Colors - Mfas3
BUILDING BLOCKS OF ART:
COLOR
A R T C O N N E C T I O N S > Recommended for ages 6 and up
Colors are everywhere in the Museum—see how many you can find! The color wheel on this sheet will help you. Check off each color as you see it. Begin your search upstairs on Level 2 in Art of Europe.
Pigment Seller in North Africa
Check
the colors you find!
by Jean-Léon Gérôme (Gallery 253) Find this painting in the long narrow corridor gallery. Let your eyes wander over the surface of this painting. Look at all the different colors.
> Can you find red, yellow, and blue in this painting? Do you know why these colors are important? Red, yellow, and blue are known as the primary colors. All the other colors— except white and black—can be made by mixing these colors. This painting has a lot of brown. Brown is not on your color wheel, but you get brown when all three primary colors are mixed together. The man in this picture is making color! He is grinding some materials (maybe rocks, plants, or bugs) to produce pigment (colored powder).
> Which of his pigments is your favorite? Can you spot that color in other nearby paintings? Next, head to Gallery 255 to visit paintings made by the Impressionists. They were a group of painters who loved working with color.
After your visit C R E AT E Y O U R O W N COLORFUL STILL LIFE Draw or paint a picture of some objects in your house, maybe a bowl of fruit or a group of your favorite toys. What colors will you choose? See if you can use different shades and warm and cool colors. Hang your drawing up when you’re done! Share your designs with us! Upload your picture on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram, @mfaboston.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF ART: COLOR ART CONNECTIONS > Recommended for ages 6 and up
Made possible by Arthur R. Hilsinger and Barbara J. Janson.
Black River
by El Anatsui (Gallery 259)
This artwork is made from bottle tops and packaging, held together with copper wire. Each bottle top was flattened, sorted into colors, and then arranged to make this piece. Luckily, the artist El Anatsui has a team of assistants to help him! The artist uses the colors he finds on the bottle tops and wrappers.
> Which color is used the most? Look closely—what other colors can you see?
Fruit and a Jug on a Table by Paul Cézanne (Gallery 255)
Find this small painting in the gallery. Which fruits do you see? Which one would you like to eat? The artist, Paul Cézanne, used shades of color to make this fruit look real. A shade of a color is how light or dark it is. Look at the red apple in this painting. It has at least three different shades of red.
> Choose your favorite fruit. What color is it? How many different shades can you find? Cézanne used warm and cool colors. Red, yellow, and orange are warm colors. These colors grab your attention. Blue, green, and purple are cool colors. These colors tend to be quieter and less noticeable.
The artist arranges colors to create patterns. He is inspired by traditional weaving from Ghana, in Africa, called kente weaving. Look at the photo of the kente cloth on the wall label.
> What patterns do you see? Do you see similar patterns in El Anatsui’s work? Where?
> Where do you see warm and cool colors in this painting? FRONT: JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME, PIGMENT SELLER IN NORTH AFRICA, 1891. OIL ON CANVAS. ANONYMOUS COLLECTION. ON VIEW IN THE POLLY B. AND RICHARD D. HILL GALLERY. BACK: PAUL CÉZANNE, FRUIT AND A JUG ON A TABLE, ABOUT 1890–94. OIL ON CANVAS. BEQUEST OF JOHN T. SPAULDING. ON VIEW IN THE SIDNEY AND ESTHER RABB GALLERY. EL ANATSUI, BLACK RIVER, 2009. ALUMINUM, BOTTLE CAPS, AND COPPER WIRE. TOWLES FUND FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, ROBERT L. BEAL, ENID L. BEAL AND BRUCE A. BEAL ACQUISITION FUND, HENRY AND LOIS FOSTER CONTEMPORARY PURCHASE FUND, FRANK B. BEMIS FUND, AND FUNDS DONATED BY THE VANCE WALL FOUNDATION. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NY. ON VIEW IN THE RICHARD AND NANCY LUBIN GALLERY. ALL IMAGES © MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. © 2015 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.
