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Amedeo Modigliani
(Italian, 1884-1920)
The Servant Girl, ca. 1918
Oil on canvas, 60 x 24"
Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1939
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LESSON PLAN: EXPRESS YOURSELF!
This lesson plan is based on the themes of self-expression
and communication.
Please read it all the way through before beginning. The student worksheet on
the final page and the reproduction of Amedeo Modigliani's painting The Servant
Girl are for you to copy for your students. Please read through the entire
lesson plan before you begin. It includes
INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER
(Don't share it with the class until the end of the lesson!)
The painting style of Amedeo Modigliani (ah-muh-DAY-oh
mo-dee-lee-AH-nee) is very recognizable: figures are characterized by the
elongation of the neck, the oval shape of the head, and the graceful lines of
the body. Settings are sparse, as can be seen in the background of this painting;
there is just a hint of a room with a tile floor and blue-gray walls.
The title of the painting identifies this anonymous woman
as a servant, and everything about the composition emphasizes that role. She
wears a dark dress with a white collar, plain shoes, and a modest hair style.
She stands with her head tilted and hands folded, as if waiting patiently for
instructions. Her placement in a corner further emphasizes her subservience.
Her eyes are blank, which takes away her individuality and personality; the
fact that they were painted in one of the colors found in the wall is perhaps
also significant.
In spite of her role in society, however, there is a certain
dignity to her figure. Modigliani achieved this sense of quiet nobility through
the use of color and line to unify the composition. The curved lines and repeated
and overlapping oval shapes create a gentle rhythm that gives the servant girl
a certain softness and grace. The colors are also subtly expressive, with blues
and grays accented by the white of the collar, the red of the floor, and the
golden glow of her skin.
ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION TO DO PRIOR TO
SHOWING STUDENTS THE PAINTING
- Before you discuss the painting with the class, use
the worksheet as a homework assignment. Have the students take home their
copies of the painting and the worksheet. In class the next day, have them
share their family's observations and questions.
- Discuss emotions and the different ways in which they
are expressed. A fun activity is to have students take turns covering their
faces and try to express an emotion using only body language. Ask the other
students to guess which emotion is being acted out.
- Use the transparency to look at Modigliani's painting
together. Ask your students to stand in the pose of the girl. Make sure everything
is exact, including the position of the feet, hands, and head. Ask them how,
based on her body language, they think she might feel.
- Discuss the colors the artist used for the painting.
Do they add to the mood? What if Modigliani had painted her dress red and
her apron yellow? Would that change the mood of the painting?
- After this discussion, have the students try to answer
the questions that their families asked in #5 on the worksheet. You could
also make a simple newsletter about the answers to send home with the students.
ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION TO DO WHILE
LOOKING AT THE PAINTING
- One of the first things that many students notice about
The Servant Girl is her blank eyes. How does the way the artist painted
them reflect her position in the world and her role in life?
- Remind students of the activity in which they expressed
emotions with their bodies. Repeat the activity, but this time have them stand
perfectly still and express themselves only with their faces. Ask the rest
of the class to guess the emotion! Then, ask them to use only their eyes!
- Discuss phrases that have to do with eyes and what the
students think they might mean. (For example, "Look me in the eye when I'm
talking to you?")
- The class has previously discussed the use of color
in Modigliani's work. Discuss with the class how colors are used in our society.
What do they associate with the color red (stop signs, warning signs, fire
engines, etc.)? What do they think of when they see yellow? Talk about color
phrases: "green with envy," someone feeling "blue," or the music called "the
blues," "seeing red," and so on.
- Give the students paper and crayons or markers. Ask
them to choose an emotion and express it only with colors. Then have them
choose a second emotion and represent it only with lines. Have the rest of
the class guess which emotions they are representing. (REMEMBER: color interpretation
is a very personal thing! Anything is correct!)
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