How to Look at a Painting

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

If you want to dig for interesting stones, it's not too hard.

After all, every kid with a small shovel can find some neat specimens. If you want to dig for gold or precious jewels, however, you are going to need more time and some specialized tools.

It's the same thing with looking at art. Most people have their own sense of what good art is based on whether the art looks beautiful and sensible or ugly and confusing, but there are other tools you can use to get more meaning out of art.

There was a man named Dr. Albert Barnes who came up with an interesting approach to looking at art, and he developed one of the greatest art collections in the world in a very special museum outside the city of Philadelphia. Barnes' gallery is unlike any other, and you will explore his method in the Got It? section.

First, read a little bit about the life of this interesting and complex man, Albert C. Barnes. As you do, write down information to answer the following questions:

• How was Barnes able to compile such an impressive art collection?
• What was Barnes' relationship with the art community?
• What ideas and values seemed to motivate Barnes?

Read the article, The Legacy of Albert C. Barnes. Part 2. The Barnes Foundation by Eugene Garfield, Ph.D., courtesy of University of Pennsylvania. Write down the answers to the questions above. Share your findings with your parent or teacher, then reflect on the following questions and discuss:

• What do you think Barnes believed about the role of art in life?
• Is art too difficult for the average person to understand?
• What would help people understand art better?

You can tell from his biography that Barnes was no ordinary man, and he did not have a conventional attitude towards art.

In the Got It? section, learn more about what made Barnes' art collection unique, and how he thought we should look at art.