POETRY AND PAINTING

Be inspired to write, paint and perform by one of Van Gogh’s favourite poems, ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats

Download printable activity sheet here (Coming Soon)

Vincent Van Gogh was a voracious reader and was a fan of many British authors and poets including Charles Dickens and John Keats. He often wrote out extracts from different passages that inspired him and sent them to his brother, Theo.

One of Van Gogh’s favourite poems was ‘To Autumn’ by Keats. Here are some activities which focus on the first verse of ‘To Autumn’ which aim to help you develop a greater understanding and appreciation of Keats’ poem.

Share your creations with us using

#vincentstreasures via instagram, twitter

or facebook

'To Autumn' and 'The Eve of Saint Mark', Keats poems transcribed by Vincent van Gogh in a letter to Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Thursday, 7 August 1873.

‘To Autumn’

In one of Van Gogh’s first letters from London, he copied out two poems by Keats, ‘To Autumn’ and ‘The Eve of Saint Mark’. He writes, “The last few days I’ve enjoyed reading the poems of John Keats, he’s a poet who isn’t very well known in Holland, I believe. He’s the favourite of the painters here…”

In the following activities we will look at ‘To Autumn’, a poem which describes the changes to nature as autumn arrives. Each verse refers to a particular stage of the season, this first verse is about the end of summer as it becomes autumn:

‘To Autumn’ by John Keats

(first verse)

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Nature’s Nouns

Take your time to read each line of the poem carefully.
How many nouns can you find that refer to nature?
Underline them.
We counted eighteen nouns in total, listed below!

Poetic Images

Take a look at the images below. Which lines and words from Keats’ poem could they be depicting?

Answers

Nature’s Nouns

Season, mists, fruit, sun,

vines, apples, moss, trees,

core, gourd, hazel, shells,

kernel, bud, flowers, bees,

summer, cells

Poetic Images

‘later flowers for the bees’
‘To swell the gourd’
‘To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees’
‘and plump the hazel shells’
‘For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells’
‘the vines that round the thatch-eves run’
‘And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core’

By using oil pastels and painting with watercolours on top, you can really make the colours of the pastels pop!

Painting Poetry

Van Gogh took autumn as inspiration for several of his paintings, including Les Alyscamps (1888) and The Mulberry Tree in Autumn (1889). He used his famous impasto technique to make the most of the glorious yellows and oranges of turning leaves.

Can you create a painting taking inspiration from Keats’ poem and Van Gogh’s paintings?

The children in this workshop used oil pastels and watercolour paint. This technique of painting over the top of oil pastels really makes the colours of the pastels pop!

Practicing reading with a partner can be a fun! Experiment with the different ways you can make the poem sound and feel.

Reading & Reciting

Reading poetry out loud is lots of fun and is a good way to understand and express the feelings that the words stir up.

With a partner, or in a small group, practice reading each line slowly. Try to speak loudly, clearly and with expression. Ask an adult if you’re not sure how to pronounce a word.
Now, have a go at reading out the whole verse and ask for feedback on what worked well and which lines you could improve upon. Don’t forget to stand up tall with your shoulders rolled back and chin tilted slightly upwards. This will help you to breathe and therefore read more clearly.
Once you’ve read the poem a few times, you could try reciting it from memory!

Children at Reay School practice copying out Keat's poem, just like Van Gogh did.

Writing with an

Ink Dip Pen

Try writing out the poem with an ink dip pen, just as Van Gogh would have done back in the 1800s. It is quite tricky to begin with but gets easier with practice and is lots of fun learning to do!

You will need:

A4 paper
Line guide
Paper clips x 2
A pot of writing or drawing ink
Kitchen roll or tissue
Newspaper
An ink dip pen (a pen for calligraphy or cartoon drawing), these can be bought online or in art shop

Instructions:

Make sure you have laid out newspaper on the table you are using, and are wearing something that you won’t mind getting ink on.
When you dip the nib into the ink it should only cover the hole in the nib. If you dip it in too far, things can get very messy! Use a piece of kitchen roll or a tissue to soak up excess ink.
Now, holding the pen at a 45° angle to the paper, make some simple marks such as short, straight lines and curves. Experiment with applying different amounts of pressure on the pen but don’t press too hard as this will damage the pen.
Using pen and ink can take some getting used to so to begin with having a go at making some simple marks on scrap paper.
Once you have got used to the pen, have a go at writing your name.
Once you are ready to begin writing your first line of poetry, take a piece of A4 paper and attach it to your line guide with two paperclips at the top.
Now you can begin! Take your time and don’t forget to have your kitchen roll or tissue close at hand to mop up any excess ink. Good luck!

For Families

Have you made a painting inspired by John Keats Autumn or one of Vincent’s tree paintings? Perhaps the activities inspired you to try out some a different ideas? We’d love to know how you got on. Please Send us a photo or any comments via our instagram, twitter or facebook using #vincentstreasures, or via our email info@vangoghhouse.co.uk

For Teachers

Curriculum Links: Literacy, Science (changing seasons), Art & Design, History (the Victorians), Drama.

