Grade 8 – Art and English project November 2015

Teachers Adriana Hristova and Joanna Davis wanted to work together on a joint Art and English project and Albena Todorova came up with this great idea.

In 1665 the Dutch master, Johannes Vermeer painted ’The Girl with the Pearl Earring’.  The American-British author, Tracy Chevalier (born 1962), was inspired, and she bought a poster of the painting when she was nineteen.

She said that the ‘ambiguous’ look on the girl’s face left a lasting impression on her and describes it as a mass of contradictions – innocent, yet experienced, joyous yet tearful, full of longing, yet full of loss.  She began to think that all these emotions were directed at the painter and began to think about the ‘story behind the look’.

In 2003 the film of the same name was released starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.

Albena suggested that we ask the students to choose a masterpiece – any famous painting – to reproduce in any way they wished. 

They were then instructed to write a fictional story in English about their choice – what they believed the story or the message was behind their painting. 

And here are the results …