BEFORE YOU GO
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art forms, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video, filmmaking, and architecture. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects in art museums, galleries, and exhibits; however, sculptures, decorative arts, furniture, textiles, costumes, drawings, pastels, watercolors, collages, prints, artist’s books, photographs, and installation art are also regularly shown.
Major art periods:
- Renaissance: 1300-1602
- Romanticism: 1790-1880
- Modern: 1860-1960
- Contemporary: 1960-
Have a general discussion with your students regarding the type of art museums, type of exhibit, and what period of art and artists they will be viewing. Most museums offer educational materials to help prepare your students for the visit. Many are online and you can download teacher and student material to enhance lesson plans before and after your field trip.
KNOWLEDGE
Learn about art periods and the culture and history of that period
Learn about artists and their work
Learn about art museums and the staff that work there
VOCABULARY
Portrait – a picture of a person
Landscape – a picture of the land
Sculpture – a statue
Still-Life – a picture of fruit, vegetable, flowers on a table
Collage – a picture made of many pieces
Abstract – a piece of art that you use your imagination to create
Impressionism – a style of painting that began in France around 1870, that uses spots of color to show the effects of different kinds of light, and that attempts to capture the feeling of a scene rather than specific details
Photograph – a picture taken with a camera
Mural – a very big picture
Ceramics – Vases, pots, and bowls made out of dirt
Sketch – a picture made with a pencil
Watercolor Painting – a picture made with a light-weight water paint
Oil Painting – a picture made with oil paint that is brighter and darker than watercolor paint
Masterpiece – a great book, painting, a piece of music, movie, etc.
Exhibit – an object or a collection of objects that have been put out in a public space for people to look at: something shown in an exhibition
Collection – a group of interesting or beautiful objects brought together in order to show or study them
Gallery – a room or building in which people look at paintings, sculptures, etc.
SKILLS
– Analytic
– Hands-on art activities
– Observation
– Vocabulary development
– Writing