Schedule of Activities

Below are a list of potential activities, organised according to age range, which can be undertaken as part of this exhibition:

Young Persons 6-12:

  1. Dress up as a historical figure- Look at Vecellio's Habiti et Antichi, and Liss's oil paintings. Look at how people from the past were thought to dress. From this box of clothes (in a separate room) dress up like a; 'Peasant Woman, Rich Woman, Farmer, Merchant'. The aim is to encourage young people to engage with ideas relating to identity and dress, that people could be judged based upon what they wore.

Children between 12-16

  1. Iconography discussion- look at the skulls in various paintings in the Gallery, and then the skull in the Magdalene. What do you think this could represent? Then look at the two chaacters on either side, what could these represent? Then finally, what sort of facial expression does Mary have, would you say it was happy, sad, or confused? Aim, through a discussion of ideas and impressions, steer the discussion towards an acknowledgement that the painting is constructed to represent a difficult decision she has to face, between being rich and being religious.

Young Adult 16-25:

  1. Speed Drawing- Divide the group into two, each 'belonging' to one of Liss's paintings. After one minute of looking, describe the painting to someone from the opposite group, who has to draw the painting without looking. Then do the same in reverse. The aim is to encourage close looking of the paintings, and ability to describe in words a visual object.

Adult 25-

  1. Close drawing- render the fabric of Judith's dress in a variety of media- charcoal, pencil, pen, oil pastel. Which is the best media most accurately captures the drapery? This exercise aims to intensely engage visitors with precise aspects of paintings, not only to appreciate the artistry of paintings, but to look carefully at the dramatic clothing in Liss's paintings, and treat them not as generic (as one might after seeing numerous paintings in NG with well-rendered drapery) but appreciating the subtle nuance and energy Liss brought to rendering drapery.

Schedule of Activities