200 Years of Art History Web Quest

An exploration in "recent" art history.

A web quest for 7th Grade

To be able to fully appreciate what we do in Art, we must first have a sense of the context within which our pieces are made.  In other words, If we don't understand what came before us, we don't understand why we do what we do.

During this web quest, students will visit several pages on the Webmuseum, Paris web site, which is hosted by The Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world.  On these pages, students will view a selection of works by famous artists and read short biographies about them. 

1.  Getting to the Webmuseum Artist Index:

            --Go to my website at http://www.muskopf.org

            --Click LINKS

            --Scroll down to the Art Education Resources link entitled Webmuseum, Paris

            --Click and you will be taken to the Artist Index.

2.  On this page, students need to browse the pages for the artists listed below.  While doing    so, take notes on what you like and dislike.  These are listed in no particular order.

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3.  Using your notes as a reference, pick 3 artists whose works you liked and three you didn't care for.

4.  Write a short paper (two pages) telling me about the artist you liked, didn't like, and WHY YOU FELT THAT WAY!  Arrange your paper in this manner:

Section 1 (introduction):  Tell the reader you visited the Webmuseum web site and looked at the work of many artists.  Indicate that you are writing a paper which will reflect your responses to these artists and their artworks, both positive and negative.

Section 2:  Tell the reader about artists and artworks you liked.  Be specific.  Cite individual paintings and tell what was good about them.  Be sure to explain why you liked them.

Section 3:  Tell the reader about artists and artworks you did not like.  Be specific.  Cite individual paintings and tell what was good about them.  Be sure to explain why you liked them.

Section 4 (reflection):  Tell the reader what you have learned from looking at these artworks.  What does all of this mean to you?  How will this exploration influence what you will try to accomplish in your own art?  Are there things that you didn't know existed which you were exposed to?  What was it that impacted you the most?

Section 5 (conclusion):  Wrap it up and bring it to a close.  "Tell them what you told them" is what my English teacher used to say.

We are only using one source for this exercise, the Webmuseum, Paris web site.  The artist index we will be accessing is located at:

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/

Other sources for further exploration are available on my web site via the Links page.

http://www.muskopf.org/links.htm/

It is important in this exercise to take time and actually LOOK at the artworks presented.  Merely skimming the works may not give you enough information to form a judgment.

For those artists who you feel strongly about, either way, I would encourage you to take the time to read the biographies of these artists fully.  This will help your appreciation of those you like and may help you to understand those you found difficult.

Your exploration will culminate in the writing of a paper based on your research.  This will count as a project grade.  The rubric below will be used to grade your work.

On a final page, I'd like you to cite the sources you used in developing your paper.  Use this guide to help you with citing sources:

Mr. Muskopf's Quick Guide to Citing Online References