Monday, March 30, 2009

EXHIBITIONS RELATING TO REMBRANDT

at the Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Ave. (at 103rd St.)
212-534-1672; http://www.mcny.org/

AMSTERDAM/NEWAMSTERDAM: THE WORLDS OF HENRY HUDSON
April 4th - September 27th
We suggest visiting this exhibit with your children and also encouraging teachers to conisder school visits. There is a related ongoing exhibition entitled TRADE: A HISTORY OF PORTS AND COMMERCE, which would make a class visit an especially rewarding and educational experience.

Also of interest (later this year):
DUTCH SEEN: NEW YORK REDISCOVERED
(Contemporary Dutch photographers document what was once their nation's city, with echoes of New York's colonial past)
June 10th - September 13th

Monday, March 16, 2009

REMBRANDT: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Greetings, Famous Artists Docents!

(1) Your disk is a MS Power Point presentation. It contains images of the four works that are represented in the posters. The details will help you addrtess texture and lighting. W have added the 1629 (early) Self Portrait to the 1658 (Frick) Self Portrait [also on poster] for purposes of comparison, if you choose to use the 1629 one. There are notes baoput this comparison in your folders. You can also explore, for example, how the students might portray themselves in the future, as opposed to how they would depict themselves now. (These and other ideas are detailed int he "Suggested Projects" portion of your folders.)

(2) Re: Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer:
(a) The image of Alexander the great in the medallion hanging from Aristotle's chaion is clear in the poster
(b) In presenting this work to younger students, you might consider omitting discussion of the Alexander medallion and focus on how Aristotle is shown to feel about Homer

(3) Re: The Mill
Consult the "Terms of Art" in your folders, and use the "bird's eye view" and worm's eye view" vantage points to discuss how Rembrandt composed this painting (in the studio; remember that it is not an actual scene he observed but, rather, pieced together from various studies. Students can observe an object or picture by lying on the floor (if clean and carpeted!) or by viewing it by looking down from a seated or standing (if safe!) position on a chair or desk, or in a stairwell. How does their viewpoint -- and the object/picture change with their relative positions?

(4) Reminders:
(a) Please distribute the "Letter to Families" (in your folders) via your school or class newsletter or by sending copies of it home
(b) Please reproduce & distribute the "Certificate of Participation" to all students

(5) If you have any questions regarding the materials in your folders, please contact Gail Roman via email: puddle625n@aol.com
If you have any questions regarding the "how to create a portrait" demonstration, which took place at the end of the training sessions (and we apologize for running over the time limit on Tuesday!), please contact Linda Goldstein via email: lindasgoldstein@optonline.net

(6) SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday, April 28th at 9:30am -- Wrap-Up Breakfast with discussion of the year, future plans, and whatever you or we have to share at that time!