Constable's Great Landscapes

I've been in meetings all day today promoting the film, Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good. But since I began blogging I have not skipped a week day, other than Yom Kippur, this past Monday. So, I'm going to post something.

The New York Times has an article entitled , Constable's Great Landscapes: The Six Foot Paintings. The article states:

Nothing about Constable was simple. Contemporaries like J. M. W. Turner easily matched his scale. But where Turner’s late paintings are sheer, seductive cloaks of color draped over history and myth, Constable’s are walls of organic matter, as mulchy and dense as the earth they depict. You don’t stroll into them; you dig your way in.

Lesson Ideas:
1. I don't know if it's the time of day in which I'm writing this article, but I'm aware of certain metaphorical language in the article. For example, "you dig your way in." Ask students to identify a metaphorical phrase from the article and explain what it means. You might have students do this in a blog. After students have written these meanings, ask other students to evaluate the first student's understanding.
2. Three questions that can be asked of any painting: 1. What is it a picture of? 2. What does the picture mean? 3. What meaning might this picture have for the viewer's life? You might faciliate a discussion within which students consider these questions about the picture posted above.
3. Ask students to imagine that they are inside of this painting. What would it feel like to exist within the painting. What feelings would they have? What thoughts would they have? (You could also ask students to develop dramatic presentations in which they answered these questions.)
4. Constable painted images of nature. Invite students to paint an image of nature.

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