Maximalist Painting - Museum of Fine Arts - Florida State University

Extra Lesson Plans and Activities
Lesson Plans
Note: Each plan/activity listed below includes examples of Maximalist painters (and some artwork) a number
of those examples can be found in this packet, but some cannot and must be researched entirely from
scratch. The internet will provide an immediate reference for all these names.
Maximalist Artists and Their Work: Students will complete a research project
on a specific Maximalist artist in order to gain detailed knowledge of the notable
figures of the style and significant works of the movement.
Step 1: Lead a general discussion of Maximalist painting as a style,
making mention of its technical and compositional characteristics,
prominent Maximalist artists, and the current emergence of this style.
Step 2: Assign a Maximalist artist to each student and have each
research information concerning the life of the artist and his/her
role/involvement in Maximalist painting. Research should be assembled
into a project exhibiting this information with the “masterworks” of the artist
and an analysis of his or her distinct technical style and subject matter.
Good examples of Maximalist artists are: Trenton Doyle Hancock, Julie
Heffernan, Edward Monovich, and Cecily Brown.
Baroque + Surrealist = Maximalist painting: Students will examine the
influence of the Baroque and Surrealist movements in the Maximalist painting
style of today.
Step 1: Discuss the vividly ornate and technically detailed nature of the
Baroque style and the fantastic subject matter and figure arrangement
essential to Surrealism. An example of a Baroque painting is El Greco’s
The Burial of Count Orgaz, and an example of a Surrealist painting is
Giorgio De Chirico’s painting Melancholy and Mystery of a Street.
Step 2: Choose several images of Maximalist paintings that you feel
exhibit both Baroque and Surrealist elements.
Step 3: Present these images to the class and discuss the obvious
Baroque and Surrealist visual characteristics displayed in each and how
these two movements are a major influence in Maximalist art.
Involving the Viewer:
Step 1: Discuss the Maximalist objective of involving the viewer in an art
piece and giving the viewer a sense of being surrounded by the dramatic
subject matter. For example, Lilian Garcia Roig’s paintings picture dense
and thick forest landscapes that feel as though they are coming out of the
canvas to surround the viewer.
Step 2: Have the students draw or paint a small piece in which they
create a design exhibiting Maximalist features. Xerox these images into a
repetitive pattern on paper that can be folded into a visor or mechanism
that will cover the viewer’s eyes. When the students wear the pieces, they
will experience the effect of being completely absorbed into the artistic
representation—a key objective in Maximalist art.
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