Be a Painting Critic

In Be a Painting Critic, learn how to critique a painting by learning the elements of design. Also learn how to compare and contrast paintings.

After you have learned how to critique, select a painting and record your answers to the Write About It questions in a notebook or a digital document. Use the Painting Word Bank to help with your responses.

Google Drive/Classroom Users: You can go under File and select "Make a Copy" or "Print" to access the Artopia Painting - Write About It worksheet.

Google Docs Worksheet

Compare and Contrast Two Paintings | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

These are examples of narrative artworks that depict historical figures and events. No. 11 - John Brown Takes to Guerilla Warfare, is one of a series of twenty-two gouache paintings illustrating the...

Elements of Design: The Piebald Horse | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Line: Artists often start out working with line. Look at the outline of the spotted horse. This is called a skeletal shape. The long hairs in the horse’s mane and tail are lines. Several horizontal...

A Man and a Horse by a Stream | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Hua Yan A Closer Look Hua Yan uses lines to create the shapes of the man, horse and trees in this painting. He then uses more lines to show details within these figures. Line is the most basic element...

Arion on a Sea Horse | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

William Bouguereau A Closer Look What do you notice first in Arion on a Sea Horse? Is it the lyre, the small harp that Arion is holding? William Bouguereau draws our attention to the lyre by making it...

For the Light | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Susan Rothenberg A Closer Look What do you think the artist Susan Rothenberg is trying to express? Does the title For the Light help you understand this painting? Notice how simple Rothenberg's horse...

Fuji from Kogane-Ga-Hara, Shimosa | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Ando Hiroshige A Closer Look In Fuji from Kogane-Go-Hara, Shimosa Hiroshige wants the viewer to notice Mt. Fuji on the horizon. He uses an Asian art technique called the split fountain, a gradual...

Horse Stable | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Gerard ter Borch A Closer Look Genre in art represents what life is like in a particular place and time. If an artist came to your art class and painted you and your classmates working on your artwork...

Horse, Pipe, and Red Flower | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Joan Miro A Closer Look Joan Miro presents a collection of various objects in his painting Horse , Pipe and Red Flower. Take some time to identify the objects that are somewhat hidden in this picture...

Horses Actors | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Maria Izquierdo A Closer Look Horses Actors is a good example of asymmetrical balance. If you draw an imaginary line down the middle of the painting you can see that the two halves are very different...

Lascaux Cave Painting | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Anonymous A Closer Look The Caves of Lascaux, France are filled with prehistoric paintings including this horse. It is one of the oldest paintings in the world, created during the Paleolithic...

Madonna and Child Enthroned | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Giovanni dal Ponte A Closer Look Giovanni dal Ponte's triptych has a strong sense of balance. The center panel shows Mary and Jesus Christ with Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen on either side. Notice...

Painting - Write About It Worksheet for Google Docs

Interactive

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

INSTRUCTIONS: Click on the link above to access the Google Docs document. You can go under File and select " Make a Copy" to add to your own Google Drive or " Print." In Be a Painting Critic, select a...

Painting No. 4 (A Black Horse) | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Marsden Hartley A Closer Look Marsden Hartley paints with contrasting colors in Painting No. 4 (A Black Horse), using warm colors (reds, yellows and oranges) and cool colors (blues, violets and greens...

Painting Word Bank | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

WORD BANK: Elements and Principles of Design line – a long thin continuous mark or stroke color – hues, tints, and shades as created by light and pigments value – the relative lightness or darkness of...

Race Horses at Longchamp | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Edgar Degas A Closer Look As an Impressionist, Edgar Degas painted impressions of what he saw. He didn't paint as many details as artists did in the Renaissance, for example. Many Impressionists made...

The Horse Fair | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Rosa Bonheur A Closer Look Rosa Bonheur uses gradient value to create the illusion of three-dimensional form in The Horse Fair. Gradient value is a gradual change in the lightness or darkness of a...

The Large Blue Horses | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Franz Marc A Closer Look In The Large Blue Horses, Franz Marc uses rich, bright colors and curvy lines. The curves of the horses are repeated in the hills in the background. Notice how the horses take...

The Life of John Brown, No. 11 | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Jacob Lawrence A Closer Look Sometimes artists tell stories without words, as Jacob Lawrence has done in The Life of John Brown, No. 11 – John Brown Took to Guerrilla Warfare. This painting is part of...

The Piebald Horse | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Paulus Potter A Closer Look Paulus Potter has chosen a handsome spotted horse as central to this painting. What visual devices does he use to bring attention to the horse? Look at the various textures...

Wild West | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Emil Armin A Closer Look Emil Armin produces a sense of depth in Wild West by changing the values of his colors. One way to change the value of a color is to mix in its complement, its opposite on the...

Winter Horse Raiding Episode | Artopia

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Grades: 6 7 8

Moses Old Bull A Closer Look A shape is a two-dimensional representation of an object showing its width and length. The outline of a figure is called a skeletal shape. Geometric shapes use straight...