Activity Idea: Market Scene on a Quay (Quick Tip)
Use the following strategies with Frans Snyders and Workshop’s Market Scene on a Quay
- Identification [science]
Identify the birds, fish, and vegetables in this painting. Categorize them by habitat and locate their native environments on a world map.
- Going to Market [science, social studies]
Discuss the differences between today’s grocery stores and this open-air market. What factors have made it easier to obtain food? (refrigeration, greenhouses, packaging) How have these changes impacted nutrition? As an extension, visit a grocery store and speak with employees to discover the type of work they do and the functions the store serves.
- Still Lifes [art]
Create a still life arrangement of inanimate objects. Consider how the organization of the objects, fall of light, and your point of view affect the final composition. Draw the still life from different angles. Create a classroom exhibition of these still lifes and compare the different views.
- Abundant Antwerp [social studies, art]
Define the word abundance. Why would a seventeenth-century city be proud of this abundant display? What does it say about their political and social stability? Study Antwerp’s trade routes during the seventeenth century. (See: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/AntwrpCit_History.asp; http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/trade.html) Map these routes and the imports that traveled along them on a world map.
- Food Chain [science]
Create a visual chart that demonstrates how these animals and vegetables are connected on the food chain. (Do not forget to include humans.) Predict what would happen to the food chain if one or more of these animals were endangered or extinct. Discuss the importance of preserving species from extinction. Consider what humans can do and cannot do to ensure the survival of other species.
- Bird Study [art, science]
Select a species of bird to study. Draw this bird from life or a photograph. Include visual details that inform the viewer about the bird’s habitat and what it eats. Write a brief description of this species of bird to accompany your drawing.