The following is by contributor Robin Zipporah of The Not-Ever-
Still Life. Last week I introduced this new series, Artists in
Residence. Are you excited to begin an earnest conversation with
your kids about art? Let’s go. Meet artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
May I present you two of his paintings: Photo by Wikipedia
Spring, 1573, Musee de Louvre, Paris. Photo by Wikipedia
Vertumnus, 1590-91, Skokloster Castle, Sweden. What do you see
here? Remember our first question: what do you see here? Ask
your kids that question and that’s it! You’re having a
conversation about art. You can discuss basic shapes such as
circles and ovals; visible colors; recognizable food and flora.
Now talk about shape. How is shape important to these paintings?
What is a shape? How do smaller shapes combine to form larger
ones? How does a pear also look so much like a nose? How do our
eyes see recognizable shapes in everyday objects? Can you find
examples around you? And don’t forget our second questions: what
else do you see? The takeaway: