Genres of Paintings Painting Genres    

Lesson 32: Genre Art - The Dancing Couple

by Jan Steen

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

In Dutch artist Jan Steen's 'The Dancing Couple,' a couple takes center stage, the man wearing a jaunty beret while kicking and smiling and the woman revealing a shy smile, but not yet dancing. Boy musicians play a flute and a violin over a little boy blowing bubbles. People feast and drink at a banquet table. Steen painted himself sitting at the table, touching a woman's chin as she drinks from her glass. A child holding a toy stands on her adoring mother's lap. A man with a chicken in a cage on his head and small girl holding a pinwheel peer over a railing. Various items litter the floor, including an empty barrel, a tea pot, an overturned bucket of flowers, broken eggshells, a spoon, and a tiny shoe. Birds in a cage dangle from an arbor tangled with green vines.

Vocabulary

Beret: A round flattish cap of felt or cloth.
Banquet: An elaborate and extensive meal; a feast.
Pinwheel: A child's toy consisting of a stick with colored vanes that twirl in the wind.
Barrel: A cylindrical container bulging out in the middle, traditionally made of wooden staves with metal hoops around them.
Arbor: A shady garden alcove with sides and a roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a wooden framework.

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:

• Dancing Couple
• Birds in a Cage
• Chicken in a Cage
• Bubbles
• Pinwheel
• Arbor
• Vines
• Barrel
• Flowers
• Spoon
• Tiny Shoe
• Eggshells
• Musicians
• Artist Jan Steen

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 60 of 'Third Grade Art History Coloring Book.'

Activity 4: Create A Genre Art Drawing   

• Click the crayon above and complete page 61 of 'Third Grade Art History Coloring Book.'
• Using crayons, color pencils, pastels, or paint, create a genre art drawing or painting.
• Beforehand, discuss the characters, events, and setting for your artwork.

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the artwork?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The characters are the people celebrating and feasting under the arbor, those watching the celebration, and people talking in the street.

1 / 5

Question 2

What is the setting of the artwork?

2 / 5

Answer 2

The setting is outdoors under an arbor.

2 / 5

Question 3

How do we know the woman of the dancing couple is shy or perhaps may not want to dance?

3 / 5

Answer 3

We know the woman is shy or unwilling, because she is only smiling slightly and not yet dancing.

3 / 5

Question 4

How do we know the mother holding her child cares for the child?

4 / 5

Answer 4

The mother gently holds the child and looks up at the child with a tender smile.

4 / 5

Question 5

Into which genre is this painting classified?

5 / 5

Answer 5

This painting falls into the genre art category.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the artwork? The characters are the people celebrating and feasting under the arbor, those watching the celebration, and people talking in the street.
2. What is the setting of the artwork? The setting is outdoors under an arbor.
3. How do we know the woman of the dancing couple is shy or perhaps may not want to dance? We know the woman is shy or unwilling, because she is only smiling slightly and not yet dancing.
4. How do we know the mother holding her child cares for the child? The mother gently holds the child and looks up at the child with a tender smile.
5. Into which genre is this painting classified? This painting falls into the genre art category.

References

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

'The Dancing Couple.' National Gallery of Art. nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.1220.html. n.p.