Grades: 		Middle School (6-8)
Subjects: 		English—Language Arts and Visual Arts
Time Required: 	4 class periods
Author: 		J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Lesson Overview
Students will create a narrative or short story in response to a work of visual art. They will compare their interpretation with the intent of the artist.

Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to work in teams to interpret and analyze an assigned work of art.
- Students will be able to write a narrative or short story of 500–700 words based on an assigned work of art.  

Featured Getty Artworks
The Invention of Drawing by Joseph-Benoît Suvée
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/neoclassicism/neocl_ib_invention.html 
Penelope Unraveling Her Web by Joseph Wright of Derby
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/neoclassicism/neocl_ib_penelope.html
The Father’s Curse by Jean-Baptiste Greuze
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/neoclassicism/neocl_ib_fatherscurse.html

Materials  
- Images of Featured Getty Artworks
- Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment Overview
	http://www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/neoclassicism/background1.html
- Information on the Getty works of art, found in the Image Bank
- Overhead projector
- Worksheet: “Analysis of The Invention of Drawing”
 Worksheet: “Analysis of Penelope Unraveling Her Web” 
- Worksheet: “Analysis of The Father’s Curse”
- Student photocopies of Penelope Unraveling Her Web and The Father’s Curse
- Writing paper, pencils, pens, or a computer

Steps
1.  Using the information in “Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment Overview” (http://www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/neoclassicism/background1.html), introduce the basic concepts that informed the Enlightenment and discuss the impact on the visual arts that resulted in the Neoclassical style. Emphasize the importance of narrative in Neoclassical art as a vehicle for expressing values of virtue, stoicism, filial piety, etc.  Narrative in Neoclassical art is characterized by its sense of moral clarity and didactics and used classical philosophy and literature as models for these ideals. Duty to a higher cause, such as one's country or family, was emphasized. 

2.  Show students an image of The Invention of Drawing and ask for ideas about what the narrative could be. Use the Questions for Teaching found in the Image Bank to prompt students. Discuss possibilities generated by the class, directing all responses to the image and the visual clues held within. Emphasize the importance of referring to the image for answers and addressing all narrative elements, such as action, relationship of figures to each other, body language, objects, setting, etc. Using the Information found in the Image Bank, help students understand how all elements of the drawing, formal and content-based, work to tell a story. 

3.  Divide the class into small groups. Give each group the worksheet “Analysis of The Invention of Drawing.” Have students read the synopsis of the story and fill out the worksheet using skills learned through the previous discussion. Have each group present their answers to the class.

4.  Give each student a photocopy of either the Wright of Derby painting or the Greuze drawing. Using these images, they will generate a narrative or short story of 500–700 words (3–4 paragraphs), depending on their grade level standards. Students will use descriptive language to explain the characters, setting, and plot of their story. Students should describe who the figures are, what they are wearing, and what they are doing.  They may also include information about what happened in their story before this scene and what will happen after.

5.  Have students group-read several stories and vote on one or two that best fulfill the goals of the assignment. The chosen authors will read their stories aloud to the class while displaying the appropriate image. Ask the class to jot down notes when they see a connection between the story and the image. Using their notes and observations, discuss with the class why the narrative was successful. 

6.  Give each student the worksheet that corresponds to the image they wrote about, either “Analysis of Penelope Unraveling Her Web” or “Analysis of The Father’s Curse.” After students complete their worksheets, discuss students answers as a class.

Assessment
- Teacher observation of students’ ability to work cooperatively in groups.
- Students’ identification, analysis, and comparison of Neoclassical works of art.
- Students writing assignments are convincingly written with examples (evidence) and free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Grades 6–8

READING 
Key Ideas and Details 
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 

WRITING 
Text Types and Purposes
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 

SPEAKING AND LISTENING 
Comprehension and Collaboration 
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. 

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

English Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools

Grade 7
Writing Applications
2.1 	Write fictional or autobiographical narratives of 500–700 words:
a. Develop a standard plot line (having a beginning, conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement) and point of view.
b. Develop complex major and minor characters and a definite setting.
c. Use a range of appropriate strategies (e.g., dialogue; suspense; naming of specific narrative action, including movement, gestures, and expressions).

Grade 8
Writing Applications
2.1 	Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, or narratives of 500–700 words:
a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-chosen details.
b. Reveal the significance of, or the writer's attitude about, the subject.
c. Employ narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, comparison or contrast of characters). 

Visual Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools 

Grade 7
Artistic Perception
1.1 	Describe the environment and selected works of art, using the elements of art and the principles of design.
1.2 	Identify and describe scale (proportion) as applied to two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of art. 
1.3 	Identify and describe the ways in which artists convey the illusion of space (e.g., placement, overlapping, relative size, atmospheric perspective, and linear perspective).
 
Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 - Research and describe how art reflects cultural values in various traditions throughout the world. 

Aesthetic Valuing 
4.2 	Analyze the form (how a work of art looks) and content (what a work of art communicates) of works of art. 
4.3 	Take an active part in a small-group discussion about the artistic value of specific works of art, with a wide range of the viewpoints of peers being considered. 
4.4 	Develop and apply specific and appropriate criteria individually or in groups to assess and critique works of art.

Grade 8
Artistic Perception
1.1 	Use artistic terms when describing the intent and content of works of art.

Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 	Examine and describe or report on the role of a work of art created to make a social comment or protest social conditions.

Aesthetic Valuing 
4.2 	Develop a theory about the artist's intent in a series of works of art, using reasoned statements to support personal opinions.
4.3 	Construct an interpretation of a work of art based on the form and content of the work.  

National Standards for English Language Arts

Grades K–12 
Communication Skills
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Communication Strategies
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes. 

National Standards for Visual Arts

Grades 5–8
Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions
Students generalize about the effects of visual structures and functions and reflect upon these effects in their own work.
Students employ organizational structures and analyze what makes them effective or not effective in the communication of ideas.
Students select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of their ideas.

Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
Students integrate visual, spatial, and temporal concepts with content to communicate intended meaning in their artworks.

Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
Students know and compare the characteristics of artworks in various eras and cultures.
Students describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.

Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others
Students compare multiple purposes for creating works of art.
Students analyze contemporary and historic meanings in specific artworks through cultural and aesthetic inquiry.
Students describe and compare a variety of individual responses to their own artworks and to artworks from various eras and cultures.

Making Connections between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
Students compare the characteristics of works in two or more art forms that share similar subject matter, historical periods, or cultural context.
Students describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in the school are interrelated with the visual arts.

Analysis of The Invention of Drawing 

Worksheet

The Belgian artist Joseph-Benoît Suvée depicted the moment when, according to the Roman senator and naturalist Pliny the Elder (d. A.D. 79), the art of drawing was invented. In the scene rendered by Suvée, the Corinthian maiden Dibutade, upset at the prospect of her lover departing on a voyage, grabbed a tool and traced his shadow on the wall of her father’s pottery studio. This legend of the origin of drawing was a particularly popular subject among Neoclassical artists.  

1.  Dibutade’s desire to keep an image of her lover while he was away tells us something about her. What qualities can we say Dibutade possesses, based solely on her decision to find a way of doing this?

2.  What is the main theme of this story?

3.  Based on Enlightenment philosophies, why would Dibutade be considered an important role model? 

4.  What has Suvée done in this drawing to express the drama of the scene?

5.  In what way do you see this theme or lesson still being portrayed today?

Analysis of Penelope Unraveling Her Web

Worksheet

Joseph Wright of Derby has depicted in his painting a quiet moment from The Odyssey by Homer. According to the epic poem Penelope, the wife of the Greek hero King Odysseus was besieged by suitors who believed her husband was dead. Odysseus had been missing for years after the Trojan War had ended, and these suitors wished to become king by marrying Penelope. She, however, clung to the belief that he was not dead, and as a way of stalling, told the suitors that she would select one of them to marry after she completed weaving a burial shroud. All day she wove, but at night she unraveled her work so that the task dragged on. In this scene she watches over her sleeping son, Telemachus, with only a statue of her husband and his dog, Argos, for company.

1.  What does Penelope’s decision to fool her suitors in this manner tell us about her?

2.  What Enlightenment values does this story embody? 

3.  What visual clues has the artist included in this painting to tell Penelope’s story?

4.  Why does the setting of this scene look the way it does?

5.  Would the theme of this painting be considered important today? Why, or why not?

Analysis of The Father’s Curse 

Worksheet

Jean-Baptiste Greuze made this drawing to illustrate a family drama that would have been familiar to many people who would have seen either the drawing or a print made from it. In this emotional scene, a son has chosen to leave his family, including his aged father, to join the army. The choice between duty to one’s family and duty to one’s country is one that has affected families since ancient times. In this scene Greuze has shown the impact of such a decision on one family.

1.  What does the son’s decision in this situation tell us about him?

2.  Based upon the way this image looks, did the artist think that the son made the right choice? Why? Why not?

3.  What are the Neoclassical elements of this drawing?

4.  How has the artist conveyed the difficulty of the son’s decision?

5.  Would the theme of this drawing be considered important today?  Why? Why not?