Renaissance, Altarpiece, Linear perspective, Classicism, Northern Renaissance, Academy, History painting, Visual literacy
Art and design
- Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
- Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms
- Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
- Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
Art and design
- Look at and talk about the work of artists, designers and craftsworkers from their own and other cultures; appreciate methods used in the resource materials and use their appreciation to stimulate personal ideas and engage with informed art making
- Develop their understanding of the visual elements of colour, tone, line, shape, form, space, texture and pattern to communicate their ideas
- Evaluate their own and others’ work and how it was made, explain and share their ideas, discuss difficulties and review and modify work to find solutions
Art and design
- I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts (EXA 2-03a)
- Through observing and recording from my experiences across the curriculum, I can create images and objects which show my awareness and recognition of detail (EXA 2-04a)
- Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design (EXA 2-05a)
- I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others' work (EXA 2-07a)
Art and design
- Describe and make comparisons between their own work and that of others
- Experiment with and examine the methods used by other artists from different periods, places and cultures
- Evaluate the methods and results of their own work and that of their fellow pupils
- Pupils should be stimulated and inspired by: other artists; methods and processes; media; styles; ideas
- Explore, experiment with and apply the elements of the visual, tactile and sensory language of art, craft and design which include: line, tone, colour, pattern, texture, shape and form
Expressive Arts
Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.
Progression step 3:
- I can explore the effects that a range of creative techniques, materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies have on my own and others' creative work.
- I can explore how creative work can represent, document, share and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.
- I can explore and describe how artists and creative work communicate mood, feelings and ideas and the impact they have on an audience.
Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.
Progression step 3:
- I can give and consider constructive feedback about my own creative work and that of others, reflecting on it and making improvements where necessary.
- I can apply knowledge and understanding of context, and make connections between my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.
- I can reflect upon how artists have achieved effects or communicated moods, emotions and ideas in their work.
This is one of the lessons in The Superpower of Looking on history paintings. It focuses on Jan Gossaert's The Adoration of the Kings, painted between 1510 and 1515.
These resources are also in the history theme:
To teach this lesson, download the teachers' notes on a separate device, screen or print them off. Have this webpage open on your screen or whiteboard and use the prompts in the teachers' notes to guide your students through the lesson.
History paintings relate important stories and – perhaps confusingly – the category includes religious and mythological stories alongside historical scenes. Often these works contain an important message and the size of the work (its scale) can be significant as a result. This is the case for the large religious painting in this lesson.
The Adoration of the Kings (1510–1515)
Jan Gossaert (c.1478–1532)
Medium: oil on oak
Dimensions: H 177.2 x W 161.8 cm
This large painting illustrates the Biblical story of the three kings (also known as the wise men or magi) who came to worship the newly born Jesus and to give him their gifts.
According to the Bible, they had travelled a long way, following a mysterious star from the east that eventually led them to the stable in Bethlehem where Christ was born. His parents, Mary and Joseph, had not been able to find a room in an inn.
In Gossaert's scene, the stable has been substituted for a palace, now in ruins. Two shepherds are also looking on in the background, and beyond them, an angel sent by God is telling shepherds about the birth of Christ too.
Jan Gossaert was a French-speaking artist from the Low Countries. He was one of the first Northern European Renaissance artists to visit Italy and was employed by a range of royal and noble families. Across Europe during the Renaissance, new techniques in oil painting had been developed to such a degree that every texture and minute detail could be painted in the most astonishing way.
Gossaert seems to have painted this altarpiece between 1510 and 1515 for the church of St Adrian at Geraardsbergen in East Flanders (which is in Belgium today). It is said that the church had a piece of clothing belonging to one of the three kings in its possession in 1519, so this may be why Gossaert painted the kings' clothing in such rich detail.
On King Baltazar's crown, the signature of the artist can be seen. Text also appears in several other places within the painting. In blue at the bottom of Baltazar's scarf is written the start of a prayer. There is writing on the scroll held by the angel in green on the left which translates to 'glory to God in the highest'. Finally, on the lid of the chalice of myrrh at the Virgin's feet presented by King Caspar, his name is written.
Open a full-screen version of the zoomable image in a new window.
Ask your students to describe the artwork, encouraging them to simply say what they can see.
You can start by showing the whole image, and then use the zoom feature to explore details of the painting. Or you might like to start by using the zoom feature to show a detail from the image, and then zoom out to see more.
Encourage your students to look carefully – this is their superpower! It's best to not give too much background information about the artwork at this stage, so students can develop their own ideas and opinions.
An audio description of the painting is available. It is accompanied by a full written transcript which can also be used to describe the painting.
Now when looking at the painting, ask more specific ('nudge') questions:
Now we can start to explore the 'elements' of the painting.
For this artwork, you will focus on:
Ask your students to evidence their points:
You can introduce knowledge from the contextual background for teachers while asking these bespoke questions with helpful responses which can be found in the teachers' notes.
You can find out more about The Superpower of Looking SEND/ASD/ALN/ASN approach on the Superpower homepage.
Now it's time to explore the artwork in different ways. This list of sensory activities encourages students to apply their learning and can suit a variety of learning needs.
Make
We suggest creative activities for all learners, including a tactile option to support students with vision impairment: these activities explore the tactile qualities of materials or involve gestural mark-making to further explore the artwork.
Experience
Communicate
Ask your students to:
Congratulations!
You have now completed this lesson resource on The Superpower of Looking.
There are more resources in this theme to try – have a look at the 'next lessons' section below.
