Grades/Level: Lower Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5)
Subjects: Visual Arts, English–Language Arts, History–Social Science
Time Required: 3–5–Part Lesson
Three to four class periods
Author: J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Lesson Overview

Students will compare a painting depicting hatmakers at work to a portrait of a noblewoman of leisure. Next, pupils will write narratives from the perspectives of the women depicted in the paintings and then create a paper hat.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:
• compare and contrast the clothing, facial expressions, body language, setting, and color in two 19th-century paintings depicting women;
• write narratives about a woman in a painting;
• discuss the disparity between the wages of garment workers and the prices of the goods they make;
• create and decorate a paper hat.

Materials

• Reproduction of Portrait of the Marquise de Miramon, née Thérèse Feuillant by Jacques Joseph Tissot
• Reproduction of The Milliners by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas
• Background Information and Questions for Teaching about the paintings (click on the thumbnail of the painting below)
• Student Handout: What Hat Is That?
• World map
• Instructions for making a paper hat (see "Paper Sandwich Hats and Helmets" on the Kids Art Web site)
• 12 x 18 inch sheets of colored construction paper
• Glue
• Ribbon and pieces of fabric
• Crayons

Lesson Steps

Download the complete lesson by clicking on the "download this lesson" icon above.

Additional Resource:
Learn more about and compare two 19th-century paintings portraying women: Portrait of the Marquise de Miramon, née, Thérèse Feuillant by Jacques Joseph Tissot and The Milliners by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas.

Glossary Terms:
Words in bold on these pages and in the lesson are defined in the glossary for this curriculum (see "For the Classroom" links above).

Standards Addressed

Refer to the charts for national and California state standards for this curriculum, found in the links at the top right of this page.