the fascinating world of the
visual arts. Self-learning has its own merits and will develop skills that you may not
learn so much about in regular classrooms. This may also improve your reading skills
and develop self-discipline!

This material is designed to help you make artworks, read, reflect and do your own
research at the same time. Read the instructions slowly and carefully. And don’t
hesitate to ask your parents or siblings or any person within your home for help if
there are things here that you find hard to understand. You can contact me, your
teacher, for any advice or guidance through mobile number _______________.

Also, remember to keep all your artworks and notes. You might be asked to send
them to your school so that we can see them and give you feedback. When we can
safely meet again in person, we will mount a fascinating exhibition for everyone to
see and enjoy!

So, happy learning and hope to see your work soon!

How to Use this Module

You will be using this module in the next eight weeks – or the equivalent of one quarter
of the present school year. This module contains several lessons for Grade 8 that will
help you understand and develop skills related to related storytelling through
puppetry.

We wrote our suggestions on the amount of time you should spend with each lesson.
But you can spend as much time on each lesson as you want – just make sure you
complete all the lessons before the end of the quarter.

To make your learning experience easier, we think you should know about how each
lesson goes. You will be guided through the lessons with a combination of activities,
readings, projects and reflections.

1. ACTIVITIES
An activity will serve as an INTRODUCTION to a subject matter or a skill that you will
be learning, or sometimes it is a REVIEW of things that you have learned in the
previous school years.

You will be writing your answers to most of these activities in this module or in your
VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL. But for other activities, you may have to find your own
materials.

2. REFLECTIONS
To help you REFLECT on lessons and projects, you will be asked to share your
thoughts and feelings in your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL.

Your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL can be a regular notebook, a sketchbook, or loose

sheets of paper. Just be sure to keep these and put the dates of your writings. Just
like a regular journal.

You can choose your own style of writing in your journal. It can be formal or
informal. You can even make drawings about your thoughts and feelings. Or even
paste images you cut out from old newspapers and magazines.
Don’t worry about what you write in your journal – there are no correct or wrong entries
here. Just write as honestly as you can. The purpose of the journal is for you to explore
your thoughts and feelings as you go through the lessons.

After writing in your journal, you are encouraged to discuss your lessons with your
parent, a sibling, a friend, or someone you feel sharing your thoughts with.

3. READINGS

You may also be asked to READ an essay or two that will tell you about things that
are related to your activity. Read them slowly and try to understand them very well.
You might also be provided guide questions to help you reflect on the lessons. These
will help you remember and understand better what you just read. Write your answers
and reactions to these questions in your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL.

4. PROJECTS
You will be asked to make a PROJECT that will give you a chance to apply the lessons
and skills that you have earlier learned.
Make sure to keep all your projects and document them by taking photos. At the end
of the quarter, you will be asked to send these to school so that we can see them and
give feedback to help you learn better.

That’s it! You’re ready to go!

WEEK 1
DAY 1 – READING: Introduction - The Whys and the Hows; ACTIVITY: Planning Your Work
DAYS 2 to DAY 4 – ACTIVITY: Looking Closely

DAY 1

READING:

The Whys and the Hows

This module aims to make you familiar with some of the styles and approaches to
making art – most of them coming from European countries and the United States. The
artworks are mostly paintings and sculptures.
By doing the activities listed here, hopefully you will develop the habit of looking
closely and seeing, and being aware of your thoughts and feelings about different
kinds of art. You will also have an idea on how these artworks were conceptualized and
made.
In the final activities for this quarter, you will get the chance to let your imagination run
wild by using these different styles and approaches as your material. Try to make
artworks that are interesting and filled with ideas and emotions. Put all your passion into
your artworks.

ACTIVITY:

Planning Your Work

Materials:
VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL
pen or pencil
Instructions:
1. Make a schedule for the next eight weeks
Begin by making your own schedule for the next eight weeks so that you can complete
the required activities. Read about the activities below and estimate the time that
you need to do them.
We have provided you with a suggested schedule at the beginning of each Activity, but
you are free to revise.
2. Write your schedule in your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL. You can decide to stick to
your schedule strictly, or be flexible about it. You can revise your schedule as you go
along. Just make sure that you allot enough time for each activity. Don’t rush things so
that you can learn a lot from the projects.
A lot of artists work alone and manage their time on their own. It is good to develop this
habit of being a self-starter and one own’s manager.

