Lesson Plan Outline for Comparative Study

Grade: Kindergarten - American Theme: America has a variety of landforms that captivate artists
Albert Bierstadt 1830-1902 Artwork & Artist Valley of the Yosemite 1864 Georgia OKeefe 1887-1986 From the Lake No 1 1924 Oil on canvas 36 x 30 in Des Moines Art Center Longshan Xiao Sun 1883-1944 Landscape 1930

General Information Museum of Fine Arts, Boston piece was uncharacteristically small 11 7/8 X 19 1/4 Theme/Generalization unspoiled, majestic, western wilderness painted from memory with added imagination. Interpretation, not actual location. Period Facts Period of westward expansion Western frontier was a land of opportunity and spectacular beauty.
Artist Facts German-American Journeyed on westward geological expeditions and sketched details of untouched America Was foremost painter of mountain landscapes -Used enormous canvasses Dramatic lighting luminism golden Light theatrical, atmospheric Highly romanticized, dramatic and detailed to capture imagination. He embellished and made up scenes

Ink on paper, hanging scroll 48 X 18 inches Recently sold at auction by Harvard Art Museum
The essence or timeless aspect of a mountain landscape is captured, rather than the appearance at a specific moment. Tang Dynasty (1878-1948) Scrolls were used as form of communication, narrow, vertical creates a sense of height and space. Each detail is symbolic and tells a story.

Abstracted but representational of the lake and landscape. Allows for interpretation of what are the clouds, water, mountains, sky. 20th cent. - Artist unattached to any movement, or popular style. This painting from her earlier upstate New York life near Lake George.
Lived and painted in New Mexico. Pioneer of American Modernism Landscapes, details of plant forms from New Mexican desert Bold, simple, vivid, abstracted Subtle tonal transitions of color (flat) Intimate circles, arching lines, spirals To evoke Mood, reaction or sensation Simple images of monumental form

Chinese noted for his landscapes in thick black ink and dry brush technique. He occasionally used strong color

Lesson Focus To convey a memory or description of a setting, and to get the viewer to feel impressed and in awe, artists sometime recreate
a scene using imagination. What can paintings of the American Landscape tell us about the American experience and geography?

Project idea/Game Students can create picture post cards depicting a scene, landscape, or element of nature from their memory to send to someone who has never seen it, interpreting with perspective, shapes, colors. The presenter can have ready rectangular shaped cardstock, marked like a postcard in black sharpie. Use oil pastels, colored pencils or crayons.