COLOR
A R T C O N N E C T I O N S > Recommended for ages 6 and up
Colors are everywhere in the Museum—see how many you can find! The color wheel on this sheet will help you. Check off each color as you see it. Begin your search upstairs on Level 2 in Art of Europe.
Pigment Seller in North Africa
Check
the colors you find!
by Jean-Léon Gérôme (Gallery 253) Find this painting in the long narrow corridor gallery. Let your eyes wander over the surface of this painting. Look at all the different colors.
> Can you find red, yellow, and blue in this painting? Do you know why these colors are important? Red, yellow, and blue are known as the primary colors. All the other colors— except white and black—can be made by mixing these colors. This painting has a lot of brown. Brown is not on your color wheel, but you get brown when all three primary colors are mixed together. The man in this picture is making color! He is grinding some materials (maybe rocks, plants, or bugs) to produce pigment (colored powder).
> Which of his pigments is your favorite? Can you spot that color in other nearby paintings? Next, head to Gallery 255 to visit paintings made by the Impressionists. They were a group of painters who loved working with color.
After your visit C R E AT E Y O U R O W N COLORFUL STILL LIFE Draw or paint a picture of some objects in your house, maybe a bowl of fruit or a group of your favorite toys. What colors will you choose? See if you can use different shades and warm and cool colors. Hang your drawing up when you’re done! Share your designs with us! Upload your picture on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram, @mfaboston.
BUILDING BLOCKS OF ART: COLOR ART CONNECTIONS > Recommended for ages 6 and up
Made possible by Arthur R. Hilsinger and Barbara J. Janson.
Black River
by El Anatsui (Gallery 259)
This artwork is made from bottle tops and packaging, held together with copper wire. Each bottle top was flattened, sorted into colors, and then arranged to make this piece. Luckily, the artist El Anatsui has a team of assistants to help him! The artist uses the colors he finds on the bottle tops and wrappers.
> Which color is used the most? Look closely—what other colors can you see?
Fruit and a Jug on a Table by Paul Cézanne (Gallery 255)
Find this small painting in the gallery. Which fruits do you see? Which one would you like to eat? The artist, Paul Cézanne, used shades of color to make this fruit look real. A shade of a color is how light or dark it is. Look at the red apple in this painting. It has at least three different shades of red.
> Choose your favorite fruit. What color is it? How many different shades can you find? Cézanne used warm and cool colors. Red, yellow, and orange are warm colors. These colors grab your attention. Blue, green, and purple are cool colors. These colors tend to be quieter and less noticeable.
The artist arranges colors to create patterns. He is inspired by traditional weaving from Ghana, in Africa, called kente weaving. Look at the photo of the kente cloth on the wall label.
> What patterns do you see? Do you see similar patterns in El Anatsui’s work? Where?
> Where do you see warm and cool colors in this painting? FRONT: JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME, PIGMENT SELLER IN NORTH AFRICA, 1891. OIL ON CANVAS. ANONYMOUS COLLECTION. ON VIEW IN THE POLLY B. AND RICHARD D. HILL GALLERY. BACK: PAUL CÉZANNE, FRUIT AND A JUG ON A TABLE, ABOUT 1890–94. OIL ON CANVAS. BEQUEST OF JOHN T. SPAULDING. ON VIEW IN THE SIDNEY AND ESTHER RABB GALLERY. EL ANATSUI, BLACK RIVER, 2009. ALUMINUM, BOTTLE CAPS, AND COPPER WIRE. TOWLES FUND FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, ROBERT L. BEAL, ENID L. BEAL AND BRUCE A. BEAL ACQUISITION FUND, HENRY AND LOIS FOSTER CONTEMPORARY PURCHASE FUND, FRANK B. BEMIS FUND, AND FUNDS DONATED BY THE VANCE WALL FOUNDATION. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NY. ON VIEW IN THE RICHARD AND NANCY LUBIN GALLERY. ALL IMAGES © MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. © 2015 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.