Day 2 to Day 5
ACTIVITY:

Looking Closely
Seeing well is key; take your time
Look at the artworks in this module. Take your time and enjoy each of them. Look at
them individually and then as groups. Don’t rush yourself when doing this activity. The
point is to notice things about the artworks and think about them.
REFLECTION:
Get your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL and write down your thoughts and feelings about
each group of artworks. Draw thumbnails of your favorite images as you write down
your reactions.
First, write your immediate reactions. What does this group of artworks make you feel?
What thoughts did the artworks bring about?
After writing your immediate reactions to each group, try to analyze them using the
following categories: subject matter, form, and content. You can use the following guide
questions (but do not be limited by them):
SUBJECT MATTER
What is the artwork about? What, if any, is depicted in the artwork? What do you see?
Describe what you see. Be as detailed as possible. Are there similarities in the subject
matter depicted in each group of artworks?
FORM
Describe how the artist used the different elements of art. What kinds of lines did the
artist use? Describe the kinds of shapes, colors, values, and textures used in each
group of artworks. Are there similarities in the way artists in each group use the
elements of art?
CONTENT
What is the artist trying to say or express? What are the ideas and feelings expressed in
the artworks? What is the artist trying to do? Can you figure out the artist’s beliefs and
attitudes by looking at the artwork?
Write everything in your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL.
WEEK 2

ACTIVITY:

Comparing Styles and Approaches

Get your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL.
After writing your reactions to each group of artworks, try comparing one group with
another. Compare Group A with Group B, B with C, C with D, D with E, E with F, F with
G, G with H, H with I, and I with J. Write your immediate reactions, and then use the
three categories of subject matter, form, and content to compare the groups. You can
also illustrate the differences with thumbnail drawings along with your notes.
Did you notice how artists differ in the ways they make art? Can you pinpoint the
differences in subject matter, how the artists use the different elements of art, and what
they are trying to say? Look closely. Think about these differences.
Why do you think the artists painted differently from each other? What made them paint
or sculpt in a different way? You do not need to come up with a “right” answer to these
two questions. Don’t try to do research to find out what art historians and critics thought
about these. Just write what you think and feel. Write as many answers as you can think
of and make your answers as detailed as you can.
You can use the STUDY GUIDES at the end of this module to help you analyze the
artworks.
WEEKS 2, 3 and 4

PROJECT 1:

Three Paintings
Time needed: 2 and ½ weeks (around 4 days for each painting)
Materials:
You can use any of the following: oil, watercolor, acrylic, ink, colored pencils, pens,
markers, pastels, crayons pencils, pens, or ink on canvas, paper, cardboard, or wood
(any size).
Instructions:
1. Choose 3 artworks that you like among those shown in this module. Make sure to
pick only one from a group of artworks.
2. Make a reproduction of each of your chosen artworks using materials that are
available to you.
WEEK 5 and WEEK 6

PROJECT:

My Painting
Materials:

You can use any of the following: oil, watercolor, acrylic, ink, colored pencils, pens,
markers, pastels, crayons pencils, pens, or ink on canvas, paper, cardboard, or wood
(any size).

Instructions:
1. Choose one style or approach among those shown in this module.
2. Make your own artwork using that style or approach in making art. Come up with
your own subject matter and express your feelings and ideas through your artwork
and the style or approach that you chose.
REFLECTION:
After completing your artwork, write down your notes about your process of making the
artwork, using the following guide questions:
1. What are your reasons for choosing this particular style?
2. How did you decide on the subject matter? Is the subject matter particularly important
to you? Why?
3. What challenges did you encounter in producing the artwork?
4. What is your assessment of your artwork? Did you succeed in doing what you aimed
for? Would you have done something differently?
WEEK 7 and WEEK 8

PROJECT:

Invention by Combination

Materials:

You can use any of the following: oil, watercolor, acrylic, ink, colored pencils, pens,
markers, pastels, crayons pencils, pens, or ink on canvas, paper, cardboard, or wood
(any size).

