One of Picasso's most recognizable painting is his rendering of the devastation that wrecked the lives of commonfolk after the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, during World War II. "Guernica" evokes a wide range of emotions in onlookers.
Design an interactive bulletin board for middle school-age or older students featuring "Guernica." Display a large print of "Guernica" in the center of the board lined in dark blue paper. Label the board "Guernica-Pablo Picasso" at the top.
Staple the words "What emotions do you feel?" across the bottom of the board. Along each side of the print, hang a marker from a string. Staple white notecards surrounding the print of "Guernica." Invite students to observe the pain, strife and hope depicted in the painting. They may write one word describing an emotion stirred in them after looking at "Guernica."
Color is often associated with mood and emotion. April Odom of West Missouri State University writes that various colors bring out consistent moods in people. For example, red commonly evokes feelings of excitement and energy. Green brings about a sense of peace and serenity.
Pablo Picasso's life moved through various phases represented in his artwork. Create a bulletin board offering a study of the use of color in Picasso's works for a middle school setting or older.
Line a bulletin board in green paper and staple the words "The Emotionality of Color" across the top. Print several of Picasso's works from his blue phase such as, "The Portrait of Jaime Sabartes" and "The Absinthe Drinker." Group them together in one corner of the board. Print several of Picasso's works from his rose phase such as, "Boy with Pipe" and "The Actor. " Group them together in another corner.
Staple a color wheel in the left-center of the board. Label "excitement" on red, "distress" on orange, "cheerfulness" on yellow, "serenity" on green and "security" on blue. To the right of center, staple a boldly colored work of Picasso's such as "Musician." Staple the question "What do colors make you feel?" along the bottom of the board.
Born in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso made his home in a variety of locations throughout Western Europe. He settled for years in Paris, France, and later moved to Gosol, Spain, then lived for a time in Rome, Italy.
Label a bulletin board for any age school setting with a quote from Picasso. Of all the locations he once called home, Picasso said, “If one were to trace a line linking all of the places where I’ve lived in my life, one might end up with the drawing of the Minotaur.” Staple this quote in black letters to the top of a bulletin board lined in light blue. Staple a print of "The Minotaur" to the right of center on the board. To the left of center, staple a laminated map of the United States or, optionally, of the state the school is located.
Staple the question, "Where have you lived?" in black letters below the map. Hang an erasable marker next to the map. Encourage students to make a dot indicating where they have lived. Students may connect the dots if a design is seen.
In his work "The Minotauromachy in All Its States," Picasso created a series of nine sketches, each sketch depicting a bull. The first bull looks very realistic while each subsequent sketch of the bull leaves out increasingly more detail. The last of the nine sketches is a bull reduced to a few simple lines.
Line a bulletin board for any age school setting in black paper. Staple the name of the work "The Minotauromachy in All Its States-Pablo Picasso" in white letters across the top of the board. Staple a print of the series of nine sketches on the bulletin board.
Across the bottom of the bulletin board, staple the question in white letters "Can you simplify your art too?"