The Temple of Hercules/Hackert

The Art & Architecture curriculum helps students explore architecture-inspired art and encourages them to investigate why artists depict architecture and the methods they use. Artists have represented the "environment" for thousands of years, capturing either a specific likeness or a romanticized view of historical buildings and the surrounding landscapes, whether natural landscapes or formal gardens. There are many environments to consider: our homes, our neighborhoods, and entire cities. There are environments of faraway places and of the distant past: Roman temples, Gothic cathedrals, and French châteaus.

The materials in the lessons are designed for elementary and secondary teachers to prompt discussion and activities related to architecture-inspired art in the J. Paul Getty Museum collection. The Central Garden and six objects from the collection were chosen to represent different techniques and styles in depictions of architecture and landscape architecture. The objects were also chosen for their potential uses as teaching tools in the classroom. Questions and activities in the lessons are offered as suggestions and should be adapted to fit the needs of different grade levels and particular classrooms.

A "Background Information and Questions for Teaching" sheet for each object is provided in each lesson and in the Image Bank. Scan the "Background Information" before using the "Questions for Teaching" to direct student observations of artworks. All activities connect to visual arts, language arts, and/or history–social science content areas for elementary and secondary students in the State of California.

Art & Architecture
Contents

Curriculum Home
Lesson Plans
Image Bank
Architecture Vocabulary (PDF, 137KB)