Instructions:
Can you make an artwork that combines two to four of these art styles?
1. Make your own artwork that combines two to four approaches to making art.
Come up with creative ways of combining the styles.
2. You can come up with your own subject matter or image, or use the images in
the artworks featured in this module. Be bold in experimenting with forms in this
project. Make several studies and execute the one that is most meaningful to you.
REFLECTION:
Make a DIARY about this project in your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL. Write down your
thoughts about your artwork during your breaks.
After completing your project, write about how you combined the different art styles that
you’ve encountered. Write about how you conceptualized your artwork, the challenges
that you faced when making it, and what your artwork means. Write everything that you
want to say about your work.
 Group A

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. The Dying Gaul, (2-3 BCE). Image credit: Capitoline Museums. CC BY 2.0.
2. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, (c200-190 BCE)The Louvre, Paris. Image credit:
Lyokoi88. CC BY-SA 4.0.
3. Apollo Belvedere (after Leochares). 120-140 CE. Public Domain.
4. Laocoon and His Sons, (42 BCE). Vatican Museum. Image credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen.
Public Domain.
 Group A continued

5. 6.

7.

8.

5. Mounted Jockey (ca. 140 BCE). Unknown artist. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Image credit: Marsyas. CC BY 2.5.
6. The Venus de Milo (130-100 BCE) The Louvre. Image credit: Rodney. CC BY 2.0.
7. Lion hunt depicting Alexander the Great and Craterus, (400 BCE). Pella Museum. Public
Domain.
8. The Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons (c 260–270 CE) Image credit: The Met. Pubic
Domain.
 Group B

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Enthroned Virgin and Child. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
2. Icon with the Virgin and Child. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
3. The Three Magi. 1200. Image credit: Dombibliothek Hildesheim. Public Domain.
4. Icon with the Crucifixion. 1000. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
 Group B continued

5. 6.

7.

5. Baptism of Christ. 1500s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.

6. Madonna and Child Enthroned. 1200s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
7. Four Icons from a Pair of Doors (Panels), possibly part of a Polyptych: John the
Theologian and Prochoros, the Baptism (Epiphany), Harrowing of Hell (Anastasis), and
Saint Nicholas. 1400s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
 Group C

1. 2.

3.

1. The Birth of Venus (c. 1485). Sandro

Botticelli. Image credit: Google Art
Project. Public Domain.

2. Pieta (1498–1499). Michelangelo

Buonarotti. Image credit: The Met. Public
Domain.

3. Creation of Adam (1512).

Michelangelo Buonarotti. Image credit:
Alonso de Mendoza. Public Domain.

4. The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435).

4. Rogier van der Weyden. Image credit:
The Prado in Google Earth. Public
Domain.
 Group C continued

4. 5. 6.

7.

4. A Goldsmith in his Shop (1449). Petrus Christus. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
5. Portrait of a Young Lady (1480–1485). Sandro Botticell. Image credit: Google Cultural Institute.
Public Domain.
6. Portrait of a Young Man (c 1530). Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano). Image credit: The
Met. Public Domain.
7. Sacred and Profane Love (1514). Titian. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
 Group D

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. The Gleaners (1857). Jean Francois Millet. Image credit: Google Art Project. Public
Domain.
2. Returning from Work (1907). Pekka Halonen. Image credit: alternativefinland.com. Public
Domain.
3. Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet (1854). Gustave Courbet. Image credit: Musee Fabre. Public
Domain.
4. The Madwoman, or The Obsession of Envy (1822). Théodore Géricault. Image credit:
WikiArt. Public Domain.
 Group D continued

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1880-1883) . Ilya Repin. Image credit:

Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
2. A Peasant Woman with Scythe and Rake (1824) . Alexey Venetsianov. Image credit:
WikiArt. Public Domain.
3. François-Pierre-Guillaume Guizot (1787-1874), Deputy, Minister and Historian (1832-
1833). Honore Daumier. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
4. A Farmyard near Fontainebleau (1828-1830). Camille Corot. Image credit: WikiArt.
Public Domain.
 Group E

1. 2.

3. 3.

