Impressionism WebQuest

Introduction

Welcome to Mrs. Benoit's Impressionism WebQuest.

This will be used as a study of Impressionism and an introduction to color vocabulary.

Impressionism started in the 1860's in Paris, France.

Before Impressionism, artists painted portraits and religious or historical themes. They were commissioned by the church or by wealthy families. The paintings were very realistic and included mostly subdued colors.

The Impressionists were a radical change to traditional art.

For the first time, artists painted for enjoyment, not commission. Because artists were not accountable to anyone paying them, they painted whatever they wanted. Art became accessible to the common people. Artists went outdoors and painted landscapes. They painted children and adults participating in everyday work and play activities. They painted with wide brushstrokes and lots of bright colors. They showed changing weather and lighting conditions.

These artists were so radical for their time, their paintings were not accepted for display into a traditional gallery called the Salon. They were banned from the Salon, so Impressionists started their own gallery called the Salon de Refuses. In French, that roughly translates to "room of trash".

Impressionist artists have since gained acceptance and popularity and opened the doors for many creative modern artistic styles.

The Task

1. Learn the basic characteristics of Impressionism.

2. Go to assigned web sites to view paintings by Impressionist painters.

3. Learn basic color vocabulary.

4. Understand how the Impressionist painters used color theory in their work.

5. Identify and discuss paintings by Edwouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Auguste Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh and Georges Seurat.

6. Create your own painting using Microsoft Paint in the style of the Impressionists.

The Process

View Mrs. Benoit's Impressionism Slide Show for an introduction to Impressionism and an overview of your first project.

Visit the assigned websites to gather information.

Use the following to take notes:

There are 4 assignments in this Unit:

Resources

http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/color1/color1.html   

Follow Carmine to learn about basic color. This is a bit juvenile but fun.

http://www.homestore.com/Decorate/Design/Principles/wheel.asp

Learn color vocabulary here.

http://www.impressionism.org

Click on this button to get a guided tour.

http://personal.inet.fi/taide/impressionism/contents.htm

Welcome to the Ad Litteram Gallery of Impressionism. We hope that you will enjoy your visit. The bulk of this site consists of a series of biographies of major Impressionist artists, supplemented by a gallery and slide shows of Impressionist paintings. Take the time to view them all.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/theme/impressionnisme.html

Visit the Webmuseum in Paris. View the artists biographies and examples of their work.

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/cassatt/

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/monet/

These are past exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. You can still view them in the online museum.

Evaluation

Here is the overall rubric for the unit:

Conclusion

You have learned about a valuable time in Art History.

You understand Impressionism and can recognize many Impressionist artists.

You can use this knowledge and apply your knowledge of color mixing and color vocabulary in your artwork.

You have improved as an artist.

This WebQuest satisfies the following Objectives from the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Frameworks: