Genres of Paintings Painting Genres    

Lesson 31: Genre Art - Winter Scene on a Canal

by Hendrick Avercamp

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 artwork's genre.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Discuss the review questions.

Synopsis

Dutch painter Hendrick Avercamp's 'Winter Scene on a Canal' reveals a winter wonderland of fun and excitement. People slip, slide, and skate up and down a frozen canal. Snow frosts the trees and buildings. People watch the festivities from a house. Boats sit useless, embedded in the frozen ice.

Vocabulary

Scene: The place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs or occurred.
Canal: An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation.

Concepts

1. Genre art paintings show common people going about their regular lives, including people shopping, dancing, eating, celebrating, working, traveling, and holding ceremonies such as weddings.
2. Use of the term 'genre' is pretty confusing in the art world, because 'genre' refers both to categories of art (portrait genre, space art genre, landscape genre, etc.) as well as this specific category of art (genre art genre).
3. Genre paintings are historically the third-most respected type of painting, after history and portrait paintings.
4. See below additional examples of genre art paintings: 1) Gustave Courbet's 'The Stone Breakers,' 2) Norman Rockwell's' 'Freedom of Worship,' and 3) Judith Leyster's 'A Game of Cards.'

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

Zoom in to find the following in the artwork:

• Canal
• People Walking on the Canal
• Boats
• Outhouse
• Wagon Wheel
• Ladder
• Capes
• Someone Carrying a Bundle of Sticks
• Someone Watching from a House
• A Smoking Chimney

Activity 2: Narrate the Artwork

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

Activity 3: Color the Artwork   

• Click the crayon above and complete page 59 of 'Third Grade Art History Coloring Book.'

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the artwork?

1 / 4

Answer 1

The characters are the people walking on and playing on the canal. Characters also include those not able to have fun - those watching the fun from their houses and working.

1 / 4

Question 2

What is the setting of the artwork?

2 / 4

Answer 2

The setting is outdoors on a canal.

2 / 4

Question 3

How do we know the canal is used for boat transportation in the summer?

3 / 4

Answer 3

We know the canal is used for boat transportation because we see two boats embedded in the canal ice.

3 / 4

Question 4

Into which genre is this painting classified?

4 / 4

Answer 4

This painting falls into the genre art category.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the artwork? The characters are the people walking on and playing on the canal. Characters also include those not able to have fun - those watching the fun from their houses and working.
2. What is the setting of the artwork? The setting is outdoors on a canal.
3. How do we know the canal is used for boat transportation in the summer? We know the canal is used for boat transportation because we see two boats embedded in the canal ice.
4. Into which genre is this painting classified? This painting falls into the genre art category.

References

'Genre Art.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Hendrick Avercamp.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.