History of art

First Year- 1-12- 3 single classes- (40 minutes)Study of the life and work of

Vincent Van Gogh

My main aim in this scheme was to find a video piece about Van Gogh that was interesting enough to keep the attention of my class. I linked in their previous study of painting and pointillism with this art history class on the life and work of Van Gogh. They also made paintings by Van Gogh on glass and 3D relief to extend their studies after art history.

1 Develop an insight into the artist Van Gogh by learning about how and why he made his paintings.2 Observe the routines and pace which Van Gogh worked.3. Understand the motivations of the artist making work which at the time had no monetary value.4. Appreciate the qualities that people today see in the work and its enormous commercial value in the art world. 

Aims for the Scheme

I found a great documentary by a painter named Phil Savenick. He travelled to Arles to connect with the spirit of Van Gogh and make

paintings there.

The name of the documentary was Van Gogh Adventure: Vincent’s Ghost and Me. I felt this could help students connect

their own making of paintings with Van Gogh, just as the narrator was doing in the documentary.

Here are some of the ideas which I felt were important in the film as expressed by the narrator.These ideas fitted well within the aims for my lesson.

He painted twice within the film. In the beginning of the film he painted at the reconstructed drawbridge which Vincent painted in the town of Arles.At the end, he painted the sunflowers planted in the field in front of Vincent’s room where he stayed at the Saint Remy asylum. These personal connections were important for the students to witness in my opinion.

He explored the work made by Van Gogh in the yellow house which he shared with the painter

Paul Gauguin. He also described what it was like to live there and the relationship between him and Gauguin. The yellow house does not exist

anymore as it was blown up during WWII

He explored the work made by Van Gogh in the asylum at Saint Remy. As his room still exists, the narrator gives us a glimpse inside and describes what it must have been like for him to live there.

The narrator used a lot of first hand accounts of what Vincent was thinking and feeling from his

letters to his brother Theo.

The narrator also provided reasons as to why Vincent painted and tries to give us an insight

into what he saw and felt and what is expressed in the paintings.

From these ideas, the students had a context of when and how some of his paintings were made. They discovered that he made seven sunflower

paintings all together which were made in the yellow house in the summer of 1888 and the winter of 1889.

They learned that while at Saint Remy he painted ‘The Irises’, ‘Starry Night’, ‘The Almond Branches’, and ‘The Olive Trees’ among many

others. He also painted the outside views of the enclosed garden from his window.

The Irises- 1890

Starry Night- 1889

The Almond Branches- 1890

The Olive Trees- 1889

Learning Outcomes

THE STUDENTS WOULD:• Discover about the life of Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in the yellow house,• Learn about the kinds of work Van Gogh made in the yellow house.• Interpret their views of the reasons Van Gogh and Gauguin parted ways.• Find out about what Vincent’s cell looked like in Saint Remy and the paintings he made

there.• Explore why Vincent made his paintings.• Investigate the qualities of his paintings.• Look at the discoveries made by the narrator through the places he visits connected to

Vincent like the reconstructed drawbridge at Arles.• Look at the connections and symbolic meanings the narrator made between his life and

the spirit of Van Gogh• Revise their study of pointillism and its connection with post impressionism and the

style of Van Gogh’s paintings.

Methods and Resources Used/ Account of Assessment

• I gathered students around the whiteboard. They watched the video in three parts and each student was given a question before each part was played. There were sixty test your knowledge questions in total which I compiled based on the video.

• I went through the questions and answers after each part.• I informed the students there would be a quiz on the video/ colour theory and

pointillism with prizes for the winners.• I rewarded all the students with a smaller prize of chocolate for taking part in the

quiz.• I divided the students into a group of three and the students were given a set of

thirty questions. Students wrote the answers and handed them up to me to be corrected.

• In the next class, I gave the winners of the quiz a wallet folder as a prize which could be used for keeping their notes.

• Then I went through the answers to the quiz with students.  Provision for Special Needs: Students worked together as a team in the quiz which helped reinforce their learning if they did not know some of the answers and other students did.

Evaluation of the Delivery of Lessons

I felt the lesson content was interesting for students. They enjoyed watching the film. I think the quiz gripped their imagination so I would definitely consider using that as a resource in the classroom to help motivate student learning. If I were doing the lesson again, I would leave some of the questions regarding figures out as these were too difficult to remember. I would also consider using an essay approach where students can express some of their thoughts and opinions about the life and work of Van Gogh.