14 replies to this topic

[Carole Faithorn]

I have 'lifted' this request from JaneFJones' Introduction

She asks, "I am keen to use paintings in history lessons - so far Eliz I gone down a storm with Y8 and some WWI artists with Y9.
Planning to use Grosz's 'Pillars of Society' in Germany (GCSE) course. Any other suggestions - for KS3 as well - will be much appreciated."

People interested in this thread may also wish to read the following threads in a similar vein:
Using the Rainbow Portrait of Elizabeth I

using WWI Art - this drifts off into some really good suggestions to help pupils analyse pictorial sources.

If you are interested in Grosz's work you might like to take a look at this detailed lesson plan +info+task on The Art of George Grosz from Russ Tarr's excellent ActiveHistory site.

Also take a look at Stephen Drew's excellent Images of an Age Unit for Year 8. You can access all the relevant Lesson Plans and Resources for the Unit as well. The man's an !
As well as the Rainbow Portrait, this Unit looks at Holbein's 'The Ambassadors', 'The Capel Family', and 'Mr and Mrs Andrews' - if I remember correctly.

Russ Tarr has an Online investigation of Holbein's 'Ambassadors' (for A Level) which I can vouch for and also an online task, The Tudor Portrait Mystery analysing 'Edward VI and the Pope'. This is directed at KS3 and again I can vouch for this one.

As for other paintings/art you might use ... you could try Elizabeth I feeds the Dutch Cow though that's perhaps too difficult for KS3 (see this page for an explanation). Then there's 'the Armada Portrait' and 'the Ditchley Portrait' (both explained and linked to from the last mentioned link) if you want a change from the Rainbow Portrait.

Any of John Heartfield's photomontage stuff is good when studying Nazi Germany. This site has lots of examples and there's masses more on the Net as you can see from this Google search

I could go on, but I'm sure other contributors to the Forum have lots of suggestions too

[John Simkin]

You will find biographies on 124 artists and cartoonists of the First World War at:

http://www.spartacus...o.uk/FWWart.htm

It includes 18 from Germany. Most of the British artists included were employed by the War Propaganda Bureau (WPB).

http://www.spartacus...o.uk/FWWwpb.htm

I would suggest you take a look at the work of Charles Nevinson. In my opinion he was the best of all those sent to the Western Front. Some of Nevinson's paintings such as Paths of Glory, were considered to be unacceptable and were not exhibited until after the Armistice.

http://www.spartacus...ARTnevinson.htm

Paul Nash, another artist sent by the WPB wrote at the time: "I am no longer an artist. I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on for ever. Feeble, inarticulate will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth and may it burn their lousy souls."


“Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck by the difference between what things are and what they might have been.” William Hazlitt

Edited by John Simkin, 15 April 2003 - 02:34 PM.

[Stephen Drew]

I cannot add much in terms of resources etc. to those already suggested by Carole and John (especially since Carole was so kind to include my stuff in her post. )

Except that there are two lessons on art in World War I on the Passmores site as well:

What can artists tell us about World War I?

The teaching resources can be found on this page - scroll down to Lesson #8.

All I do want to say is that using portraits with Key Stage 3 students is some of the most rewarding and effective teaching and learning I have ever engaged in. It works for kids on all levels and the differentiation is easy as the kids do it themselves. Once they are trained in what to look for and how to go about interpreting it you can do some amazing stuff with all kinds of kids. This works as well with boys and girls across the age range.

I would heartily encourage eveyone who reads this to give it a go. There is so much that can be done with this. It can invigorate a moribund class and get them ready to do more stuff as well. You can lead into the stuff they are less keen on from a portrait. It also allows them to let their imaginations run riot and when you add in the real history they just lap it up.

The lessons also recieve some of the best reviews from students and even get referred to on Parents' Evening months later.

[Dan Lyndon]

For those of us lucky enough to live in London, I have taken students on a joint Art and History trip to the National Portrait gallery and had some excellent talks about Tudor portraits. If you follow the link it gives details of their talks for secondary schools and it is FREE.

http://www.npg.org.u...sp#anchor482288

[Carole Faithorn]

I would heartily encourage everyone who reads this to give it a go. There is so much that can be done with this. It can invigorate a moribund class and get them ready to do more stuff as well. You can lead into the stuff they are less keen on from a portrait. It also allows them to let their imaginations run riot and when you add in the real history they just lap it up.

