There’s been a long standing relationship between English
lessons and art. We have used paintings to inspire writing, to explore ideas
and to explore the meanings of text. This year, I have linked each poem we
teach to a painting. A piece of art.
I cannot say how much I have been influenced by Jeremy
Paxman’s ‘The Victorians’. An exploration of the Victorians told through art. A
thoroughly interesting book.
The book drew my attention to the story behind these
paintings.
The Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of
Balaklava by William Simpson (1854)
The Charge of the
Light Brigade by Richard Caton-Woodville (1895)
Lord Cardigan Leading the Charge of the Light Brigade at
the Battle of Balaklava by Henry Payne (1854)
The Roll Call by Elizabeth Thompson / Lady Butler (1874)
The Battle of Balaclava by Lady Butler (1876)
Now aside from the obvious history behind the events
depicted behind the paintings, I was interested to hear how they were received.
In particular, I was interested to hear how Lady Butler’s paintings were received.
She explained: ‘I never painted for the glory of war, but to portray its pathos
and heroism.’ Her painting the ‘Roll Call’ was very popular but also shocking
at the time it was displayed. According to Jeremy Paxman, a guard was needed
for the picture when displayed. But for
me, it makes a great counterpoint to the poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’.
The painting is a stark contrast to the strength, might, courage and
determination of the soldiers of the other pictures. But also it points to a
shift in attitude. The ‘British stiff upper lip’ disappears in Elizabeth Thompson’s
work. We see the real emotion behind the events rather than patriotic bravado.
The above collection of paintings made a great point of
discussion in lessons on the poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. Then, I decided to use a painting per poem. I
searched for a painting that I thought linked to the bigger issues in the poem.
(War Photographer, Exposure, Charge of the Light Brigade,
Remains, Bayonet Charge)
The idea behind each picture was explored by the class and
myself, after reading and studying all the poems.
This picture links to ‘Exposure’ and the class came up with
some of these ideas linked to the picture / poem.
*Purgatory – gap in the clouds links to Heaven
*Collectivism – shared experience of war – the onlooker is
sharing the experience the soldiers have
*Lack of depth – everything is united in war as the clouds,
tree, people, landscape are all the same colour
The great thing I enjoyed was the ‘toing and froing’ between poem, idea and painting. The linking between the three aspects was a joy. Students making connections between painting and picture. After we discussed the ideas behind the painting, we explored the style of the painting. Was it realistic? Was it impressionistic? Was it abstract? Was it photorealistic? Was it an example of expressionism? Was it romanticised? How does the painter treat its subject? Are the colours warm or cold?
For students it was easier to comment on the style of a
painting than a poem. However, starting with the painting first helped the
students to comment on the style of a poem. A chose a photorealistic painting
for ‘Remains’. Students then linked the photorealism to the fact that he poem
is features very sparse description and brutal and direct expressions.
I think art needs a stronger place in the English classroom
and I think English teachers need to be trained up in art. My Henrik Ibsen
books at university all had a painting by Edvard Much on the front cover. Both
artists were expressing psychological themes. They complemented each other. Art
and literature are never far away from each other, but maybe they have grown
further apart recently. Great CPD for an English department would be time
talking about.
Thanks for reading,
Xris
