Project ARTiculate

Horse Studies

Grade 6

Linda Pfisterer, Art Specialist

Students learn about Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, and his desire to cast a 24 foot tall horse from metal. They are also introduced to the work of contemporary sculptor Deborah Butterfield, who makes life-size horses out of various materials. Students practice drawing horses, add rubbed textures, and use the drawings to assemble collages.

Objectives and assessment criteria

Students will:

1. learn about Leonardo da Vinci's great horse sculpture and how his ideas survived in his journals.
2. compare the horse sculpture styles of Deborah Butterfield and Leonardo da Vinci.
3. look at the bone and muscle structure of a horse to understand how to draw it.
4. use shapes and lines to draw a horse.
5. use measurements of radius and diameter for drawing horse proportions.
6. rub neutral colors over texture plates to add texture to the horse.
7. cut out horse drawings and assemble a collage.