The Generic Game

Sometimes historical details aren’t necessarily required (gasp!) for one to appreciate and enjoy a work of art. Sometimes it takes time standing in front of work that you first thought was boring and not worth your time to see that perhaps it isn’t so bad after all. Later on, after you’ve been inspired, you can look up the particulars.

The masterminds at Project Muse have created “The Generic Game” to help those with no art or history backgrounds to appreciate various aspects of a work of art. The game works best if you play with a friend – or even with a stranger also looking at the same piece as you. Don’t forget, galleries and museums are social spaces, so don’t be afraid to talk about what you’re seeing. You can play the game with any work of art you like, but try it here with the painting below. Simply work through the easy (and slightly abbreviated) questions below:

Before the Storm, 1887

Homer Watson

Pre-game question: Do you like this work of art? Why or why not?

1) Look carefully at the work of art. What colours do you see?

2) What do you see in the work in front of you? Take turns listing objects.

3) What is going on in the work of art? List what you see, no matter how small.

4) Does anything you have noticed so far in this work remind you of something in your own life?

5) Is this art work true to life? How real has the artist made things look?

6) What ideas or emotions do you think this work expresses?

7) Do you have a sense of how the artist must have felt when he or she made this work? Does it make you feel one way or another?

8) Take a look at other works displayed around it. Do they look alike? What is similar about the way they look? How are they different? (Try comparing other images on this site)

9) What would you have called this work if you had made it yourself? Does the actual title of the work make sense to you?

10) Think back on your observations. What have you discovered from looking at this work? What have you learned about yourself or others?

Post-game question: Do you like this work of art? Why or why not?

Now, try answering the questions looking at a much more modern piece:

Joyce Wieland, Oh Canada, 1971.

If you feel any more attached or interested in these works after playing the game, or feel that you somehow know more about them than you did before you played - the game was a success. You'll have even more satisfaction playing with someone else, as you'll find that you'll learn more about that other person as well. I take the game with me every time I visit a gallery with a friend, as it makes the visit so much more meaningful.

"Dear Little Girls"

The Three Robinson Sisters, 1846

George Theodore Berthon

Painting, oil on canvas

I often receive questions about the identity of the young women in this piece.  Because the story behind the commissioning of this painting is so touching, I would like to share it with everyone here.

The three women (Augusta in black, Louisa in white, and Emily in pink) are daughters of Toronto-based Chief Justice Sir John Beverley Robinson.  Their fine dress, exacting curls and marble skin give away their membership to the ruling elite of the growing city. While Augusta has already been married, her two younger sisters are about to enjoy a double wedding day.  The three husbands (also of the ruling class) commissioned this portrait of their glowing brides with the intention of presenting the work to the girls’ parents on the day of the ceremony.  Sir Robinson later wrote to Berthon and praised the artist’s skill in rendering such a faithful depiction of his “dear little girls”.

Berthon, (b. Vienna, 1806, d. Toronto 1892) had been taught painting by his father who himself was a court painter to Napoleon Bonaparte. Berthon eventually immigrated to Toronto via England in 1844. With his training, skill, and obvious connections, he soon established himself as a portraitist for some of the most powerful families in Canada West – including the Robinsons.

You can see this nearly life-size ¾ portrait on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. For more information, visit The Canadian Dictionary of Biography or read Anne Newlands, Canadian Paintings, Prints and Drawings, 2007.

Berczy's Conversation Piece Absolutely Unique

William Berczy,  The Woolsey Family, 1809

William Berczy’s The Woolsey Family (1809) is undoubtedly on of his, nay, Canada’s masterpieces.  Despite the portrait’s many exceptional qualities, it is a work that has not received a great deal of in-depth academic attention. A re-examination of the portraits produced during Canada’s pre-Confederation history reveals, however, that Berczy’s work may be the only example of a family conversation piece; an elevation in status that ought to be recognised more broadly within Canadian history texts.

What is a conversation piece? “Conversation piece” is a mid-eighteen century term, still in use, to describe a portrait painting of small to moderate size showing two or more identifiable full-length figures engaged in informal conversation or other polite social activity, often in a detailed domestic, although sometimes in a landscape setting. Does the Woolsey Family portrait fit this definition? Perfectly.

Cornelius Krieghoff, Breaking Lent (detail), c. 1850s

There are other Canadian works that would appear to fit this classification, but because they lack one or more of the components of the definition they cannot be included. We must move forward to Cornelius Krieghoff in the 1850s and 1860s to find works that even come close. Breaking Lent appears to be a conversation piece, but because none of these figures are identifiable, and the home is likely a figment of the artist’s imagination, the work can only be considered a genre piece.

Cornelius Krieghoff, Flirting While Braiding Straw Hats, 1862

Another Krieghoff example, Flirting While Braiding Straw Hats shows a similar French Canadian family in their kitchen. This time, one of the individuals may be identified – the mother is speculated to be Krieghoff’s sister Emily. But because she is portrayed as a character rather than herself, and the remaining figures and setting are of the artist’s imagination, the work cannot be considered a conversation piece.

Read more about Berczy: National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Dictionary of Biography Online

Introducing CAHW

Look for something new each week (Mondays) as I post artist profiles, images, and institution highlights, as well as hints and tricks that will better enable you to understand and enjoy Canadian art.

The visual arts can be a window to our nation's past, and I will strive to fill in some of the information blanks to make historical works make sense. Oftentimes this information allows you to look at a painting with more emotion, and your attachment to it and its story becomes stronger. The opposite can be said for some contemporary works, where your emotions are immediately played upon by the evidence of brush strokes and use of colour, and only later does information show the piece to be far more technical and planned than earlier suspected.

In addition to posting topics inspired by my own experiences, I look forward to hopefully answering your questions about Canadian art. As well, if you've had an amazing experience with a work, or have had a visit to remember in one of Canada's many galleries, I'd love to pass on your story and pictures with my readers.

The first official post begins on Monday August 15, 2011 - Enjoy!