The Dream of Joachim, Giotto, 1305

For this painting, we chose to just look at it and do oral narrations about what we saw in the painting. We do this some weeks. I ask for spontaneous narrations, but if they are hard in coming, as they sometimes are, I will prompt with some questions. Why do you think he painted this painting? What can you tell from the painting such as what setting or season does it depict? Who is in the painting? I do tell some background information about the painting at this point, but not too much. I want them to thirst a little for more information. I want to excite their curiosity, not inundate them with "the answers." How is it like the other paintings of his we have looked at? How is it different? Have you noticed whether he favors certain colors or techniques? Is there anything we would like to know more about? Do you like it and why or why not? Pay particular attention to the different surfaces in the painting. You may want to recreate the building in your student notebook, showing what you learned about surface.

We may "visit" the chapel online to view the paintings from the entrance and get a better idea of how they are arranges in the chapel.