National Gallery of Art Family Guide Dutch and French Paintings

Followthis booklet for an experience in artful looking. Cues and questionsare intended to encourage group discussions that turn looking intolearning. Share and compare opinions as you analyze the art ondisplay.Paintings of Dutch food, table settings, and flowers areknown as stilleven. Dutch artists tried to make paintings of suchobjects appear lifelike, even though it sometimes meant exaggeratingtextures or pairing items that would not be together in nature —such as flowers that bloom at different times of the year. Feel thepulse of life in nineteenth-century France — wide boulevards forstrolling, cafés and nightlife, and art that catches people in amoment’s time. Young artists in Paris wanted to capture modern lifein the city: casual moments, daily activities, work, and fun.