The Magic of the Glass

The Art of Marc Chagall

My second graders will be studying the Russian artist Marc Chagall. Kids love his colorful paintings that are juxtapositions of fantasy and memories, often arranged in “impossible” compositions. Students also learn that religion played an important part in Chagall’s imagery. In our second activity, students will be looking at the stained glass artwork designed by Chagall. With higher-resolution images such as this one found at the Reims Cathedral, we will discuss items such as:

• Telling events of the Bible through imagery
• Use of color – dominant blue of background, contrasting with those of the main subjects
• How shape of the window affects the composition
• How the natural light coming through the window affects the artwork (vs. if on a canvass or paper)
• Why did churches put pictures in their window, anyways?
• Have you seen stained glass windows? How did it impact the feel of the building’s interior? How did it make you feel? If you saw the windows on both cloudy and sunny days, how did the window seem to change?
• Looking closer at the structure of the window, students will see the leaded black lines – the purpose and how Chagall tried to use the lines to add movement to the images.

Inquiry vs. Lecture

When looking at art, students are encouraged to inquire and make conjectures as to what they see, the reasons the artist might have done things a certain way, etc.. This tends to be much more engaging than simply telling kids what they are seeing and why. Leading questions may be asked in order to stimulate discussion, particularly focusing on certain aspects, particularly in the earlier stages of discussing about art .

Student Personal Response

Following the discussion, students will be making their own “stained glass” piece using black glue for the lines and markers for the color. Like Chagall, they may use a religious symbol/story important to them or other personally significant imagery.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Chagall – Reims Cathedral

Photo Credit: Carmen Escobar Carrio via Compfight cc