Art Around the World World Art    

Lesson 29: Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window

by Diego Rivera

Directions

Study the artwork for one week.

Over the week:

• Examine the artwork.
• Read the synopsis.
• Study the vocabulary words.
• Recite the artist and artwork names.
• Read about the art region or artist.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Discuss the review questions.

Synopsis

Diego Rivera's 'Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window' pairs still life with cityscape. In the foreground, a table supports a bowl of fruit, some scattered fruit, an empty bottle, and a knife. Outside the second story window, the gaze of the viewer skips across rooftops to alight on row houses and other buildings in the city.

Vocabulary

Cityscape: The visual appearance of a city or urban area; a city landscape.
Still Life: A painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects, typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware.

Concepts

1. Mexican painter Robert Diego Rivera was born in 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico. See his picture below.

2. Zoom in and find Mexico, Rivera's country of birth, on the map below.

3. Rivera was born to a wealthy family.
4. When his parents caught him drawing on the walls at age three, they encouraged him to keep drawing by covering the walls in canvas and chalkboard.
5. At age ten, Rivera studied art in Mexico City at the Academy of San Carlos. As an adult, he studied art in Europe.
6. Rivera was married five times, twice to fellow artist Frida Kahlo.
7. Rivera died in 1957 at the age of 70 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

Find the following in the artwork:

• Row Houses
• Empty Bottle
• Apples
• Pear
• Lemon
• Orange
• Lime
• Knife
• Table
• Chimneys

Activity 2: Narrate the Artwork

• After studying the artwork, narrate the scene shown aloud using your own words.

Activity 3: Complete Vocabulary Activities

• While studying the new words, point out any you see in the painting.
• Define each of the vocabulary words in your own words.

Activity 4: Color the Map   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 44 of 'Art History Coloring Pages for Second Grade.'

Activity 5: Color the Artist   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 45 of 'Art History Coloring Pages for Second Grade.'

Activity 6: Color the Artwork   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 46 of 'Art History Coloring Pages for Second Grade.'

Review

Question 1

Why could this work be considered a still life?

1 / 3

Answer 1

The foreground features a still life scene of fruit, a bottle, and a knife.

1 / 3

Question 2

Why could this work be considered a cityscape?

2 / 3

Answer 2

The background shows the rooftops and buildings of a city.

2 / 3

Question 3

What is the setting of the artwork?

3 / 3

Answer 3

The setting is a room in a second floor of a house or other building.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. Why could this work be considered a still life? The foreground features a still life scene of fruit, a bottle, and a knife.
2. Why could this work be considered a cityscape? The background shows the rooftops and buildings of a city.
3. What is the setting of the artwork? The setting is a room in a second floor of a house or other building.

References

'Diego Rivera.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.