1. Impression, Sunrise (1872). Claude Monet. Image credit: Museé Marmottan Monet.
Public Domain.
2. Fin d’arabesque (1876). Edgar Degas. Image credit: Museé d’Orsay. Public Domain.
3. Model in Profile (1886). Georges Seurat. Image credit: Museé d’Orsay. Public Domain.
4. Landscape along the Seine with the Institut de France and the Pont des Arts (c. 1875)
Alfred Sisley. Image credit: Art Institute of Chicago. Public Domain.
 Group E continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876). Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Image credit: Museé

d’Orsay. Public Domain.
6. Women at the Races (1865). Edouard Manet. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
7. On the Beach (1863). Eugene Boudin. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
8. The Boating Party (1893–94). Mary Cassatt. Image credit: Google Art Project. Public
Domain.
 Group F

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Charing Cross Bridge, London (1906). Andre Derain. Image credit: National Art Gallery,
Washington DC. Public Domain US.
2. Woman with a Hat (1905). Henri Matisse. Image credit: San Francisco Museum of Art.
Public Domain US.
3. Portrait of Jean Metzinger (1906). Robert Delaunay. Image credit: Arthive. Public Domain.
4. Colored Landscape with Aquatic Birds (1907). Jean Metzinger. Image credit: Coldcreation.
Public Domain US.
 Group F continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. The Seine at Chatou (1906). Maurice de Vlaminck. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Public Domain US.
6. The Joy of Life (1905–06). Henri Matisse. Image credit: Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia,
PA. Public Domain US.
7. The Docks of the Port of Bastia (1907). Auguste Herbin. Image credit: WikiArt . Public
Domain US.
8. Sunspots (1904). Cuno Amiet. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain US.
 Group G

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Nollendorfplatz (1912). Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin. Image credit:
Wikipedia. Public Domain.
2. Two Girls (1907). Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
3. Red Christ (1922). Lovis Corinth. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
4. The Last Supper (1909). Emil Nolde. National Gallery of Denmark. Image credit: WikiArt.
Public Domain.
 Group G continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. The Night (1918-1919) by Max_Beckmann. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen,

Düsseldorf. Image credit: Paul Fetcher, WikiArt. Public Domain.
6. The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch. National Gallery of Norway. Image credit:
Coldcreation,WikiArt. Public Domain.
7. Old Blind Man with Boy (1903) by Pablo Picasso.The Pushkin State Museum of Fine
Arts, Moscow. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain US.
8. Death and the Maiden (1915-16) by Egon Schiele. Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere,
Vienna. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
 Group H

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) by Pablo Picasso. Museum of Modern Art, New
York. Image credit: Wikipedia. Public Domain US.
2. Three Musicians (1921) by Pablo Picasso. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Image credit: Rolf Müller. Fair Use.
3. Violin and Pitcher (1910) by George Braque. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel,
Switzerland. Public Domain US.
4. The City (1919) by Fernand Leger. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Public Domain US.
 Group I

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Euclid. 1945. Max Ernst. ©Max Ernst. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
2. The Metamorphosis of the Lovers. 1938. Andre Masson. ©Andre Masson. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
3. The Red Model. 1934. Rene Magritte. ©Rene Magritte. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
4. Wolf-Table. 1947. Victor Brauner. ©Victor Brauner. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
 Group I continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. Portrait of Luther Burbank. 1931. Frida Kahlo. ©Frida Kahlo. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
6. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. 1943. Dorothea Tanning. ©Dorothea Tanning. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
7. The Dream (The Bed). 1940. Frida Kahlo. Nesuhi Ertegun Collection, New York. Image
credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
8. The Burning Giraffe. 1937. Salvador Dali. ©Salvador Dali. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
 Group J

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. On White II. 1923. Vasily Kandinsky. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
2. The Liver is the Cock's Comb. 1944. Arshile Gorky. Image credit: WikiArt. Public
Domain.
3. Untitled (T1955-23). 1955. ©Hans Hartung. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
4. Group IX/UW, No. 25, The Dove, No. 1, 1915. Hilma af Klint. Image Credit:
Rododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0
 Group J continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. Suspended Cube. 1938. David Smith. ©David Smith. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
6. Enchanted Forest. 1957. Jackson Pollock. ©Jackson Pollock. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
7. Blue Form in a Scene. 1961. Helen Frankenthaler. ©Helen Frankenthaler. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
8. Iridescent Interpenetration No. 4 - Study of light. 1912. Giacomo Balla. Image credit:
WikiArt. Public Domain US.
 Group K