I agree 110% with what Stephen says here. This year the lesson that really 'turned the corner' with a Year 8 class all of whom are non-native speakers was an adaptation of Russ's 'Tudor Portrait Mystery' (see earlier post) and guessing what might have gone in the blank rectangles in the portrait was just the sort of thing Stephen refers to in his last sentence.

I have used this picture for years now. It always goes down well (though these days it's all a bit more hi-tech ). One year the kids were so intrigued by what might have been in/intended to be in the white rectangles that we wrote to the National Portrait Gallery (lucky old you, Dan) and got a smashing reply from a curator and a photocopy of a lengthy article by Roy Strong. Unfortunately I have now mislaid this - but in essence the answer seemed to be "nobody knows for sure"

There's a recent-ish book called The King's Bedpost. Has anyone read it?

[Carole Faithorn]

For those who study Russia for GCSE and who are also interested in poster art 'Revolution by Design: The Soviet Poster' is a good source of material and information.

Just as one example:
I use 'The Tsar, the Priest and the Rich Man' (see the top row of this page) as a 'starter' to the Bolshevik Revolution - though I use a better image from a different site.

[Carole Faithorn]

Have just come across this History Trail on Art and War on the BBC site which looks good. In addition to a section on the Western Front in WWI there is also material on the Home Front in WWII in the Daily Lives section which makes an interesting contrast.

[jo norton]

If anyone else uses the "And when did you last see your father?" Civil War painting in class (I think the Shp textbooks use it as the start off point for a piece of empathy extended writing) which works well as an examination of interpretation (painted in the 1890's (ish!) you can get a large print from the Walker Gallery for 6 quid.

[neil mcdonald]

WF Yeames did a brilliant painting about the Civil War - When did you last see your father. I'll see if I can find the website that goes through all the aspects of the painting - full of symbolism and tiny details that highlight the society of the Civil War.

[Chris Higgins]

My subject mentor lent me a very good Tudor Portrait Pack from the National Portrait Gallery, with a selection of posters, postcards and teacher's notes which were very useful and included some very effective lessons - particularly for less able students. I did one lesson on Drake for a local high school, focussing on his coat of arms and what it said (and didn't say) about his colourful past. The children really enjoyed matching aspects of Drake's portrait to events in his life and redesigning his shield to fill in the gaps!

[Carole Faithorn]

I'll see if I can find the website that goes through all the aspects of the painting - full of symbolism and tiny details that highlight the society of the Civil War.

Is it this page from Historyonthe net?

[Carole Faithorn]

My subject mentor lent me a very good Tudor Portrait Pack from the National Portrait Gallery, with a selection of posters, postcards and teacher's notes which were very useful and included some very effective lessons - particularly for less able students.

This Tudor Portraits Resource pack can be ordered online from the NPG and costs £14.95. It's a 'revised' version and doesn't seem to be quite the same as the one Chris mentions (no postcards), but it still sounds good.

There's a Victorian Portraits pack as well.

In addition there are Tudor Portaits visitors guide ("Provides a brief introduction followed by detailed notes on a selection of portraits from the Tudor period.") and Victorian Portaits Guidefor £2.50 each which can be ordered online which seem to have lots of illustrations if you don't want to splash out nearly 15 quid.

English Heritage have a Using Portraits booklet for £6.99 (can order online) which is what set me off using portaits and paintings in the classroom many years ago.

[neil mcdonald]

I'll see if I can find the website that goes through all the aspects of the painting - full of symbolism and tiny details that highlight the society of the Civil War.

Is it this page from Historyonthe net?

Yep. I tinkered with the idea of doing others like that - maybe over summer.

[Carole Faithorn]

Yep. I tinkered with the idea of doing others like that - maybe over summer.

Sounds like a good idea.

[Dan Lyndon]

Here I go again, I really think that Hodder Murray (as they now are) should be paying me a fortune for promoting thier resources, but they do provide excellent picture packs for the whole of key stage three as part of their package - I have used the images for lots of different starter activities - I hope that now that John Murray has been taken over the same resources are still available. Having said that I have just had a quick look on their wesite and it is not very easy to navigate. Also I knew the woman who was in charge of education marketing at john Murray and she was recently made redundant, so it's not looking too good. If people are interested then I can get the ISBNs when I go back to school next week.