B. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing · Responding to Art: Critical Analysis, Context and Responsible PracticeInterpreting Historical and Contemporary Art
B1.3 C1.3About 70 minutes
Learning goals- I can build an interpretation with a claim, visual evidence and context.
- I can explain how symbols and themes carry meaning, and why culture changes that meaning.
- I can interpret both historical and contemporary art works.
- I can accept more than one interpretation when each is supported.
Words to know
interpretation
A reasoned claim about the meaning of an art work, supported by evidence.
theme
The big idea an art work explores, such as identity or loss.
message
A statement the work seems to make about its theme.
symbol
An image or object that stands for an idea.
historical art
Art made in the past.
contemporary art
Art of our own time, by living or recent artists.
history painting
A large, grand style of painting from Europe and North America that showed important historical, religious or mythological scenes.
Hook: same picture, different stories
Show a group of people the same photo and ask, "What's happening here?" You will hear different stories. That doesn't mean anything goes. The best answers are the ones that fit the evidence best.
Interpretation is the part of the critical analysis process where you decide what an art work means. Today you will learn to build interpretations that are personal and supported.
What is an interpretation?
An interpretation is a reasoned claim about the meaning of an art work: its theme (big idea), mood, message, or the feelings and issues it explores.
A strong interpretation has three parts:
- Claim: "I think this work is about..."
- Evidence: visual clues from your description and analysis. "...because I see..."
- Context (when you have it): what you know about the artist, time and place. "This fits with..."
Several interpretations can be valid at once, as long as each is supported. An interpretation that ignores the evidence ("It's about pizza" for a painting with no food in it) is not valid.
Symbols and themes
Artists often use symbols: things that stand for ideas. A clock can suggest time passing or waiting. An empty chair can suggest absence. A window can suggest hope, looking out or being shut in. Symbols are not universal, though. Their meaning depends on culture. In much European art, a skull can stand for death. In a Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) celebration in Mexico, decorated sugar skulls are joyful ways of remembering loved ones. That is why context matters.
A theme is the big idea a work explores: identity, belonging, loss, power, nature, change, family, justice, home. A theme is usually a word or phrase. A message is a full sentence about that theme: "Home is where people are waiting for you."
Historical and contemporary art
Historical art works were made in the past, often by artists who are no longer alive. To interpret them, you need to learn about a world that was different from yours. Contemporary art is art of our time, made by living or recent artists. Contemporary artists often respond to today's issues, and sometimes they respond directly to historical art, questioning whose stories it told.
Worked exampleLet's interpret a historical work
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York. A night sky full of huge swirling shapes, glowing stars and a crescent moon is shown above a quiet village with a church steeple. A dark, flame-shaped cypress tree rises in the foreground.
- Evidence: the sky is full of curling, swirling brushstrokes and bright yellow stars with halos. The village below is small, with straight lines and calm shapes.
- Analysis: the contrast between the energetic sky and the still village makes the sky the main subject. The tall cypress connects the ground to the sky.
- Context: Van Gogh painted it in 1889 while he was living at an asylum (a hospital for mental illness) in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, where he had admitted himself for treatment.
- Interpretation: "I think the painting is about the overwhelming energy and wonder of nature, and maybe the artist's intense feelings, because the sky moves and glows while the human village stays small and quiet."
- Check: another student might argue it is about hope: the stars shine brightly in the dark. Both claims fit the evidence.
A strong interpretation states a claim, supports it with visual evidence, and uses context carefully, without claiming to know exactly what was in the artist's mind.
Worked exampleLet's interpret a contemporary work
Kent Monkman, a Cree artist and member of Fisher River Cree Nation, painted two huge canvases called mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) for the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2019. The two paintings are Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the People.
- Context: the paintings respond to famous European and American history paintings from the 1800s, which showed the arrival of settlers as heroic and usually showed Indigenous people as background figures or not at all.
- Evidence: Monkman paints in the grand, dramatic style of those history paintings, but Indigenous people are at the centre. In Resurgence of the People, Indigenous people steer a boat, rescuing others. His gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief, appears in the paintings.
- Analysis: by borrowing the old style and reversing who is the hero, the paintings make viewers notice whose stories the older paintings left out.
- Interpretation: "I think the works are about reclaiming history from an Indigenous perspective and about Indigenous strength and survival, because Indigenous people are shown as leaders and rescuers in a style once used to celebrate colonizers."
Contemporary art often talks back to historical art. Knowing the older works it responds to (context) is key to interpreting it.
Interpretation sentence frames
- I think this work is about ___ because ___.
- The ___ could symbolize ___, especially since ___.
- At first I thought ___, but after learning ___, I now think ___.
- One possible interpretation is ___; another is ___. The stronger one is ___ because ___.
Just for funFunny but true: in 1961, Henri Matisse's paper-cut work Le Bateau (The Boat) hung upside down at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for weeks before someone noticed. Interpretation tip: check which way is up before deciding what the top of the picture means.
