FINAL TASK: You are a museum guide in
charge of a group of foreign students who have come to discover British history
through art. You have to present a painting to them and explain what specific
time period of British history it reflects. The students will have to take a
test at the end of the presentation to see how well they have been listening.
TASK#1: at home describe and analyse the picture. Get ready to share your ideas with your groupmate
TASK#2: in class, recap individually and get your ideas together. Get ready to present your painting to the rest of the class. Then listen to your fellow student/museum guides!
Take notes for a short test at the end of the "museum in class" visit!
________________________________________________________________________________
GROUP 1:
THE PAINTING : George
I by G. Kneller (1716)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
When Queen Anne died without any heirs, the English throne was offered
to her nearest Protestant relative, George of Hanover, who thus became George I
of England. He spoke no English and spent
most of time in Germany
Throughout the long reign of George, his son, and grandson, all named
George, the very nature of English society and the political face of the realm
changed. In part this was because the first two Georges, took little interest
in the politics of rule and were quite content to let ministers rule on their
behalf. These ministers, representatives of the king, or Prime Ministers,
rather enjoyed ruling, and throughout this "Georgian period" the
foundations of English political party system was solidified into something
resembling what we have today.
But more than politics changed; English society underwent a revolution
in art and architecture. This was the age of the grand country house, when many
of the great stately homes that we can visit today were built. Abroad, the
English acquired more and more territory overseas through conquest and
settlement, lands that would eventually make up an Empire stretching to every
corner of the globe.
Important information to
focus on:
- Who? What consequences and why?
- What changes affected society?
- What was the empire and how did it affect English
society?
TOOLBOX:
A wig
Ornate robes
Tights
A red sash
A coat of arms
The sceptre
Folds
Posture
GROUP 2:
THE PAINTING : Mr
and Mrs Andrews (1748) by Thomas Gainsborough
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The period of George I’s reign and of his successors George II, III,
and IV, called the Georgian Age, is famous for its elegance and style. Yet during the Georgian Age important
changes took place in art. With the rise in power of the middle-classes, art
was not only the propaganda of a monarch or nation, but also portraits of
wealthy families and pictures of property.
Great artists such as William Hogarth, Sir
Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough lived in the Georgian age. Hogarth’s
satirical engravings and paintings attacked the contrasts of luxury and squalor
in Georgian Society. Reynolds studied Renaissance art in Italy before becoming
one of Britain’s most important and successful portrait painters. Gainsborough,
who was Reynold’s great rival was known for the elegance and refinement of his
portraits and landscapes.
One of his masterpieces, Mr and Mrs Andrews, shows a gentleman farmer and his wife. It is
one of the most important images we have of the provincial nobility, who were
one of the most important features of the Georgian social system. Indeed class
division increased in that time period.
Important information to
focus on:
- - What do we speak about the Georgian era?
- - Who was George I? What consequences did it have?
- - What were the two major changes in terms of politics & society?
- - How was it represented in art?
TOOLBOX:
A
gentleman farmer
Provincial
nobility
A
hunting rifle
A
three-cornered hat: a tricorn
A
hound : a hunting dog
Court
shoes
Lace:
delicate cloth with a lot of holes in it
Bales
of hay
Harvested field
Pastures
Rolling hills
GROUP 3:
THE PAINTING : Canvassing for Votes (1754-55) by William Hogarth
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND:
As
well as designing elegant classical buildings, the Georgians began to develop a
realistic style of painting which can be considered truly British for the first
time. At this time, British artists began to paint detailed images which give
us a new understanding of important events in the country’s history.
The
great artist and satirist William Hogarth showed some of the less pleasant
aspects of everyday life in his realistic words, one of the first artists to do
so. By the middle of the century, elections had started to have a significant
influence on the country’s political life. Although this meant that the
parliamentary system became gradually more important, which in itself was a
positive change, corruption became more widespread because politicians needed
to convince people to vote for them in order to be elected. This can be seen in
Canvassing for Votes with the
headquarters of the two political parties, the Tories (Conservatives) and
Whigs. A farmer is surrounded by members of the two parties who are trying to
offer him money to win his vote. Hogarth produced many paintings and engravings
which satirized the election process and revealed the hypocrisy of the times.
He was the first artist to show all the social classes, and his work shares the
same spirit as some of the great literary works of the day, such as those
written by Defoe and Swift.
Important information to
focus on:
- - What change occurred in painting during the Georgian era? Why was it
important for us?
- - How did the increase of power of Parliament affect politics and society?
- - In what way is Hogarth a very important artist?
TOOLBOX:
To canvass for votes: faire du démarchage électoral
/ solliciter des voix
Headquarters
A
signpost
The Tories (Conservatives) and the Whigs
The election process
An inn: place you eat, drink and sometimes
sleep
Chubby / plump /ruddy
Bribery
Hypocrisy
GROUP 4:
THE
PAINTING : Coalbrookdale by night (1801) by
Phillipe de Louthenbourg
BACKGROUND:
Before
the end of the eighteenth century, most British people lived and worked in the
countryside. Many were farmers, others worked in their homes as carpenters or
weavers. New inventions of the eighteenth century brought radical changes to
the way people lived and worked. Britain was rapidly changing from an
agricultural society to an industrial one. Communication and transportation
improved as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution.
Richard
Arkwright invented a spinning machine that did the work of twelve people. With
these new machines, factories and mills opened up and offered employment to
many people. The coal, iron and textile industries were the basis of the
Industrial Revolution in Britain. The population of industrial towns such as
Manchester and Birmingham grew rapidly, as did the smoke, the noise and
pollution.
Coalbrookdale,
an important iron-producing centre, played a key part in the Industrial
Revolution. It had many factories, furnaces and foundries. The painter Philippe
de Louthenbourg was fascinated by the industrial landscape and the ‘terrible’
forces produced by the new forms of energy. Like other painters, such as Joseph
W. Turner, he was interested in portraying the ‘sublime’, which inspires both
terror and delight.
Important information to
focus on:
- -Where did the major part of the British population live and work in the
late 17th century ?
- - What change did society undergo at the turn of the century ?
- - What machine represented a
major change ? Why ?
- - What changed in terms of landscapes and cities in England ?
TOOLBOX:
A foundry
A factory
A chimney
Smoke / billowing smoke
Horses drawing a cart
Scrap iron
Flames
Sparks
Glowing red
Focal point
Shadow
Dynamism
GROUP 5:
THE
PAINTING : The Stockport Viaduct, near Manchester circa
1850
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Important information to
focus on:
- - What change did the spinning machine bring to the world of work?
- - How did it impact the population?
- - What type of industries developed?
- - How did all this process change cities in the UK?
TOOLBOX:
A viaduct / an
aquaduct
Chimneys
Riverbank
Smog
Plumes of smoke
To pour into
Eddies (small
movements in water)
GROUP 6:
Important information to
focus on:
- - What do you learn about the British population?
- - What about cities ?
- - What do you learn about social classes at the time ?
- - What do you learn about children during the Victorian era ?
TOOLBOX:
Terrassed houses
Chimneys
Yards / backyards
A tub
Squalor
Smog
GROUP 7:
Important information to
focus on:
- - Describe what workhouses were.
- - Imagine what was the Poor Law Act of 1834.
- - What did some people try to do to avoid workhouses ?
TOOLBOX:
A police constable/officer
To huddle together
To cradle a child in one’s arms
To bow one’s head
A shawl
To stoop
To slouch
To gnaw a bone
Freezing conditions
Despondency = despair = sadness
Wanted signs
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