Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Cezanne: Art Activity Pack
Novelty Art Kit
For ages 6 to 10
Chronicle Books, 1996 ISBN: 978-0811813334
When you open the glossy, beautifully presented folder of this kit you will find three items inside it. There is a book which describes Cezanne’s work and his life, an activity book full of interesting ideas and projects that you can try for yourself, and a poster that you can create and color.
The book in this kit invites you to see the world through the eyes of Paul Cezanne, a French Impressionist painter who saw “in spots of color.” Cezanne was famous for painting fruit that looked so real that you could almost smell and taste it. As you turn the pages you are introduced to some of the basic techniques and painting forms the Cezanne used in his painting; there is perspective, geometric shapes, and the painting of portraits. Finally we are provided with a fascinating description of this painter’s life. We learn that he was a shy and retiring man whose work was not understood or appreciated by the public or the critics in his own lifetime.
Next there is the artist’s notebook. In this superbly created work book the young artist is given a series of drawing projects to do which are in the ‘mode’ of Cezanne and which show the artist how the great painter worked.
Finally there is a poster to create. The young artist is presented with a table on which he or she is invited to draw or paint a still life. Is it to be a basket of fruit, a bowl, perhaps even a vase of flowers?
This wonderful hands-on activity pack is one of a series which was developed in conjunction with the well known museum of Impressionist art, the Musee d’Orsay in Paris
