Teaching artist Tami Wood demonstrates how to analyze the artistic techniques used in a painting as well as the emotions evoked by a work of art using Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night as a template. 

Vocabulary You will Learn:

• Foreground - The front of a painting; the part that appears closest. 
• Concentric circles - Circles inside of circles. 
• Landscape - Scene of the outdoors.
• Perspective - The representation of 3-dimensional objects in 2-dimensional paintings. When objects are closer, they appear larger, and when they are further away, they appear smaller. 

Materials You will Need:

• A copy of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, or you can look at the one in the video

How to Analyze a Work of Art

1. First, take a look at Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night. You can find it at around 1:20 in the video if you don’t have your own copy. What do you notice? Look at the large, dark shape in the foreground of the painting. What does it remind you of? What do you think it might be? Trace the lines of the object with your finger, imagining you are Van Gogh painting it. 
2. Next, we’re going to learn about perspective. Van Gogh used perspective to make it look like the large, dark object is closer to the viewer, by painting it larger. You can experiment with perspective yourself by holding your hand closer to your face and then further away. Do you notice how your hand looks larger when it’s closer? 
3. What else do you notice in the front of the painting? You can see the homes of the village, and you can tell they are supposed to be further away because it is smaller. What kind of lines did Van Gogh use to paint those buildings? Again, trace the lines with your finger and imagine painting them. 
4. Do you notice one building that is different from the others - the church with a tall, triangle shaped steeple? Try making this shape with your body by spreading your legs wide and holding your arms together above your head.

5. Next, let’s look at the sky in the painting. What do you notice about the moon? What does it remind you of? What about the stars in the sky? Why do you think Van Gogh used concentric circles to paint them? How does this technique make them look? Trace them with your finger. 
6. What else do you notice about the sky? Do you see the big swirling lines across the sky? What do they remind you of? Some people think it represented the wind while others think Van Gogh used them to express his emotions. 
7. How does the painting make you feel? What different emotions does it evoke? There’s no right answer - you may even feel differently when looking at different parts of the painting. 
8. Now it’s your turn to be an artist! Find a window with a view of something that interests you. Notice what’s closest to you in the foreground and what’s furthest from you in the background. What kind of lines do you see - straight, wavy, curving? What colors do you see? If you could change anything about what you see, what would you change? How can you use colors and lines to express how you feel about what you see? Use your imagination as you draw or paint what you see!

In this video, Tami walks us through analyzing the artistic techniques used in Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. If you want to go even further, think about these questions: 

• Can you analyze another work of art using the skills you learned from this lesson? Take a look at a different painting, or even a picture in a book, and think about the techniques the artist used and the emotions it evokes in you. 
• When you create your own painting at the end of the lesson, can you use what you learned about perspective? How can you show which objects are closer to you and which are further away? Are there any other artistic techniques from this lesson that you can use in your drawing or painting?
• How can you infuse your own thoughts, emotions, and memories into your painting? What colors and shapes can you use to represent sadness, joy, calm, or anger? There’s no right answer - think about how certain colors and shapes make you feel, and how you can use them in your art.
• Can you ask a friend or family member to analyze the picture you created at the end of this lesson using the techniques used in the video? Ask them about what they notice about your picture, what it reminds them of, and what emotions it makes them feel. 

Accessibility

Don't forget that you can turn on "Closed Captioning" to view the YouTube video with English captions.

More about the Teaching Artist

Tami Wood is an art teacher and museum educator based in the New York City/Long Island area. Teaching in museums, libraries, and schools over the past twenty years, she has engaged children, families, and teens in conversations about the visual arts. As a teaching artist, Tami aims at developing visual literacy skills that inspire creativity and forge connections between personal experience and famous works of art. To learn more about Tami, visit her website at https://tamiwoodblog.wordpress.com/.

Kennedy Center Education provides resources and experiences that inspire, excite, and empower students and young artists, plus the tools and connections to help educators incorporate the arts into classrooms and learning spaces of all types.

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Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Genesis Inspiration Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

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