MI Project – A visit to the Louvre

Grammar points ðopen

Vocabulary ðopen

Subject: deep look into the arts.

Interdisciplinarity: EFL – painting – sculpture – architecture – history

Multiple intelligences: interpersonal – intrapersonal – visual – linguistic – musical – kinesthetical

Objectives:

• To increase linguistic skills based on descriptions.
• To enhance logical skills by exploring a physical space and writing about a tour.
• Describe visual details and explain the influence they have on the viewer.

Paintings and sculptures

Visual/musical/linguistic

The Louvre - The Closer Look interactive multimedia studies allow you to discover masterpieces in detail using the Zoom tool and delve into their historical and artistic context thanks to audio commentaries and visual animations.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/dossiers/liste_oal.jsp?bmLocale=en

        A closer look at The Virgin and Child with Chancellor Rolin

This multimedia study allows you to enjoy the wealth of detail with which Van Eyck portrayed the rich Nicolas Rolin. A glossary explains in further detail some of the concepts referred to in the study.

        A closer look at the Seated Scribe

Study of the body, overview of excavations. Painted in bright colors and gazing expressively at the visitor, the Seated Scribe is one of the most famous statues in the Egyptian Antiquities Department.

        A closer look at Louis-François Bertin

In his portrait by Ingres, Monsieur Bertin, the founder of the newspaper Journal des Débats, embodies the thriving bourgeoisie of the 1830s. A bit of French history and Bertin strong personality.

        A closer look at the Consecration of Napoleon

It depicts a turning point in the history of France.

        A closer look at a Romanesque Virgin

One of the most remarkable sculptures from the center of France.

        A closer look at the Mona Lisa

In the early 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci’s La Gioconda represented a turning point in the history of portraiture.

        A closer look at the Code of Hammurabi

Learn about the most famous object from the history of the Ancient Near East, and through it, the political, social, and cultural history of the reign of Hammurabi, the ruler who turned Babylon into a powerful - and eternal - city.

The tasks

1.            After listening and reading carefully the explanations of the chosen art piece write your report on it:

            Your appreciation

1. Why did you choose this piece?
2. What are the most intriguing points of that piece?
3. What information did you already know about the piece?
4. What did you expect to find?

The information

1. How did you like the explanation?
2. Was it clear enough?
3. What did you really learn from the explanation?

2.            Rewrite the report on the art piece:

1. List all the new words and expressions.
2. Summarize the information.
3. Write your own article about the piece using all the new words.

Another Way to Visit the Louvre....

Visual-Spatial/kinesthetical

Here you have two tours in the Louvre, one inside and one in the gardens:

• Which one do you prefer or would you take first?
• What is the difference for you to be inside and outside?

Virtual Tours

Visit the museum's exhibition rooms and galleries, contemplate the façades of the Louvre’s medieval and architectural views. A QuickTime plug-in is required (version 5 or later).

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp

Gardens & Tuileries From Royal Retreat to Public Park

The Tuileries and Carrousel gardens form a pleasant, leafy setting for the Louvre palace.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/jardins_tuileries.jsp?bmLocale=en

• Make a comparative text between the two tours talking about the differences in the impressions caused by the light, the surroundings, the organization of the space.
• How are the sections of the museum organizedhttp://www.louvre.fr/llv/pratique/plan.jsp
• Plan a tour through the entire museum, explain how long it would take you to visit each section, the itinerary you would take explaining why you would organize your visit that way.

Interpersonal/intrapersonal

Before reading

• How many departments do you imagine the Louvre has? Make a list.
• Write down the characteristics you believe are needed to work in those departments.

About the Louvre: Behind the Scenes

Working at the Louvre

The Louvre is home to a host of different activities and specialisms. Most of its 2,000 staff, including curators, visitor services personnel etc., are public-sector employees. A range of other services, from electrical maintenance to graphic design and fire prevention, are contracted out.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/liste_metiers.jsp

About the Louvre: Audience Development

Significant plans afoot to enhance conditions for visitors and develop new audiences in the years ahead.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/publics.jsp

• Make a real list of all the departments in the Louvre and compare with your list.
• Analyzing all the descriptions of the positions, could you fit to any of those? Explain why you couldn’t and could.