Henri Matisse
October Lesson Plan for First Grade
Sculpture
Biographical information
How many of you have ever built a sandcastle or created something using legos? Did you realize that you were making a piece of art? Whether you realized it at the time or not, whenever you create something that is three dimensional you are creating a sculpture. A sculpture is three dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials such as stone, metal, glass, wood, plastic, or textiles.
Today we are going to be learning about one of the world’s most famous artists, Henri Matisse. Henri Matisse was born in France in 1869. His father sold seeds and grain and his mother was a dressmaker. At the age of 20 Henri was studying to be a lawyer when he became very sick. He ended up needing surgery and was confined to his bed for a long time. During this time, Henri’s mother gave him a box of paints and brushes to keep himself busy. When he recovered he discovered that he had a new passion for art and would pursue art school.
Throughout Matisse’s career he was known as a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor. He also created many works of art using the collage technique and crafted several stained glass pieces. Today we are going to be focusing on Matisse the Sculptor. Matisse created 82 sculptural works during his lifetime. Each sculpture was cast in a group of ten, except for one (Small Thin Torso), which was cast in a group of three.Casting is the process by which a material is placed into a mold and allowed to harden into a specific shape. Many of you have used this technique when you have packed sand into a sand bucket and then turned it upside down to make a castle.
Matisse used two main casting techniques, sand casting and lost wax, a technique that has existed since ancient times. In both techniques a mold is made and then a material such as bronze is poured into the mold. Once the material hardens, the mold is removed and the final product is displayed.
Matisse worked obsessively for years on three of his sculptures—Jaguar Devouring a Hare (1899-1901), The Serf (1900-03), and Large Seated Nude (1922-29)—far longer than for any single painting.
Most of Matisse’s works were cast towards the end of his life when there were more collectors who could afford to pay for his work. Today one of Matisse’s works of art can cost as much as 17 million dollars. To prevent further reproductions Matisse’s family destroyed the original plaster casts and molds for most of Matisse’s sculptures in the 1990s.
Today, Matisse is regarded, along with Pablo Picasso, as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, responsible for important developments in painting and sculpture.
Vocabulary Words
Sculptor - a person who creates three-dimensional works of art.
Three dimensional - an object that can be measured by length, width, and depth (or height), although any three mutually perpendicular directions can serve as the three dimensions.
Discussion Questions
Here are a few questions to ask the students while showing examples of Matisse’s works of art. Please scroll to end of document for artist examples.
What would you like to sculpt?
Why do you think Matisse chose to represent his figures in this manner?
What did he use to create his sculpture (clay, bronze, found objects, stone?)
Can you think of any sculptures that you have seen? (Mount Rushmore, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower)
Here are some questions to ask the students after they have completed their project. If time allows, they can even use their own works of art to answer the following.
What other things could you sculpt?
What other materials would you like to use to make a sculpture?
How did this project make them feel?
Basically a brief reflection on what they had created. This is designed to be a fun activity that introduces children to a new style of art.
Free Form Sculpture
Today each of you is going to become a sculptor. You will each be given a plate to use as the base of your sculpture and an assortment of pipe cleaners, straws, paper, beads and other craft supplies. By mixing these supplies you will each be able to create your own work of art.
Materials: Styrofoam plate, pipe cleaners (2-3 per student), straws, beads, and other supplied craft objects. One plastic bag per student to transport project home.
Read – A Bird or Two
Play –cd will be provided in supply kit
Demonstrate the lesson by following these step by step instructions, please remember to have the students put their name on the back of their plate.
- Turn the plate upside down and poke a few of the pipe cleaners into the plate.
- Bend the pipe cleaners into interesting shapes, you can connect them or leave them separate.
- Decorate the pipe cleaners with straws, paper, beads, etc. Bend the pipe cleaners to help keep the objects in place.
- Once the sculpture is complete, students may use crayons to color the plate (do not use markers, they will not dry fast enough on the Styrofoam).
Henri Matisse
Magadliene, I
Jeannette II