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. Drowning girl. 1963. Roy Lichtenstein. ©Roy Lichtenstein. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
2. Three Flags. 1958. Jasper Johns. © Jasper Johns. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
3. Flying Pins. 2010. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Image Credit: Maurizio
Pesce . CC BY 2.0
4. Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?. 1956. Richard
Hamilton. ©Richard Hamilton. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
 Group K continued

5. 6.

7. 8.

5. Cakes and Pies (1995). Wayne Thiebaud. ©Wayne Thiebaud. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
6. Elvis I & II (1963). Andy Warhol. ©Andy Warhol. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
7. The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (1998). James Rosenquist. ©James Rosenquist. Image
credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
8. Mandela (2008). Erro. ©Erro. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
END NOTES
Congratulations for completing the activities in this module. Write a final note in your
VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL about the things that you have learned in this quarter. Write
about the things that you liked and the things that you didn’t like. Write about the things
that you enjoyed doing as well as the challenges that you faced in doing the activities in
this module.
The following Study Guides might help you in doing the activities in this module.

STUDY GUIDE 1
Spot the differences
This exercise will help you in looking at and comparing the images shown in this
module.
Take your time and enjoy the artworks. Look at them in your free time. Don’t rush. Clear
your mind as you look at the pictures. Try not to think of anything else and just look.
Then let your ideas emerge naturally. Study one set of pictures (one page) then stop.
Study the next set of pictures (next page) at another time. Don’t make notes when you
do this exercise.
STUDY GUIDE 2
Your Reactions + Subject Matter + Form + Content
The following guide might help you in looking at the images and note-taking. Just
remember not to limit yourself to the items listed here.
CATEGORY GUIDE QUESTIONS NOTES

YOUR GENERAL What is your immediate

REACTIONS reaction to the artwork? Did you
like it? Was it appealing? Was it
strange? Was it hard to figure
out? Did you find it exciting to
look at? What emotions did you
feel? What thoughts did the
artwork inspire in you? Did it
remind you of something?

Are there objects depicted in

the artwork? What objects do
you see? Are there shapes or
SUBJECT MATTER images that you don’t
recognize?
Is the artist trying to depict a
scene? What is it?
Is the artist trying to tell a story?
What is it?

LINES: What kinds of lines do

you see in the artwork? Are
FORM
they straight, curved, broken,
free-flowing? Are they thick or
thin? Fine or rough? Are they
vertical, horizontal, or diagonal?
SHAPES: What kinds of shapes
do you see? Are they closed or
open shapes? Are they
 geometric, free form, or organic
(based on nature) shapes?
VOLUME: Do the shapes have
volume? Are they flat? How did
the artist show volume? Was
the shading smooth or rough?
Can you see the brushstrokes?
COLOR: What kinds of colors
were used? Do these colors
correspond to colors of objects
in “real” life? Are the colors
used to depict things naturally,
or are they used to heighten
emotions or to express ideas?
DISTORTIONS: Did the artist
portray objects as they appear
in “real” life or naturalistically?
Were there exaggerations or
distorions? How did the artist
distort the natural shapes of
objects?

