Download LEARNING WITH ART using the Inquiry- and Object

LEARNING WITH ART
using the
Inquiry- and Object-based
Approach
Examining Sculpture
In Ancient Rome
“The Art of History”
By Dave Barr for the MoMA MOOC – Art & Inquiry
BASIC INFORMATION
1. Subject Area: The Arts (Ontario Curriculum)
2. Intended grade level range: 9 - 10
3. Artwork Selection: see images below
4. Artwork Title: Bust of Tiberius [Royal Ontario Museum 939.17.22]
5. Artist: Unknown
6. Date: AD 14-37 Reign of Tiberius
7. Materials: Marble
THE BIG IDEA (broad, universal):
A portrait reveals truths about both...
The artist and her art,
and
The subject
THEME:
IDENTITY:
art reveals personality
and history
(historical personalities are revealed
in the art of portraiture)
Based on the Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: The Arts, 2010 (revised)
-developing aesthetic awareness; constructing and analysing art works, with a
focus on analysing and communicating the meaning of the work; understanding
cultural traditions and innovations; creating and interpreting art works on their
own
TOPIC:
The Emperor in Ancient Rome
A complex society
A strong leader
A central role for art
OUR OBJECT:
A Bust of The Emperor Tiberius
Artist unknown 14 – 37 AD
Gallery of Ancient Rome
at the
Royal Ontario Museum
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will:
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be able to approach any work of art as an exercise in inquiry
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be able to create multi-media works that express their learning
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realize that creation of a historical portrait is a special kind of art, a
work usually commissioned by a patron
realize that the artist creating a commissioned portrait will strive to
create an accurate likeness as well as to capture the personality of
the subject
realize that the artist faces competing objectives: pleasing the
patron vs. pleasing herself - the result may be features more
flattering than reality together with subtle expressions of disapproval
realize that historical portraiture is always constrained by the
available technologies and prevailing esthetic tastes of the age
realize that historical portraiture often demonstrates the ravages of
time as well as the original intentions of the artist and the patron
LOOKING
Spend some time just looking at the work. Walk all around it to see it from every side.
CLOSE LOOKING
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Take a sheet of typing paper and role it into a tube
Use a rubber band around the tube to keep the paper
rolled
Make tubes of various sizes, ranging from about 1 inch
in diameter to about 3 inches in diameter
Use the tube like a telescope to zero in on various
features of the work – don't touch the sculpture with
the paper
Describe what you see through the tube
Conceptual Framing of the Object:
OPEN-ENDED
DISCOVERY
QUESTIONS
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Why do you think the sculptor created this bust of the
Roman Emperor, Tiberius?
How can you interpret the expression on Tiberius' face?
How much do you think this work looks like the emperor
himself?
What roles do you think artists might have played in
ancient Rome?
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What do you think is the artist's opinion of Tiberius?
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What do you think is Tiberius' opinion of the artist?
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What might have been the history of this work?
CRITICAL FACTUAL MATERIAL
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In ancient Rome they had no cameras, and most
portrait paintings were stylized and unrealistic
Virtually all ancient Roman statues were painted
before being put on public display
They had access to only a few pigments for painting;
these included red (cinnabar), Egyptian blue (copper
oxide), white (lead oxide) and brown (ochre); Tyrian
purple was very expensive and used mostly for the
robes of royalty
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the
Roman State during the imperial period (starting at
about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for
the office although at any given time, a given title
was associated with the emperor. If a man was
"proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was
proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator
(from which English emperor ultimately derives).
Several other titles and offices were regularly
accumulated by emperors, such as caesar,
princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The
power of emperors was generally based on the
accumulation of powers from republican offices and
the support of the army.
The strengths of Roman sculpture are in
portraiture, where they were less concerned with
the ideal than the Greeks or Ancient Egyptians,
and produced many very characterful works, and
in narrative relief scenes. Examples of Roman
sculpture are abundantly preserved, in total
contrast to Roman painting, which was very
widely practiced but has almost all been lost.
Latin and some Greek authors, particularly
Pliny the Elder in Book 34 of his Natural History,
describe statues, and a few of these descriptions
match extant works. While a great deal of Roman
sculpture survives more or less intact, it is often
damaged or fragmentary.
A native Italian style can be seen in the tomb
monuments of prosperous middle-class Romans,
which very often featured portrait busts, and
portraiture is arguably the main strength of Roman
sculpture. There are no survivals from the tradition
of masks of ancestors that were worn in
processions at the funerals of the great families
and otherwise displayed in the home, but many of
the busts that survive must represent ancestral
figures, perhaps from the large family tombs like
the Tomb of the Scipios or the later mausolea
outside the city. The famous bronze head
supposedly of Lucius Junius Brutus is very
variously dated, but taken as a very rare survival
of Italic style under the Republic, in the preferred
medium of bronze.[4] Similarly stern and forceful
heads are seen in the coins of the consuls, and in
the Imperial period coins as well as busts sent
around the Empire to be placed in the basilicas of
provincial cities were the main visual form of
imperial propaganda; even Londinium had a nearcolossal statue of Nero, though far smaller than
the 30 metre high Colossus of Nero in Rome, now
lost.[5] The Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker, a
successful freedman (c. 50-20 BC) has a frieze
that is an unusually large example of the
"plebeian" style.[6]
[All factual material drawn from Wikipedia]
ACTIVITY #1 – Art making
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Using crayon pencils, color a black-and-white drawing
of Emperor Tiberius to show what it might have looked
like originally
Use only the colors available to ancient Roman artists
ACTIVITY #1 (cont'd.)
Print a copy of this sheet for every student
ACTIVITY #2a – Role play
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Students take turns playing Tiberius and a reporter
interviewing him
The scene is unscripted; questions draw out Tiberius'
personality and attitude toward art
A third student uses an iPad to video record the
interview and post it to YouTube
ACTIVITY #2b – Role play
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Students take turns playing Tiberius (seated) and a
citizen come to request a favor (kneeling)
The scene is unscripted; the citizen's requests draw
out Tiberius' personality and attitude toward his
subjects
A third student uses an iPad to video record this
audience with the emperor and post it to YouTube
This guide is an example of the use of objectbased and inquiry based exploration of
historical art.
The guide is released as an open educational
resource and may be freely copied and modified
to suit specific teaching requirements.
It should be possible to modify the general
approach adopted here for use with any type of
portrait, whether 2- or 3-dimensional.
Creative Commons Share/Attribution License