Vincent Willem van Gogh
December Lesson Plan for Third Grade
Interior Designers
Biographical information
Vincent van Gogh (van GO) was born in the Netherlands on March 30, 1853. When he
was 27 years old, he taught himself how to paint. His brother, Theo, was an art dealer. He
recognized Vincent's talent and encouraged him and supported him financially. He also
introduced him to famous artists who influenced his early works.
In the beginning of van Gogh’s career as an Artist, he used mainly earth tones, which
gave his paintings a somber tone. However, as his art progressed, he used color and
visible brushstrokes to reflect his inner vision and emotional state. By manipulating line,
color, and spatial composition he was able to express his view of the world. Van Gogh’s
art was an expression of his intellect and imagination, and is very emotional.
When van Gogh moved to the south of France he was inspired by the more intense light,
which Van Gogh believed would help him see more truly and would more accurately
depict his inner vision. Van Gogh developed his distinctive style in Provence, which
included:
• exaggerated, intense color
• aggressive brushwork
• bold impasto paint application (thickly applied paint)
These techniques helped him show movement in paintings and sparked emotion.
Van Gogh produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and
1,100 drawings and sketches. Some say that during his lifetime he only sold one painting.
It is a fact though that he would trade paintings for art supplies, and the dealers sold some
of those paintings. He had no idea that he would become so famous, but after his death
people began to appreciate his work. One of his paintings sold for $82.5 million. That's
the most anyone has ever paid for a painting.
His life ended sadly in 1890, when at the age of 37, he died from complications of his
mental illness. Today, van Gogh is remembered for his landscapes, portraits, and
sunflowers—which are among the world's most recognizable and expensive works of art.
Show the students Van Gogh’s paintings of interiors, Bedroom at Arles and A Corridor in
the Asylum. Continue to the discussion portion of the lesson.
Direct the students to what specifically makes a space an interior space (walls, doors,
walls meet the floors represented with a line). Van Gogh’s use of color and implied
texture help to create a mood about each space.
Vocabulary Words
Depth perspective - is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions (3D)
and the distance of an object
Foreground – the part of a scene that is near the viewer
Background – the part of a scene or picture that lies behind items in the foreground
Interior Designer - person who specializes in designing architectural interiors and their
furnishings.
Discussion Questions (5-10 minutes)
Here are a few questions to ask the students while discussing Bedroom At Arles work of
art.
What room do you think this is?
Are there any clues the artist drew to tell whose bedroom this is?
Does the space feel welcoming and make you want to come in?
If the bed were blocking the whole foreground, would it feel as welcoming?
See how Vincent used perspective (the larger end of bed is closer, smaller is
farther away, the planes of wood on floor going back into space and overlapping
objects to create perspective?
Why do you think Van Gogh painted his bedspread bright yellow?
People who plan spaces for a living are called interior designers. Do you know an
interior designer?
Here are some questions to ask the students after they have completed their project. If
time allows, they can use their own works of art to answer the following.
How does your bedroom space feel?
Are there clues in your artwork for the viewer to know who lives in this space?
Basically a brief reflection on what they created. This is designed to be a fun activity that
allows students to tell a story about a special space of their own while connecting with a
famous work of art.
Bedroom Interior Project
Materials: 12 x 18” colored construction paper prepared in advance with fold and dots
and oil pastels. Students may wear their art smock if they would like.
Step One: Volunteers, please have the students follow your example while you
complete this step. Using an oil pastel, connect dots with straight horizontal or side-toside line (following fold if that helps) see photograph 4. Next draw line from dot to top
of paper, repeat with other dot. Next draw diagonal line from dot toward the closest
bottom corner of paper. Repeat with next dot. Please define the areas the students just
created by adding the lines: the paper has been transformed into two side-walls, a back
wall and a floor. They should use all of these spaces as they add details to the interior of
their bedroom. This could be their current bedroom or their dream room.
Step Two: Every room has to have a door and window somewhere to be safe, but we
might only see part of it from our view. Instruct them to draw their big necessary objects
first (bed, desk, dresser or closet, area carpet on ground or type of floor) using oil pastels.
Then place smaller personal objects that tell clues about who lives here. Is your room
going to be nice and neat or messy? Is anything hanging on the walls or doors? Can you
see out your window? Remind students to keep the space simple and don’t clutter with
too many objects.
Step Three: Using oil pastels, students can fill in the objects in the room and while
keeping things in perspective. Things closer to the viewer are larger and as they go back
in space get smaller. Remind them to allow objects to go off the edge of the paper to
create interest. Color objects in with short or long repeated lines similar to Van Gogh’s
style.
Step Four: Once students are finished drawing and coloring the objects they placed in
their rooms, please have them color the walls and other large spaces.
Vincent van Gogh
Bedroom at Arles, 1889
A Corridor in the Asylum, 1889