What is the artist trying to say

with this artwork?
CONTENT
Is the artist trying to convey a
“message”?
Is there an underlying
“meaning” in the artwork? What
do you think it is?
Why do you think the artist is
saying that? Why do you think
the artist made the artwork this
way?
Be as detailed and as expressive in your notes as you can. Remember, this is to train
you to look closely and notice things in an artwork. Don’t worry about being right about
your observations. Just note everything down. Fill your VISUAL ARTS JOURNAL with
your notes and comments. Write them in any way you want. You can even invent your
own emojis to express your reactions. Have fun while looking at artworks and thinking
about them. ●
 IMAGE LIST
1. The Dying Gaul, (2-3 BCE). Image credit: Capitoline Museums. CC BY 2.0.
2. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, (c200-190 BCE)The Louvre, Paris. Image credit:
Lyokoi88. CC BY-SA 4.0.
3. Apollo Belvedere (after Leochares). 120-140 CE. Public Domain.
4. Laocoon and His Sons, (42 BCE). Vatican Museum. Image credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen. Public
Domain.
5. Mounted Jockey (ca. 140 BCE). Unknown artist. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Image credit: Marsyas. CC BY 2.5.
6. The Venus de Milo (130-100 BCE) The Louvre. Image credit: Rodney. CC BY 2.0.
7. Lion hunt depicting Alexander the Great and Craterus, (400 BCE). Pella Museum. Public
Domain.
8. The Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons (c 260–270 CE) Image credit: The Met. Pubic
Domain.
9. Enthroned Virgin and Child. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
10. Icon with the Virgin and Child. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
11. The Three Magi. 1200. Image credit: Dombibliothek Hildesheim. Public Domain.
12. Icon with the Crucifixion. 1000. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
13. Baptism of Christ. 1500s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
14. Madonna and Child Enthroned. 1200s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
15. Four Icons from a Pair of Doors (Panels), possibly part of a Polyptych: John the Theologian
and Prochoros, the Baptism (Epiphany), Harrowing of Hell (Anastasis), and Saint Nicholas.
1400s. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
16. The Birth of Venus (c. 1485). Sandro Botticelli. Image credit: Google Art Project. Public
Domain.
17. Pieta (1498–1499). Michelangelo Buonarotti. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
18. Creation of Adam (1512). Michelangelo Buonarotti. Image credit: Alonso de Mendoza.
Public Domain.
19. The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435). Rogier van der Weyden. Image credit: The Prado in
Google Earth. Public Domain.
20. A Goldsmith in his Shop (1449). Petrus Christus. Image credit: The Met. Public Domain.
21. Portrait of a Young Lady (1480–1485). Sandro Botticell. Image credit: Google Cultural
Institute. Public Domain.
22. Portrait of a Young Man (c 1530). Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano). Image credit:
The Met. Public Domain.
23. Sacred and Profane Love (1514). Titian. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
24The Gleaners (1857). Jean Francois Millet. Image credit: Google Art Project. Public Domain.
25. Returning from Work (1907). Pekka Halonen. Image credit: alternativefinland.com. Public
Domain.
26. Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet (1854). Gustave Courbet. Image credit: Musee Fabre. Public
Domain.
27. The Madwoman, or The Obsession of Envy (1822). Théodore Géricault. Image credit:
WikiArt. Public Domain.
28. Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1880-1883) . Ilya Repin. Image credit: Wikimedia
Commons. Public Domain.
29. A Peasant Woman with Scythe and Rake (1824) . Alexey Venetsianov. Image credit:
WikiArt. Public Domain.
30. François-Pierre-Guillaume Guizot (1787-1874), Deputy, Minister and Historian (1832-1833).
Honore Daumier. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
31. A Farmyard near Fontainebleau (1828-1830). Camille Corot. Image credit: WikiArt. Public
Domain.
32. Impression, Sunrise (1872). Claude Monet. Image credit: Museé Marmottan Monet. Public
Domain.
33. Fin d’arabesque (1876). Edgar Degas. Image credit: Museé d’Orsay. Public Domain.
34. Model in Profile (1886). Georges Seurat. Image credit: Museé d’Orsay. Public Domain.
35. Landscape along the Seine with the Institut de France and the Pont des Arts (c. 1875) Alfred
Sisley. Image credit: Art Institute of Chicago. Public Domain.
36. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876). Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Image credit: Museé
d’Orsay. Public Domain.
37. Women at the Races (1865). Edouard Manet. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
38. On the Beach (1863). Eugene Boudin. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
39. The Boating Party (1893–94). Mary Cassatt. Image credit: Google Art Project. Public
Domain.
40. Charing Cross Bridge, London (1906). Andre Derain. Image credit: National Art Gallery,
Washington DC. Public Domain US.
41. Woman with a Hat (1905). Henri Matisse. Image credit: San Francisco Museum of Art.
Public Domain US.
42. Portrait of Jean Metzinger (1906). Robert Delaunay. Image credit: Arthive. Public Domain.
43. Colored Landscape with Aquatic Birds (1907). Jean Metzinger. Image credit: Coldcreation.
Public Domain US.

