Dia De Los Muertos- Day of the Dead Painting
1. Review the background of Dia De Los Muertos in class. Watch video and reflect.
2. Review slideshow with Ms. O'Brien HERE |
|
2. Pratice drawing a skull and face in your sketchbook.
3. Practice the following videos to paint a skull and flowers on practice paper.
3. Practice the following videos to paint a skull and flowers on practice paper.
|
|
4. Sketch out your drawing on final paper.
CRITERIA FOR GRADING
CRITERIA FOR GRADING
- Must be a human face, (face can be half skeleton or with Dia De Los Muertos Makeup ), Animal, human skeleton, or Skull that has designs covering it.
- Additional space must be filled with at least 7 symbols of life (flowers, birds, animals, trees,leaves etc.)
- No pen on this, must be all paint even for details.
- Face, skull or skeleton must be accurately drawn.
- Minimal blank space ( drawings should fill up your paper)
Student Examples
|
|
Learner Goals: Learn how to draw a skeleton, skull, flowers, and lay out a composition in a work of art. Practice the principles of Variety, Balance, Unity, Contrast.
Materials: Pencil, Sketchbook, Sharpie, Visual references, Colored Pencils, Oil Pastels
Resources Linked:
Class Presentation/ Visuals
Video on history
Drawing a skull
Materials: Pencil, Sketchbook, Sharpie, Visual references, Colored Pencils, Oil Pastels
Resources Linked:
Class Presentation/ Visuals
Video on history
Drawing a skull
Historical Background
The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, takes place over the first two days of November. Its origins are a mixture of Native American traditions and a set of Catholic holidays.
While the holiday's observances include spending time in cemeteries, making shrines to the dead, and displaying artistic representations of skulls and skeletons, the occasion is festive, rather than morbid. Death isn't seen as the end of one's life, but as a natural part of the life cycle; the dead continue to exist much as they did in their lives, and come back to visit the living every year.
Aztec origins
The names of two consecutive twenty-day months on the Aztec calendar, Miccailhuitomi and Miccailhuitl, can be translated as "Feast of the Little Dead Ones" and "Feast of the Adult Dead." Put together, they appear to have formed one long celebration of the dead, moving from those who died as children to those who died when they were older.
The Spanish Imposition
In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernando Cortéz, conquered the Aztec Empire, taking over the area we now know as Mexico. They immediately set about trying to convert the native population to Catholicism, for both religious and political reasons.
Among the practices introduced by Spanish missionaries were All Saints' Dayand All Souls' Day, taking place on November 1 and 2, respectively. The conquered Native Americans took the opportunity to incorporate their own traditions for honoring the dead into these two days. The resulting holiday is a unique hybrid of the two.
Welcoming the Dead
It is generally believed that the souls of one's family return home to join in the Day of the Dead festivities. First those who died in infancy come home, then the older children, and finally those who died once they'd reached adulthood. Families set up altars (or ofrendas) in their homes, festively decorated in bright colors and laden with the favorite foods of their dead. Typically, the altars contain photographs of the dead, representations of things they liked, and items representing the four elements: candles for fire, drinks for water, fruit for earth, and fluttering tissue-paper decorations for wind. The dead take in the essence of the food, which will later be eaten by the living.
In some areas, families go to the graveyard to celebrate through the night. They clean and decorate the graves, sometimes setting up ofrendas on the gravestones, as bells are rung.
The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, takes place over the first two days of November. Its origins are a mixture of Native American traditions and a set of Catholic holidays.
While the holiday's observances include spending time in cemeteries, making shrines to the dead, and displaying artistic representations of skulls and skeletons, the occasion is festive, rather than morbid. Death isn't seen as the end of one's life, but as a natural part of the life cycle; the dead continue to exist much as they did in their lives, and come back to visit the living every year.
Aztec origins
The names of two consecutive twenty-day months on the Aztec calendar, Miccailhuitomi and Miccailhuitl, can be translated as "Feast of the Little Dead Ones" and "Feast of the Adult Dead." Put together, they appear to have formed one long celebration of the dead, moving from those who died as children to those who died when they were older.
The Spanish Imposition
In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernando Cortéz, conquered the Aztec Empire, taking over the area we now know as Mexico. They immediately set about trying to convert the native population to Catholicism, for both religious and political reasons.
Among the practices introduced by Spanish missionaries were All Saints' Dayand All Souls' Day, taking place on November 1 and 2, respectively. The conquered Native Americans took the opportunity to incorporate their own traditions for honoring the dead into these two days. The resulting holiday is a unique hybrid of the two.
Welcoming the Dead
It is generally believed that the souls of one's family return home to join in the Day of the Dead festivities. First those who died in infancy come home, then the older children, and finally those who died once they'd reached adulthood. Families set up altars (or ofrendas) in their homes, festively decorated in bright colors and laden with the favorite foods of their dead. Typically, the altars contain photographs of the dead, representations of things they liked, and items representing the four elements: candles for fire, drinks for water, fruit for earth, and fluttering tissue-paper decorations for wind. The dead take in the essence of the food, which will later be eaten by the living.
In some areas, families go to the graveyard to celebrate through the night. They clean and decorate the graves, sometimes setting up ofrendas on the gravestones, as bells are rung.