Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE Master Artist Rembrant can Rijn Issue

This guide was prepared by Betty Lou Askin, a retired elementary school principal from Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: pre-reading activities

• Make a list recording the information that the students already know about Rembrandt.
• Compare this list to the Fun Facts About Remrandt on page 1 of the issue.
• Look at the map on page 2. Find the same locations on a Map of the World.
• Read the quote on page 2 and ask the students to explain its meaning.

The authors of the articles have provided the students with content vocabulary throughout the magazine. Some other vocabulary is listed in this guide at the beginning of each section.

"Meet the Master" (pg. 3)

Questions for discussion or comprehension:

• Describe Rembrandt's education.
• Why did Rembrandt leave Leiden after working there for seven years?
• Why did the prosperity of Amsterdam help Rembrandt?
• Why did he join the guild? What was his hobby?
• Creative Writing - Pretend that you have just arrived in Amsterdam as an artist. Write to your family in Leiden informing them of your struggle to obtain work.

"Self-Portrait with Saskia" (pg. 4-5)

Vocabulary: austere, redemption, depiction, impending, pinnacle

After reading the article, discuss:

• Why did having your portrait painted indicate that you were wealthy?
• Why do you think that Rembrandt was interested in the parable of the Prodigal Son?
• What message might Rembrandt have wanted viewers to take from the painting of he and his wife?

"Breaking the Rules" (pg. 6-11)

Vocabulary: commissions, sustained, landscape, merchant class, genre, apex, anatomical, foreshortened, mythological, biblical, classical education, discus, irreparably, misnomer, oxidized, static, symbolic

Read the articles and use the following questions for discussion and comprehension:

Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolas Tulp

• What type of painting would have been preferred in Catholic countries?
• What sort of paintings was requested in Holland?
• How did a guild pay for a requested painting?
• Describe how Rembrandt improved group portraits.
• Why does the art of Rembrandt seem to tell a story?
• Why is the arrangement of people in the Anatomy Lesson better than in a school photograph?

Danae

• What style of painting helped support Rembrandt financially?
• What does "betraying Rembrandt's classical education," mean?
• Why did Acrisius lock away his only daughter?
• What was Zeus' reaction?
• Explain how the prediction became true?
• Describe two ways in which Rembrandt changed the theme in his paintings.
• How can we tell that Jupiter is just beyond the edge of the painting?

The Night Watch

• Why is the title of this painting not quite accurate?
• Why did Rembrandt choose narrative and action for this painting?
• Choose one figure in this painting to be you. How much would you have paid to be included in the painting?
• What is a symbolic figure?
• What symbolic figures did use in this painting?
• Describe how the captain shows action.
• How does the painting show organized chaos?
• Explain how parallel lines are used.

"The Making of an Oil Painting" (pg. 12-13)

Vocabulary: pigments

Use the following questions to help the students understand the various techniques used in oil painting:

• How are intense colors developed in the use of oils?
• Oils dry slowly. Explain how this is beneficial to an artist.
• Describe how a canvas is prepared.
• What does "cartoon" mean in oil painting?
• Explain how using a "cartoon" might help an artist with his final painting.
• What does imprimatura mean?
• Why is this technique used?
• Why is underpainting used?
• Why are cool colors used in underpainting?
• What were Rembrandt's favorite colors?
• What are translucent oils?
• Describe how texture is developed in an oil painting.

"The Golden Age of Dutch Art" (pg. 14-15)

Vocabulary: domination, republic, trade routes, crisscrossed, natural resources, porcelains, artisans

Use these questions to further student comprehension and understanding of the time period:

• Give two reasons why Amsterdam "sported a sea of masts".
• How did Dutch mapmakers help the trade industry?
• Explain how the thriving economy helped artists.