Download FAME Fine Arts Mini Experience

FAME
Fine Arts Mini Experience
Le Billet Doux
by
Jean Honore Fragonard
Musetta’s Waltz
(from LA BOHEME)
by
Giacomo Puccini
Fine Arts
Music
Art
Literature
Dance
Art is
made up
of lines,
color,
light &
shadow,
and
texture
Music consists of:
Melody
rhythm
harmony
dynamics
Introduction
Today we are going to discuss opposites. What is the
opposite of tall? (short) Opposite of happy? (sad) What is the
art element we have discussed in FAME that contains two
opposites? (LIGHT & SHADOW). Today we will be discussing
how the contrast of LIGHT & SHADOW in art can be similar to
the contrast of happiness and sadness in music and in our
own lives.
If a composer (a person who writes music) wanted to let you
know his/her feelings in a way other than showing them with a
smile or a frown, how could he/she do that? (Write music
about them.)
Our artist, Jean Honore Fragonard, liked to use both light and
shadow in his paintings, just as Puccini liked to use both
happy, light music along with sadder, darker, or heavier music
in his opera, LA Boheme.
•
Le Billet Doux
(The Love
Letter)
•
•
•
•
By
•
Jean Honore
Fragonard
The Rococo
Period favored
pastels including
pale pinks,
blues, and
greens. White
with gold and
silver was used
to set off the
delicate colors.
•
•
1732-1806
•
Born in Grasse, France (city of
perfume)
Moved to Paris as a small child
Began painting at the age of 15
Attended art school
Enjoyed painting landscapes,
portraits and women
Painting came extremely easy to
him. He painted fast in the
rococo style that was popular at
the time
1768, he married and had two
children. After marriage, his
paintings portrayed the
tenderness of home life, children,
domestic and country scenes,
often using his family as models.
He lost his Louvre position and
lost his pension because of the
French Revolution.
Died penniless and forgotten for
100 years.
Le Billet Doux
The golden glow from the
window, bathes the room
in light and highlights the
lady’s elegant lace cap,
accentuating her white
skin.
Do you want to reach out
and touch her silky dress
or pet her dog?
Even the shadows are
warm brown – not grey!
Notice the Rococo carving
on the lady’s writing desk.
Who wrote the letter?
Who is the lady looking
at? What does the
message say?
The English title for this
painting is The Love
Letter!
Do you think this lady is
poor or wealthy? Why?
The Rococo
Period
The people in
Fragonard’s day loved
ornate clothes, furniture,
and love. In fact, they
often carved and
painted little Cupids on
their walls and furniture.
What is fancy, expensive
looking, and rococo in
Le Billet doux? (The
lace and satin on the
woman’s dress and hat,
the velvet stool, the
carved furniture, velvet
drapes).
All the wealthy, people
wanted to have their
pictures painted and
didn’t have a lot to do.
The servants for these
rich people worked from
dawn till dark.
“The
Confession of
Love”
Notice the light
coming
through the
clouds. Venus
(goddess of
love) and her
son, Cupid are
painted into
this picture.
They are a
symbol of love.
The dog is a
symbol of
fidelity.
Cupid
This tricky little
guy does
something
especially nice
with his bow and
arrow. Do you
know what it is?
If I was Cupid, and
I pointed this
arrow at two
people, they would
fall in love whether
they wanted to or
not!
Connection
between
the artist
and
composer
Our artist, Jean Honore Fragonard, liked to use both
light and shadow in his paintings, just as Composer
Puccini liked to use both happy, light music along with
sadder, darker, or heavier music in his opera, LA
Boheme. Opera is a form of music where actors sing
instead of talk.
If a composer (a person who writes music) wanted to
let you know his/her feelings in a way other than
showing them with a smile or a frown, how could
he/she do that? (Write music about them.)
•
•
•
Giocomo
Puccini
•
•
•
•
•
1858-1924
•
Born in Lucca, Italy
He came from a family of well-known
musicians
As a young man, he created mischief. One
time he and his friends removed some of
the church organ pipes and sold them to
buy candy! The next time the organ was
played, they tried to sing extra loud when
the missing notes were played!
He was very poor early in his career,
eating mainly soup and beans
Writing operas became his life’s work
Popularity followed him and he became
wealthy, living an extravagant lifestyle.
He loved fast riding, first on a bicycle, then
in cars, and finally in speedboats. A car
accident left him with a lifelong limp. He
wrote MADAME BUTTERFLY while he was
laid up for eight months from this injury.
Once his rivals paid a crowd to interrupt
his performance with booing. He did not
let this stop him.
He died from cancer, a multimillionaire,
leaving a huge estate to his wife and son.
LA BOHEME
(La Bow-EM)
LA BOHEME was based on a book called Scenes from Bohemian Life
which contains scenes of the young painters and poets called Bohemians
(French for “gypsy”) who lived in Paris.
In contrast to Fragonard’s carefree style of painting, LA BOHEME tells the
story of poverty and ill health. There are two interwoven love stories and
the opera shows the moods and passions of its characters.
There are lovers’ quarrels, dancing and dueling, and a tragic death scene
where the weak and dying Mimi is carried to Rodolfo’s Bohemian attic to
die in his arms.
Musetta’s
Waltz
From
LA
BOHEME
Story line: Marcello (Mar-CHELL-o) and Rodolfo (Row-DOLF-o), two young
Bohemian artists, take Mimi, a little seamstress who is very ill, out one
evening to an outdoor café to bring a little joy into her life. Marcello’s old
girlfriend, Musetta, is there. Even though her romance with Marcello has
broken up, he looks pretty good to her, and she decides she wants him back.
So she sings a song, Musetta’s Waltz, to make him notice her.
Music composition: You will hear a pretty melody sung by Musetta. As you
listen, I will tell you what the words are in English. Musetta’s song tells about
how gorgeous she thinks she is, and how all the men stare at her because
she’s so beautiful. She says:
When I walk out
Alone along the street
All the people stop and stare
And seek out my beauty from top to toe.
However, Puccini wanted more than just a pretty single voice singing a
melody. He wanted to add other voices singing in harmony to make the
piece sound more interesting.