Kindergarten Expressionist Animals

Kindergarteners compared two very different pictures of cows by Franz Marc and Albert Cuyp. The students noticed that Franz Marc's painting (1911) features bright colors and that it is not very realistic. I introduced them to the term Expressionism and asked them what the painting expresses. They interpreted it as a happy painting because of the colors and the leaping cow.

We also looked at Albert Cuyp's Children and a Cow (1635). In contrast, the kindergarteners noticed that this was a more realistic painting, and that the artist seemed more interested in showing what was there and less interested in expressing feelings or experimenting with color. I explained to them that a long time ago, people expected paintings to look realistic, and this is the way that most artists painted. While there were artists who eventually started breaking the rules and experimenting to create art that was not realistic, for many artists, it was a tough path to choose.  Today, we learn to draw and paint in a realistic way, but we also value imagination and experimentation much more highly.

The kindergarteners chose their favorite animals and painted them with tempera paints in the Expressionist style. Here are some examples!