Pre- and Post-Visit Educator Resources

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Pre- and Post-Visit Educator Resources
Genius and Grace: François Boucher and the Generation of 1700
23 January 2015 – 5 April 2015
The following resources are designed to prepare for and extend a classroom visit to the Genius and Grace:
François Boucher and the Generation of 1700 exhibition at the Ackland Art Museum. The experiences are
intended to support classroom curriculum and learning standards while allowing for students to express their
ideas through a variety of formats – writing, discussion, research, and art making. Activities and conversation
starters can be modified for each grade level and discipline.
Exhibition Overview
Genius and Grace will present more than 75 drawings from the Horvitz Collection,
Boston—widely considered the preeminent private collection of French art in the United
States. The exhibition will feature works by a group of artists born around 1700, notably
François Boucher, represented by almost 20 drawings from all stages of his brilliant
career.
Charles-Antoine Coypel (French, 1694-1772)
Seated Young Lady Holding a Fan: Presumed
Portrait of Madame Begon de Montfermeil
Pastel on paper adhered to canvas, The
Horvitz Collection
Grouped around this core will be a selection of drawings by Boucher’s contemporaries.
The exhibition will begin with a small group of drawings by influential immediate
predecessors of “The Generation of 1700,” such as Jean-Antoine Watteau, Jean-Baptiste
Oudry, and others. Genius and Grace will offer an unprecedented opportunity to engage
with major drawings by some of the most significant and accomplished French artists.
Pre-Visit ideas

As a class, look closely at Charles-Antoine Coypel’s Self Portrait and Jacques-André Portail’s Musical
Interlude (see attached digital images and artwork information). Encourage the students to look closely at
the figures and describe what they see. What information do these works of art tell you about men’s and
women’s clothing in eighteenth century France?

Have students look at Jacques-André Portail’s Musical Interlude or François Boucher’s Young Travelers and
write a paragraph from the perspective of a person or object in the drawing. Consider the following: What
are you thinking? What do you see and hear around you? What relationship do you have with the other
things or people near you? What does a normal day look like for you?

Exploring Eighteenth Century French Life and Culture
Have students research life and culture in eighteenth century France. Information could include the power
and influence of royalty and their court, socio-economic systems and structures, scientific discoveries and
exploration, ideas and writing surrounding the Age of Enlightenment, and culture (food, music, literature,
furniture, and art). Encourage students to share their findings through a variety of formats – research
papers, travel posters, display boards, image and word collages, etc.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Post-Visit ideas

After your Museum visit, have students share one thing they remembered from the Museum. (Note: This
activity can be done on the bus ride back to school and allows for students to be accountable for their
learning and arts experience.)

Create a self-portrait!
As a class, look at Charles-Antoine Coypel’s Self Portrait. Ask each student to name one thing that they see in
the work of art. How can different clues, like the setting, clothing, and posture, help us to figure out
information about a person?
What kinds of visual codes do we use today to let people know who we are? What would you have in your
portrait? Have students create a modern self-portrait that includes at least four symbols that tell the viewer
something important about them. Encourage the students to think carefully about the story that they are
telling about themselves.

Encourage students to research French art, music, and architecture related to the Baroque and rococo
periods. Have students share their findings through a variety of formats.
North Carolina Essential Standards: Visual Art
3.V.1 – 8.V.1
3.V.2 – 8.V.1
3.CX.1 – 8.V.1
3.CX.2 – 8.CX.2
3.CR.1 – 8.CR.1
Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively.
Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression.
Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.
Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts.
Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.
North Carolina Essential Standards: Social Studies
6.C.1.1
Analyze how cultural expressions reflected the values of civilizations, societies, and regions.
WH.H.6.1
Explain how new ideas and theories of the universe altered political thought and affected economic and
social conditions.
Common Core Curriculum: English Language Arts
3.W.1 – 8.W.1
3.W.2 – 8.W.2
3.W.7 – 8.W.7
4.W.8 – 8.W.8
Text Types and Purpose (Opinion)
Text Types and Purpose (Explanatory)
Research to Build and Present Knowledge (Shared research and writing)
Research to Build and Present Knowledge (Gather or recall information)
9-10.R.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Analyzing Written and Visual Information)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Exhibition Resources

Genius and Grace: François Boucher and the Generation of 1700, Ackland Art Museum, The University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
www.ackland.org/exhibition/genius-and-grace-francois-boucher-and-the-generation-of-1700
General Resource Websites

France, 1600-1800 A.D., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09&region=euwf#

Rococo in Eighteenth-Century European Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/hi_1718rococo.htm

The French Academy in Rome, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/frac/hd_frac.htm

French and Italian Paintings of the Eighteenth- Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/french18.htm

Smarthistory: Rococo
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/rococo.html

Style Guide: Rococo, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/style-guide-rococo/

François Boucher (1703–1770), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bouc/hd_bouc.htm

Thematic Online Resources, Louvre Museum, Paris
www.louvre.fr/en/minisite

Chateau de Versailles
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
François Boucher (French, 1703 – 1770); Young Travelers; black chalk on cream antique laid paper,
framing line in black ink; The Horvitz Collection
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Charles-Antoine Coypel (French, 1694 – 1752); Self-Portrait, c. 1746; black chalk with touches of red chalk on tan antique
laid paper; The Horvitz Collection
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jacques-André Portail (French, 1695 – 1759); Musical Interlude, 1745; black and red chalk, graphite, brush with brown
wash, and watercolor heightened with white gouache, on off-white antique laid paper, The Horvitz Collection
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
François Boucher (French, 1703 – 1770)
Young Travelers, n.d.
black chalk on cream antique laid paper, framing line in black ink
The Horvitz Collection
This charming pastoral genre scene, featuring a young girl traveling through the countryside with her two
cherubic companions, was made in preparation for a print. While François Boucher himself etched almost three
dozen plates, many other printmakers reproduced his paintings and drawings too—for them it was a financially
rewarding enterprise. About 1,500 prints after Boucher are known today. A print, as compared to a painting or a
drawing, was relatively inexpensive and could be collected not just by the wealthy elite but by any middle-class
Parisian looking to adorn his or her home with a work by the most famous living artist.
Source: Genius and Grace Exhibition Label
Charles-Antoine Coypel (French, 1694 – 1752)
Self-Portrait, c. 1746
black chalk with touches of red chalk on tan antique laid paper
The Horvitz Collection
Charles-Antoine Coypel made this mature self-portrait, with dimpled chin and piercing, dark eyes, in preparation
for a painting that he exhibited in the Salon of 1746. He emphatically articulates his porte-crayon (an implement
used to hold chalk) and drawing board. In the only self-portrait he left to the Academy—the institution to which
he had devoted his entire life—Coypel depicted himself as a draftsman.
Source: Genius and Grace Exhibition Label
Coypel’s Self Portrait painting, Chateau de Versailles collection
Jacques-André Portail (French, 1695 – 1759)
Musical Interlude, 1745
black and red chalk, graphite, brush with brown wash, and watercolor
heightened with white gouache, on off-white antique laid paper
The Horvitz Collection
Jacques-André Portail established a reputation for depicting enchanting domestic scenes, often filled with
musicians or musical merriment. These scenes, inspired by the work of Jean-Antoine Watteau, are notable for
their delicacy and subtle mix of chalks and wash.
Source: Genius and Grace Exhibition Label