Possible Classroom Concepts: Science – Rain
Literature – Poetry
Art Concepts: Art History – Claude Monet
“Singing in the Rain” was a famous song and movie, but did you know there was an artist famous for “Painting in the Rain!”? In the 1870’s, the paint tube was invented. Before this, artists mixed pigments into a liquid medium to freshly create their paints for each color and use. Their studios were like scientific laboratories (not very portable). This new tube freed up the French Impressionist artists to go outdoors and paint.
Impressionist, Claude Monet, became famous for painting outdoors at all times of day in all sorts of weather.
Here are some of his rain paintings:
“Cliffs at Pourville – Rain
“Belle Ile – Rain Effect”
A Blue Butterfly, A Story about Claude Monet by Bijou Le Tord is a delightful little picture book. The author uses poetry to chronicle Monet’s painting adventures outdoors. The illustrations are painted in the artist’s brushwork style. Some of the illustrations look a lot like Monet’s actual paintings. It might be fun to match painting reproductions to their illustration twins.
Visit here to find five ways to go “Painting in the Rain!” yourself:
Have a Blast!