Suitable for KS1 and KS2.

Useful Links:

To Autumn by John Keats

Nature in Autumn

Performing poetry

Credits

Created by Lucy Hall, Livia Wang and Janet Currier, with support from Oval Learning Cluster, The National Lottery Community Fund, Van Gogh House London and children and teachers from Reay Primary School.

POETRY AND PAINTING

Be inspired to write, paint and perform by one of Van Gogh’s favourite poems, ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats

Download printable activity sheet here (Coming Soon)

Vincent Van Gogh was a voracious reader and was a fan of many British authors and poets including Charles Dickens and John Keats. He often wrote out extracts from different passages that inspired him and sent them to his brother, Theo.

One of Van Gogh’s favourite poems was ‘To Autumn’ by Keats. Here are some activities which focus on the first verse of ‘To Autumn’ which aim to help you develop a greater understanding and appreciation of Keats’ poem.

Share your creations with us using

#vincentstreasures via instagram, twitter

or facebook

'To Autumn' and 'The Eve of Saint Mark', Keats poems transcribed by Vincent van Gogh in a letter to Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Thursday, 7 August 1873.

‘To Autumn’

In the following activities we will look at ‘To Autumn’, a poem which describes the changes to nature as autumn arrives. Each verse refers to a particular stage of the season, this first verse is about the end of summer as it becomes autumn:

‘To Autumn’ by John Keats

(first verse)

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Nature’s Nouns

Take your time to read each line of the poem carefully.

How many nouns can you find that refer to nature?

Underline them.

We counted eighteen nouns in total, listed below!

Poetic Images

Take a look at the images below. Which lines and words from Keats’ poem could they be depicting?

Answers

Nature’s Nouns

Season, mists, fruit, sun,

vines, apples, moss, trees,

core, gourd, hazel, shells,

kernel, bud, flowers, bees,

summer, cells

Poetic Images

‘later flowers for the bees’

‘To swell the gourd’

‘To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees’

‘and plump the hazel shells’

‘For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells’

‘the vines that round the thatch-eves run’

‘And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core’

By using oil pastels and painting with watercolours on top, you can really make the colours of the pastels pop!

Painting Poetry

Van Gogh took autumn as inspiration for several of his paintings, including Les Alyscamps (1888) and The Mulberry Tree in Autumn (1889). He used his famous impasto technique to make the most of the glorious yellows and oranges of turning leaves.

Can you create a painting taking inspiration from Keats’ poem and Van Gogh’s paintings?

The children in this workshop used oil pastels and watercolour paint. This technique of painting over the top of oil pastels really makes the colours of the pastels pop!

Practicing reading with a partner can be a fun! Experiment with the different ways you can make the poem sound and feel.

Reading & Reciting

Reading poetry out loud is lots of fun and is a good way to understand and express the feelings that the words stir up.

With a partner, or in a small group, practice reading each line slowly. Try to speak loudly, clearly and with expression. Ask an adult if you’re not sure how to pronounce a word.

Now, have a go at reading out the whole verse and ask for feedback on what worked well and which lines you could improve upon. Don’t forget to stand up tall with your shoulders rolled back and chin tilted slightly upwards. This will help you to breathe and therefore read more clearly.

Once you’ve read the poem a few times, you could try reciting it from memory!

Children at Reay School practice copying out Keat's poem, just like Van Gogh did.

Writing with an

Ink Dip Pen

Try writing out the poem with an ink dip pen, just as Van Gogh would have done back in the 1800s. It is quite tricky to begin with but gets easier with practice and is lots of fun learning to do!

You will need:

A4 paper

Line guide

Paper clips x 2

A pot of writing or drawing ink

Kitchen roll or tissue

Newspaper

An ink dip pen (a pen for calligraphy or cartoon drawing), these can be bought online or in art shop

Instructions:

Make sure you have laid out newspaper on the table you are using, and are wearing something that you won’t mind getting ink on.

When you dip the nib into the ink it should only cover the hole in the nib. If you dip it in too far, things can get very messy! Use a piece of kitchen roll or a tissue to soak up excess ink.

Now, holding the pen at a 45° angle to the paper, make some simple marks such as short, straight lines and curves. Experiment with applying different amounts of pressure on the pen but don’t press too hard as this will damage the pen.

Using pen and ink can take some getting used to so to begin with having a go at making some simple marks on scrap paper.

Once you have got used to the pen, have a go at writing your name.

Once you are ready to begin writing your first line of poetry, take a piece of A4 paper and attach it to your line guide with two paperclips at the top.

Now you can begin! Take your time and don’t forget to have your kitchen roll or tissue close at hand to mop up any excess ink. Good luck!

For Families

For Teachers

Useful Links: