Bancroft Elementary
School
0
Art Appreciation Program
Presents
“Apples and Oranges”
by
Cézanne
1839-1906
Lesson Summary:
 This lesson discusses the French Impressionist/Post Impressionist
artist Paul Cezanne. Many have called him the “founder of
modern art,” for he made a significant contribution to almost
every area.
 The project is creating a still life with geometric forms, a favorite
of Cezanne.
© 2009 Bancroft Art Appreciation Committee
VOLUNTEER CHECKLIST
Lesson Information
Artist:
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)
Art Title:
“Apples and Oranges”
Period or Style:
Impressionism/Post Impressionism
Art Element:
Harmony
Project/Medium:
Creating a fruit still-life watercolor
Prep-work Required
Discussion:
Familiarize yourself with current lesson details
Art Activity:
Bring in still-life objects: apples, pears-check art room
for bottles and baskets white tableclothes.
Presentation Materials
Electronic Images:
Card Players, Mt.SainteVictoire, Still Life with Basket,
Apples and Oranges
On “thumb” drive in
art cabinet
Lesson Plan:
Cézanne
In folder
Background Info:
Getting to Know the World’s
Greatest Artists book;
In folder
Activity Materials
9 x 12 white watercolor paper
1 sheet per student
Watercolor paint sets, brushes, pencils and oil pastels
1 each per student
Water cups and paper towels
1 each per student
Still-life objects: fruit, bottles, baskets, etc.
For subject model
© 2009 Bancroft Art Appreciation Committee
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CÉZANNE LESSON PLAN
Lesson Objectives
 To introduce students to the life of French artist, Cezanne,
 To learn about Impressionism and the Post-Impressionism art periods.
Presentation Timing
 With Upper Grade students, your discussion time may be a bit longer than with the
lower grades. Spend 15 minutes on the discussion portion and 45 minutes on the art
activity.
 Share with students important facts from the lesson plan.
Impressionism

In the late 1870s, artists like Monet, Degas, Cezanne and Renoir began to paint in a
different way and started to exhibit their work in Paris. They were tired of painting
things in studios and wanted to go outside and paint nature while in nature. They used
colors and brush strokes to create paintings full of light and beauty. They painted on
the spot and reworked their paintings as little as possible.
 They were labeled the Impressionists since their paintings gave an ‘impression’ of the
subject rather than a clear representation.
 They used quick brushstrokes and dabs of unmixed color, which would build up and mix
optically on the canvas.
 Instead of using just light and dark tones to give depth and solidity they also liked to
use complementary colors together like red/green, yellow/purple and blue/orange.
This gave their pictures more sparkle. For instance, they might color the shadows
of warm orange and yellow sunlight a contrasting blue and violet.
Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne (say-zan) was born in 1839 in the south of France. (Show Map)
 Cézanne joined the Impressionists and was part of two of the Exhibitions. He
innovated beyond the group however and was later considered a Post-Impressionist.
© 2009 Bancroft Art Appreciation Committee
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 Cezanne sought out something more durable or solid in his paintings than the
Impressionists. (Show Card Players)
 Although he still enjoyed working outside and used short brushstrokes, he used
geometric forms in his compositions and diagonal patterns to create a sculptural
quality.
 He used horizontal lines to create breadth in his works and vertical lines to create
depth. (Show Mt. Sainte-Victoire)
 He painted this landscape near his home in the south of France 30 times.
 He was very influential on future art movements, like Cubism led by Pablo Picasso.
 Many have called him the father of modern art. He painted in new ways and his art
became an example for other artists.
 Cezanne painted in such a way as to make the viewer’s eyes move from the front to the
back and all around the painting as a way of giving it depth and not making it look flat.
He didn’t think using realistic perspective was always necessary to show the beauty of
nature.
 Cezanne also used lots of color, building up shapes and objects to make them feel solid.
(Show Still-life with Basket)
 Paul Cézanne was shy and didn’t like to have anyone watch him paint. He rarely signed
his paintings.
 Cézanne wanted to show nature in a more permanent way than the other
Impressionists, and tried to create more order in his paintings.
 Cézanne gave as much attention to the background in his paintings as he did to the main
subject.
 Cézanne felt that everything in nature could be simplified into familiar, basic shapes
like the cylinder, the sphere, and the cone. (Show Apples and Oranges)

Cézanne painted this still life with the table placed on an oblique (diagonal) angle. The
fruit is painted in bright gold and orange colors with smooth textures to contrast with
the white linen cloth, painted with rough folds.
 The folds have been carefully arranged to create interesting patterns of shadow.
Harmony of the composition was extremely important to Cezanne.
 Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it is music,
poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae. In visual experiences, harmony is
something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner
sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious,
it's either boring or chaotic.
 Cezanne composed more than 200 still-life compositions and ‘Apples and Oranges’ is one
of his most famous.
 Cezanne died in 1906 of pneumonia.
© 2009 Bancroft Art Appreciation Committee
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Art Activity
 Show the project sample to the students and discuss the still life arrangements in
front of them. Make sure everyone has a pleasing view and let him or her know they
don’t have to include everything on the table in their compositions.
 Have them consider Harmony in their compositions and point out the simple shapesspheres, cylinders and cones that the apples, bottles, pears have.
 Hand out a piece of watercolor paper to each student and have them write their name
and teacher/room number on the back.
 Instruct the students to first make a simple sketch of the still life onto paper. Have
them draw a line across the paper separating the background from the table.
 Next, outline all shapes with oil pastels, show example and demonstrate.
 Finally, they will paint their still life with watercolor. Encourage them to use two
colors to paint the apples and have them blot with a paper towel to blend.
 Stronger color can be used where there might be shadows and lighter-more watered
down-where there might be light. They can also blot with a towel again when they want
to lighten any area or if they simple get too much water on their painting.
 Encourage students to talk a bit about the nice compositions that they have created.
 Let pieces dry thoroughly!
 Return the next day and collect artwork and store safely until the end of the year.
© 2009 Bancroft Art Appreciation Committee
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