5th Grade Inspired by Marc Chagall

5th graders just finished an in-depth unit of study on Marc Chagall, a famous painter known for his dream-like paintings of love, workers, musicians, animals, and his many memories of childhood and village life.  Chagall arranged his memories in paintings that were slightly cubist in style, which means that he showed many different viewpoints and ideas on a single picture plane.  His paintings often look like a dream world with figures floating, forms dissolving and strong, vibrant colors inspired by emotions, not reality. 

For this project, 5th grade artists first learned about the art and life of Marc Chagall through storybooks based on his autobiography and discussion of his artwork.  Then, the students studied on of his famous paintings, Paris through the Window, and created their own mixed media (painting, paper, oil pastels, and digital photography) visual story story based on the same elements and principles of art demonstrated in Chagall's work.


5th Grade artists started their work of art with an abstract background like Chagall used in his painting.  To re-create the "shattered mirror" feeling of a Cubist painting, our students used a straight edge to divide the background of their artwork into many angles and planes.


Students used just the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and white to create unlimited colors for their background.  Sponges gave the perfect texture and look for the image!