This document provides guiding questions for analyzing the painting "Novella" by R.B. Kitaj and discusses the key elements it conveys. It prompts the viewer to examine details like objects, colors, lines, and facial expressions to understand the scene's mood, setting, and meaning. While questions remain unanswered, the painting seems to depict somber urban figures and convey a mood using techniques like color that highlight hardships, perhaps representing the people and conditions of the Great Depression era.
1. Examine the Clues to See the Whole Picture Novella, from the series Great Ideas, 1967R. B. Kitaj oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum
2. What objects do you see? What colors do you see? What are the characteristics of the lines used in this image? What season does this image represent?
3. Now what do you see? What mood do the colors communicate? Where is he looking? What is he thinking?
4. Where are these people? Are they in an urban or rural area? What do their faces express?
5. What mood is the artist conveying? How is he conveying this mood? Are these people rich, middle class or poor? What has happened to these people?
6. What seems unusual in this image? Where does your eye go first in this image? Why?
8. Picture Summary The Fifth Year1934John R. Grabach oil on wood 42 1/4 x 48 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum “John R. Grabach painted this image five years after the stock market crash of 1929. It shows an endless stream of people rising up out of New York and trudging across the sky. The man in front gazes out at the viewer from under his hat, while his partner weeps on his shoulder. Paintings such as this [emphasize] the desolate conditions experienced by many Americans. . .during the 1930s. These figures represent the working masses, their gray faces and threadbare clothes highlighting the hardships of the Depression. Their journey through the sky symbolizes their long trek toward a better future.”
9. Credits PowerPoint Created By: Lilo Stephens Teacher, 7th-Grade American Studies Kenmore Middle School Arlington, Virginia “Zoom-In Inquiry” is an instructional application of PowerPoint taught through workshops led by Primary Source Learning, formerly known as Adventures of the American Mind.
