Order 2143177: Read Instructions

Artworks in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Pick one artwork to research. You may choose to research one of the questions associated with the artwork or create your own research question. You will need to develop your own thesis statement whether you develop your own research question or use one listed below.

Agnolo Bronzino or follower (Italian, 1503-1572) Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, 1527/30 or later Oil on panel: 32 1/8 x 22 5/8 in.

How does Bronzino, an Italian Mannerist, reject Italian Renaissance formulas for painting the Madonna and Child, and why?

Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin French, 1699–1779 The White Tablecloth, 1731/32

Oil on canvas

38 1/8 x 48 5/16 in. (96.8 x 123.5 cm)

How does this work reflect the age in which this work was painted: The Enlightenment? Use the visual evidence to reveal Chardin’s position as a painter of the 18th century.

How does Chardin update or critique the tradition of still-life painting? Look at Dutch or Spanish examples of the Baroque period as a point of comparison.

John Constable English, 1776-1837 Stoke-by-Nayland, 1836

Oil on canvas

49 5/8 x 66 1/2 in. (126 x 169 cm)

How does Constable modernize landscape painting in Europe?

How does Constable’s paintings reflect the values of the Industrial Revolution in England during the 19th century?

Juan Sánchez Cotán Spanish, 1560–1627 Still Life with Game Fowl, 1600/03

Oil on canvas

26 11/16 x 34 15/16 in. (67.8 x 88.7 cm)

How might this still-life painting, and other examples by Cotan, reflect the religious context in the Spanish Golden Age of the 17th century?

Compare this still-life to a Dutch Baroque still-life. How do these still-life paintings reflect the specific cultural and/or religious values of the Baroque period?

El Greco

Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614 Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation, 1595/1600

Oil on canvas

6 3/16 x 24 1/8 in. (92 x 74 cm); painted surface:

How does El Greco reflect the religious climate in Spain during the 17th century?

Francesco Guardi Italian, 1712–1793 The Grand Canal, Venice, c. 1760

Oil on canvas

73 x 119.4 cm (28 3/4 x 47 in.)

What does this and other vedute paintings reveal about the culture of the Grand Tour in Europe and its importance during the Neoclassical period?

Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault French, 1791-1824 Head of a Guillotined Man, 1818/19

Oil on panel

16 1/8 x 14 15/16 in. (41 x 38 cm)

How is Gericault’s painting a Romantic image?

Joseph Mallord William Turner English, 1775-1851 Valley of Aosta: Snowstorm, Avalanche, and Thunderstorm, 1836/37

Oil on canvas

36 1/4 x 48 in. (92.2 x 123 cm)

How does Turner’s landscape represent the Romantic concept of the Sublime?

Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721) with the assistance of Jean-Baptiste Pater (French, 1595-1736) Fête champêtre (Pastoral Gathering), 1718/21

Oil on panel

48.6 x 64.5 cm (19 1/16 x 25 3/8 in.)

How does Watteau treat nature/landscape in this fete-galante? How does this reflection of nature embody the ideals/values of the Rococo?

Jean Hey, known as The Master of Moulins, active about 1475-about 1505 The Annunciation, 1490/95

Oil on panel

28 1/2 x 19 11/16 in. ( 72.5 x 50.1 cm); painted surface: 28 1/4 x 19 3/8 in. (71.7 x 49.2 cm)