This term the Year 6 students have been examining in great detail one of the works of the Italian master sculptor, Michelangelo, in a Unit of Work entitled ‘The Big Picture’. Students have learnt about La Pieta sculpture, a commissioned work carved from a single piece of marble weighing about 4 tonnes, that can be found in St Peter and Paul’s Basilica in Rome. It is truly awesome to behold the soft folds in the fabric that are sculpted from stone! In our lead up to the celebration of Easter, it is the perfect time to spend in contemplation of Michelangelo’s artwork. This depiction of the body of Jesus Christ supported in the arms of his mother after being taken down from the Cross, shows a moment in time where we might expect to see utter desolation and grief expressed in the face of Mary, yet the artist has chosen to show beauty, youth and a composure of calm serenity. While students can find the story of Christ’s crucifixion sad, this artwork reminds us that the story indeed has a happy ending with the imminent resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
Each Year 6 class has worked towards creating a large-scale reproduction of various views of the five-centuries-old sculpture, looking particularly to apply their skills in shading to create a range of graded tones from light to dark. Students first practised shading techniques on tonal scales and simple shapes to create the effect of solid shapes. As a collaborative task, it is a great lesson in breaking down a big, overwhelming task (recreating a 3-Dimensional marble sculpture of two figures in a large greyscale drawing!), into small chunks using grids to achieve the end result. We can’t wait to see each class’ work installed together to display the complete picture.
Mrs Ann McDermott
Junior School Specialist Teacher (Visual Arts)