Jan van Eyck
"The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini"
An exercise in art analysis,
interpretation, and written expression
Step 1:
In part one of this activity you will record your views on a painting by
Jan van Eyck
entitled, "The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini". Before viewing the
painting you will
make a T-chart. Label the left hand side of the chart "Words and
phrases which
describe the painting". Label the right hand side "My opinion: key words
and phrases".
Step 2:
An image of the Arnolfini painting will be projected on the screen or wall.
You will
have 20 minutes to complete your T-chart. I want your views to be
uncorrupted by the
views of anyone else, therefore the exercise must be completed in Strict
Silence.
Failure to follow these instructions will lead to disciplinary action.
Step 3:
The class will be divided into 3 groups. Group 1 will
create a T-chart and label the left
side "perspective key words and phrases" and the right side "examples of
perspective".
Group
2 will also create a T-chart. The left side of the chart
will be labelled "symbol"
and the right side will be labelled "what it symbolizes". The members
of group 2 will
then read "Meaning
through Symbols" and use the information to complete the chart.
Group
3 will also create a T-chart and label it using the same instructions
as group 2.
The members of group will then read an excerpt from Lisa Jardin's book
Worldly Goods and use the information
to complete their chart.
Step 4:
After completing Step 3 all students will complete the pre
writing activity using the
information in their chart.
Step 5:
Each student will use the information in the pre-writing activity to write
a paragraph.
Step 6:
Group activity: The groups created for this exercise will be composed
of one member
from each of the groups described in step 3. The groups will discuss
how their
paragraphs could be organized into an essay. Once they have organized
their
paragraphs they will develop transitions to link the paragraphs.
Finally, they will
discuss and write an introductory and concluding paragraph for their essay.
Additional resources:
Lamm and Cross. The Humanities in Western Culture, pp. 291-92