Hands-on activityStory in a still life
You need: a table, a phone or camera (or a sketchbook and pencil), and 4 to 6 everyday objects.
- Choose a theme from this list: waiting, leaving home, celebration, change, memory.
- Arrange objects on a table to suggest that theme without words. Use objects as symbols (keys = leaving, a calendar = time, a photo = memory).
- Photograph or sketch your arrangement.
- Show it to someone at home. Ask them to give an interpretation using "I think it's about ___ because ___."
- Did they find your theme? Write down which clues they used and which ones they missed.
- Write your own interpretation of the practice image "Two Mugs" using the three-part claim, evidence, context structure.
Your turn
1What are the three parts of a strong interpretation?
A claim, visual evidence, and context (when you have it).
2Interpret the practice image "Two Mugs" in one sentence with "because".
Model: "I think it is about waiting for someone who is late, because one mug is steaming, the chair beside the cold mug is empty, and the clock shows time passing." Other supported claims (loneliness, loss, hope) are also correct if they cite evidence.
3What is the difference between a theme and a message?
A theme is a big idea in a word or phrase (loss). A message is a full statement about it ("Small rituals help us cope with loss.").
4Why can a skull mean different things in different artworks?
Symbols depend on culture and context. In much European art it can stand for death; in Día de Muertos celebrations in Mexico, decorated sugar skulls are part of joyfully remembering loved ones.
5Is "The Starry Night is about pizza" a valid interpretation? Why?
No. No evidence in the painting supports it. Interpretations must fit the evidence.
6Define historical and contemporary art.
Historical: made in the past, often by artists no longer living. Contemporary: art of our time, by living or recent artists.
7What did Kent Monkman's mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) (2019) respond to?
Famous history paintings of the 1800s that celebrated settler arrival and left out or sidelined Indigenous people.
More practice: warm-up
1Who painted The Starry Night (1889)?
2Name two common themes in art.
Any two: identity, belonging, loss, power, nature, family, home, justice, change, love, memory.
3What could a clock symbolize?
Time passing, waiting, a deadline, ageing.
4True or false: there is only one correct interpretation of every art work.
False. Several interpretations can be valid if each is supported by evidence.
An object, colour or image that stands for an idea.
More practice: on your own
1Write two different supported interpretations of "Two Mugs".
Example 1: "It's about loneliness, because one person's place is empty and the snow keeps everyone inside." Example 2: "It's about hope, because someone made a second cup, expecting a guest to arrive." Each needs visual evidence.
2How does the contrast between sky and village support an interpretation of The Starry Night?
The swirling, glowing sky looks full of energy compared with the small, still village, which supports the idea that nature (or emotion) is overwhelming and powerful compared with ordinary human life.
3Why is it important not to claim you know exactly what an artist was thinking?
You usually can't know their mind. You can make a supported claim from evidence and what the artist said, but other readings stay possible.
4Explain how learning context might change your interpretation of a contemporary work.
Example: a painting of a boat might seem like a simple adventure scene, but learning it responds to older history paintings shows it is questioning whose stories get told.
5Rewrite this weak interpretation using the frames: "It's sad."
Model: "I think this work is about grief, because the figure is turned away, the colours are dull greys, and the empty chair could symbolize someone who is gone."
Challenge
1An artist says her painting of a red canoe is "just about colour". A viewer sees it as a symbol of Canadian identity. Is the viewer's interpretation valid? Discuss.
It can be valid as a viewer's interpretation if it's supported by evidence (canoes are a well-known image connected with Canada, the red recalls the flag), but the viewer should acknowledge the artist's stated intent. Meaning comes from both the maker and the viewer.
2Why might a contemporary Indigenous artist choose to paint in the style of 1800s European history painting rather than in another style?
Using the same grand style lets the artist talk back to those paintings directly; viewers recognize the style and notice what has been reversed (who is the hero, whose story is told). The style itself becomes part of the message.
3Write a paragraph interpretation of any art work you can see (at home, online with a grown-up, or in a book) using claim, evidence, analysis and context.
Look for: a clear claim; at least two pieces of visual evidence; analysis with "because"; one piece of context (artist, date, place) with its source; respectful language.
Quiz
1. An interpretation is a...
2. Which interpretation is best supported?
4. The Starry Night (1889) was painted by...
5. Kent Monkman's paintings for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019)...
6. Why does context matter for symbols?
Big idea: B1.3 asks students to interpret a variety of historical and contemporary art works, identifying the messages and meanings they communicate. Interpretation must be supported but can be personal.
How to help: Ask "What do you think it's about?" and then "What makes you say that?" Accept different interpretations if they're backed by evidence.
Sensitive note: The Starry Night was painted while Van Gogh was being treated for mental illness. Discuss this matter-of-factly and avoid jokes or stereotypes about mental illness. Kent Monkman's work deals with colonial history; let your child lead with questions and look for the artist's own statements.
Common difficulties: claims with no evidence; claiming certainty about an artist's thoughts; assuming a symbol means the same thing everywhere.