Painters Born in the 1800s 1800s Painters    

Lesson 32: Sheep Shearing

by Natalia Goncharova

Directions

Study the painting for one week.

Over the week:

• Look at the painting.
• Read the synopsis.
• Study the vocabulary words.
• Read about the artist.
• Practice reciting the names of the artist and the painting.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Natalia Goncharova's 'Sheep Shearing' shows peasant women in traditional headscarves and dresses using scissors to cut the wool off sheep. A girl looks on with a sad look as she cradles a lamb. In the background, a woman pulls a young child in a wagon in front of a line of trees and bushes. Simple huts and fences also adorn the background.

Vocabulary

Peasant: A poor farmer of low social status who owns or rents a small piece of land for cultivation.
Shear: Cut the wool off.
Sheep: An animal with a thick woolly coat and males with curving horns.
Lamb: A young sheep.
Headscarf: A square of fabric worn as a covering for the head, often folded into a triangle and knotted under the chin.
Hut: A small single-story building of simple or crude construction.

Concepts

1. Russian avant-garde artist, Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova, was born in 1881 in Nagaevo, Russian Empire.

2. Zoom in and find Goncharova's country of birth (Russia) on the map of Europe.

3. Goncharova painted, designed costumes and sets, sculpted, and created illustrations.
4. Starting at the age of 20, Goncharova studied sculpture for eight years at Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
5. Goncharova became an avant-garde artist, breaking conventions with experimental or unorthodox techniques.
6. Goncharova died in Paris, France in 1962 at the age of 81 after a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

During the week, study the painting and find the following:

• Sheep
• Lamb
• Women Shearing
• Girl
• Baby
• Huts
• Fence
• Headscarves
• Wagon
• Trees
• Chimney
• Sky

Activity 2: Narrate the Painting

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

Activity 3: Complete Vocabulary Activities

• While studying the vocabulary words, point them out in the painting.
• Define each of the vocabulary words in your own words.

Activity 4: Color the Painting   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 42 of 'First Grade Art History Coloring Book.'

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the painting?

1 / 3

Answer 1

The characters are peasant women, a girl, and a baby.

1 / 3

Question 2

What are the characters doing?

2 / 3

Answer 2

Three women shear sheep, a girl holds a lamb, and one woman pulls a baby in a wagon.

2 / 3

Question 3

What is the setting of the painting?

3 / 3

Answer 3

The setting is a small, rural village.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the painting? The characters are peasant women, a girl, and a baby.
2. What are the characters doing? Three women shear sheep, a girl holds a lamb, and one woman pulls a baby in a wagon.
3. What is the setting of the painting? The setting is a small, rural village.

References

'Natalia Goncharova.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Sheep shearing.' Wikiart. Wikiart.org. n.p.