October 23, 2010 – A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Curriculum connections: Visual Arts, Language Arts, World History, Geography, Civics and Government

Workshop of Frans Geubels (1560), The Birth of Romulus and Remus, in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Explore how works of art tell stories, from the single image that captures the key moment of a narrative to the series of scenes which tells the whole tale.  Unlock the secrets of symbols used throughout the ages, and discover the clever ways in which artists wordlessly create atmosphere and emotion, focusing our attention on what is important. Using the Renaissance tapestries featured in the exhibition Threads of Gold and works of art in the permanent collection, learn how to look carefully and critically at images made in any period, from panel paintings to billboards. 

December 4, 2010 – The Artist’s Toolbox
Curricular connections: Visual Arts, Language Arts, World History, Geography

Looking at works of art in the permanent collection, examine artistic processes in the 17^th through 20^th centuries and investigate the artist’s toolbox. Focusing on compositional elements such as line, color, and shape, examine how artists execute representational and nonrepresentational subject matter. Through a series of comparisons, explore how artists throughout history depict similar subject matter in radically different ways and understand that not every work of art includes a narrative. 

Joseph Albers, Orange from the series Homage to the Square, 1970, MF83.23

February 26, 2011 – Art in Bloom
Curricular connections: Visual Arts, Language Arts, World History, Geography, Science, American History

Design by Basil Besler (1561-1628), Large Sunflowers (Flos Solis Maior), in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Using the botanical illustrations included in the exhibition Gardens in Perpetual Bloom and works of art in the permanent collection, discover the many roles plants played in history. Traditionally medicine was made from plants and the cultivation of exotic plants in Europe indicated the exploration of new continents. World exploration led to an increase in documentation and classification of plants in an attempt to understand the natural world. The natural world and documentation of nature inspired artists working in many media. Gardening became a popular hobby and united the scientific and artistic interests in nature. During “Art in Bloom” learn about various purposes for plants throughout history, but also about Sarasota’s great women gardeners.

April 9, 2011 – Crosscurrents of Design: Asian Export Ceramics
Curriculum Connections: World History, Geography, Economics, Language Arts, Social Studies, Visual Arts, Cultural Studies

When Europeans “discovered” sea routes to Asia in the early 16^th century, Asia was already home to advanced cultures, as evidenced by the ceramics produced in many of its countries. This new demand for Asian ceramics in Europe changed long-standing patterns of trade, and even changed the nature of the ceramics themselves. The program will focus on the intersections of Asia and the West, particularly Europe, the economics of trade and its impacts in the 15^th through 19^th centuries, and the cultural meanings of symbols. Explore history, economics, and fine arts in a complex set of comparisons that reveal underlying cultural characteristics.

Chinese, late 17th‑early 18th century, Dutch Family at Table, SN11122.187