“Little Girl in a Blue Armchair” by Mary Cassatt
Early ES / Art
Art, Color, Emotion, Experience, Friendship
Read Dr Seuss’ book, My Many Colored Days. Discuss color and mood.
Present a segment of the print that shows the detail of the little girl. Crop or conceal so
that only her figure and the immediate surrounding is showing. Have this visible for
several days prior to seminar.
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Share as appropriate: The artist, Mary Cassatt was one of the few American artists
active with the nineteenth-century French impressionists. She was born in Pittsburgh,
and at the age of twenty-two Cassatt went abroad, studying “old master” paintings in
European museums.
In 1874 she settled permanently in Paris. She admired the painters of the time:
impressionists like Edgar Degas. Impressionists concentrate on a mood or an
impression of what is seen, rather than the details. When they paint, their goal is not to
have their paintings be realistic like a photograph, and show every detail accurately.
Their goal is to make you feel what it was like to be there. Some think that looking at an
impressionist painting is like looking at a landscape or an object while squinting.
Revisit vocabulary you have taught, that will help students talk about art. Be sure to
include shade, mood, light, shadow, as well as other terms as appropriate such as
Impressionism, composition and emphasis
Give each participant an envelope with various blue paint chips. Still looking only at the
detail of the little girl, have each participant decide on one shade of blue which best
describes either the mood of the painting, or the mood of the little girl, or the feeling of
the viewer when looking at the painting. Note the name of the shade of blue.
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 What shade of blue did you select? (round-robin response)
 Why did you choose that shade? (spontaneous discussion)
 Why is the little girl in the chair?
 How did the artist create the girl to be an important aspect of the painting?
Now show the full print
 Why did the artist choose to include the dog?
 Does the dog change the mood of the painting? How?
 If the artist used different colors, would the mood of the painting be
changed? How?
 Which shade of blue in your envelope best tells about you?
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Provide each student with an envelope, this time including a full palette of colors of paint
chips in addition to blue. Students each choose 2-3 colors that express the day they're
having.
What does color tell about us? After viewing the painting, “Little Girl in a Blue Armchair”
by Mary Cassatt, sketch yourself in a pose that is reflective of the day and add the
colors. Then write a paragraph/sentence that explains the day that you are having.
(LDC Task#:
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)
As a class, brainstorm a list of ideas (and words) that students can use to write about
moods and feelings. Post both the ideas and words on the class word wall or interactive
whiteboard for student use while writing.
If students need this scaffolding, provide a template with sentence starters for students
to use, for example:
I'm having a _____ (color) day because....
I'm feeling very _____ (color) today because ....
and the number of sentences you want them to write to fill out the paragraph.
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Have students draft their sketches and paragraphs. Assist students in transferring ideas
and words from the board to their paragraphs as needed.
Have students work in pairs, each reading their written paragraph to the other. The
listener should provide one compliment and one wish about the writing. (“I really like
how you wrote……; I wish you would tell more about……”)
After editing by the teacher, have students make corrections as appropriate.
Create a collection as a class book that features the students’ sketches and writing,
along with the colors they selected to represent themselves. Invite other classes from
the same grade level to view the anthology, and save it as a model to show students in
future years.
Wendy Ikoku
Providence Spring Elementary
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Mary_Cassatt__Little_Girl_in_a_Blue_Armchair_-_NGA_1983.1.18.jpg
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