old master drawings - Museum of Fine Arts - Florida State University

Lesson Plan #3: Line: The Flexible Element of DesignFebruary/March2009Session Activity: After viewing the drawings of the Old Masters, students willlearn about line as an element of artistic design. They will learn whensketching or drawing that sometimes “less is more,” and only a few lines arerequired. The human eye and imagination can fill in the rest of the figure orobject. Give the students the worksheet included in the packet. Ask thestudents to draw things with which they are familiar utilizing those lines whileadding as few lines as possible.Francois Boucher, Hercules andOmphale with Cupirs, 1703-1770,red chalk and graphite, 12 5/8 in x10 ¼ in, Ringing Museum of Art.Grade Level: Upper elementary through high school as a simple activity tolearn about line.Time Needed: one class period.Objectives:1. To have students draw objects or figures from just a few lines.2. To have students understand how the element of line can be used toconstruct an image.3. To show how the Old Masters sometimes used an economy of line.Materials:• Pencil• Worksheet withVocabulary:red lines1. Line - the path traced by a moving point. The most flexible and revealingelement of design.2. Old Master - a European painter of skill who was born before the 19 thcentury.Lesson Plans Pages 27-29