44. The Seine at Chatou (1906). Maurice de Vlaminck. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Public Domain US.
45. The Joy of Life (1905–06). Henri Matisse. Image credit: Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia,
PA. Public Domain US.
46. The Docks of the Port of Bastia (1907). Auguste Herbin. Image credit: WikiArt . Public
Domain US.
47. Sunspots (1904). Cuno Amiet. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain US.
48. Nollendorfplatz (1912). Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin. Image credit:
Wikipedia. Public Domain.
49. Two Girls (1907). Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
50. Red Christ (1922). Lovis Corinth. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
51. The Last Supper (1909). Emil Nolde. National Gallery of Denmark. Image credit: WikiArt.
Public Domain.
52. The Night (1918-1919) by Max_Beckmann. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Düsseldorf. Image credit: Paul Fetcher, WikiArt. Public Domain.
53. The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch. National Gallery of Norway. Image credit:
Coldcreation,WikiArt. Public Domain.
54. Old Blind Man with Boy (1903) by Pablo Picasso.The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts,
Moscow. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain US.
55. Death and the Maiden (1915-16) by Egon Schiele. Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere,
Vienna. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
56. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) by Pablo Picasso. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Image credit: Wikipedia. Public Domain US.
57. Three Musicians (1921) by Pablo Picasso. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Image credit:
Rolf Müller. Fair Use.
58. Violin and Pitcher (1910) by George Braque. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Public Domain US.
59. The City (1919) by Fernand Leger. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Public Domain US.
60. Euclid. 1945. Max Ernst. ©Max Ernst. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
61. The Metamorphosis of the Lovers. 1938. Andre Masson. ©Andre Masson. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
62. The Red Model. 1934. Rene Magritte. ©Rene Magritte. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
61. Wolf-Table. 1947. Victor Brauner. ©Victor Brauner. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
64. Portrait of Luther Burbank. 1931. Frida Kahlo. ©Frida Kahlo. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
65. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. 1943. Dorothea Tanning. ©Dorothea Tanning. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
66. The Dream (The Bed). 1940. Frida Kahlo. Nesuhi Ertegun Collection, New York. Image
credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
67. The Burning Giraffe. 1937. Salvador Dali. ©Salvador Dali. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
68. On White II. 1923. Vasily Kandinsky. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
69. The Liver is the Cock's Comb. 1944. Arshile Gorky. Image credit: WikiArt. Public Domain.
70. Untitled (T1955-23). 1955. ©Hans Hartung. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
71. Group IX/UW, No. 25, The Dove, No. 1, 1915. Hilma af Klint. Image Credit: Rododendrites.
CC BY-SA 4.0
72. Suspended Cube. 1938. David Smith. ©David Smith. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
73. Enchanted Forest. 1957. Jackson Pollock. ©Jackson Pollock. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
74. Blue Form in a Scene. 1961. Helen Frankenthaler. ©Helen Frankenthaler. Image credit:
WikiArt. Fair Use.
75. Iridescent Interpenetration No. 4 - Study of light. 1912. Giacomo Balla. Image credit: WikiArt.
Public Domain US.
76. Drowning girl. 1963. Roy Lichtenstein. ©Roy Lichtenstein. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
77. Three Flags. 1958. Jasper Johns. © Jasper Johns. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
78. Flying Pins. 2010. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Image Credit: Maurizio Pesce
. CC BY 2.0
79. Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?. 1956. Richard
Hamilton. ©Richard Hamilton. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
80. Cakes and Pies (1995). Wayne Thiebaud. ©Wayne Thiebaud. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair
Use.
81. Elvis I & II (1963). Andy Warhol. ©Andy Warhol. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
81. The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (1998). James Rosenquist. ©James Rosenquist. Image
credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.
83. Mandela (2008). Erro. ©Erro. Image credit: WikiArt. Fair Use.