Although I don’t think it is necessary to study the lives of individual artist to enjoy and connect with their artwork, hearing stories about artists can make their art come alive in new and exciting ways.
Several months ago, I received a message from a reader. This is what she said.
My number one struggle in teaching art to my kids is making artists come alive. I really want them to grasp art from cave drawings to modern art. To help them understand that there is a person behind each piece that has lived through struggles and joys. I want them to understand that art is an expression of the soul creating it.
~Tee from Wisteria and Worms
I love her statement here, because art is about people and connecting with people. When you are moved by a work of art, you are moved because of the person behind that artwork and what they were thinking and feeling. I believe art becomes more powerful when you recognize that truth.
I will never forget reading The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michelangelo. I read it before I studied abroad in Italy in college. After reading that book, I felt like I intimately knew both Michelangelo and where he lived, Florence, Italy. Going to Florence after reading that book was a magical experience for me.
Here are my favorite biographical novels, movies, and children’s books for both kids AND adults!
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Books about Artists for Kids
- Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winter
- Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
- Uncle Andy’s by James Warhola
- Frida by Jonah Winter
- Diego by Jonah Winter
- My Name Is Georgia by Jeanette Winter
- The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel
Laurence Anholt’s Books about Artists For Children
This is a great series of books where artists and children meet.
- Degas and the Little Dancer
- Cezanne and the Apple Boy
- The Magical Garden of Claude Monet
- Leonardo and the Flying Boy
- van Gogh and the Sunflowers
- Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail
- Camille and the Sunflowers
- Papa Chagall, Tell Us a Story
- Matisse, King of Colour
Movies and Books about Artists for Adults
Books about Artists
- The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone
- The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari
- The Passion of Artemisia: A Novel by Susan Vreeland
- Lust for Life by Irving Stone
Other Books about Artists
Tracy Chevalier
Movies
Do you want to get closer to the lives of the artists? Come with me to Paris! You can also walk the same streets and drink coffee at the same cafes as the great artists who made their home in Paris.
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What about the movie The Monuments Men? I’m listening to the book right now, which adds lots more detail, of course. My teens and I are studying WW2 and this is a very interesting story, adding to our understanding of the times.
Ooh good one! Thanks! I haven’t seen it yet. I started the book but didn’t finish. I’ll add it to the list once I have seen or read it. I don’t want to recommend something I haven’t seen!
I watched this with my high school students last year and they enjoyed it. I have a pretty rough-and-tumble crowd, and many movies fail to hold their attention, but this one managed to do it. They were so shocked that it was (loosely) based on a true story.
How about “The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art”? This is a lovely story with exquisite illustrations (a recent Caldecott Honor recipient).
Thanks! I hadn’t seen that one. I’ll check it out. 🙂
I also enjoyed “Modigliani”, with Andy Garcia in the lead role. It is definitely an adult movie though.
Ooh, I’ll look out for that one.
Hi I love this post!!! Do you have an recommendations for kid friendly (elementary level) movies? I find it difficult to show the lives of the artists via movie because of the content and I’d like to show a movie at the end of the year in my calss to close out the year. No luck finding one so far… 🙂
My middle school students LOVED Spirited Away. It’s beautiful, and I think the animation alone makes it connect enough to art.
Yes on Spirited Away! My middle schoolers love it as well.
I’m having a really hard time finding middle school level books about artists for my class library. They don’t need to be heavily illustrated, although that would be a plus. Graphic novels would be amazing. But while a lot of my students can get into the illustrations and artwork in the books for youngers, a lot also turn up their noses bc “those are baby books.” And with all the pressure to constantly push literacy and reading in every course….. I’m having trouble. Any ideas?
My high school students love Tim Burton’s Big Eyes. Cool story and cool looking…
Oh I love that one too! Thanks!
The new Van Gogh: Loving Vincent and the Rape of Europa which is actual footage of the Monuments Men during WWII