Teacher Institute Summer 2008: Dutch Art in the Golden Age
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Description | Application Process | Application Form
This six-day seminar will explore Dutch art of the 17th century, a period when the Netherlands enjoyed a "golden age" of economic success, world power, and prolific artistic production.
From the beginning of the 17th century, and despite continued conflict with Spain, the Dutch Republic flourished as a nation of seafaring traders. Its prosperity shifted the balance of economic and political power from the Mediterranean to northern Europe. Dutch society became known as the most urbanized, international, and literate in Europe, with an unusually large number of people owning works of art.
Through lectures, gallery talks, discussion, and hands-on activities, participants will study the paintings produced for a newly affluent middle class. Primarily Calvinist—thus shunning religious imagery—these bourgeois patrons of the arts championed a range of secular subjects that spoke of social rank, personal accomplishment, and aspiration, as revealed through portraiture, history painting, still lifes, land- and seascapes, and genre scenes.
Instruction will concentrate on the National Gallery's collection of Dutch art, emphasizing direct encounters with original objects. Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Gerard ter Borch, Frans Hals, Judith Leyster, and Pieter de Hooch are among the Dutch masters whose work will be considered.
Paintings will be examined within the broader social matrix of 17th-century Dutch life, making this seminar particularly appropriate for teachers of history and social studies as well as studio art and art history.
Goals
Through an exploration of paintings in the Gallery's collection, the institute aims to:
- provide an introduction to life and culture during the Dutch golden age
- examine a range of pictorial subjects and how they reflected bourgeois tastes, values, and ideas
- foster an understanding of painting as an artistic creation and of period techniques of fabrication
- introduce the various functions of Dutch art: descriptive, didactic, metaphorical, and allegorical
- teach techniques for studying and interpreting Dutch art that may be used in the classroom and adapted for different grade levels
Program Sessions
Two six-day sessions will be held at the Gallery. Each session will accommodate 25 participants. Applicants should indicate which week they would prefer to attend. Please keep both weeks open until registration is finalized.
Applicants should plan to attend the entire program, which takes place Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Session 1: July 14–19, 2008
Session 2: July 28–August 2, 2008
Program Fees and Resources
The fee is $200 per person and covers the cost of instruction, books, and other program resources.
Selection Criteria
Participants will be selected through a rigorous application process. Selection will be based on an individual's or a team's statement of purpose. Administrators (principals, supervisors, or curriculum specialists) will be given special consideration. To encourage national representation, efforts will be made to enroll candidates from each of the following five regions:
- Northwest and Alaska
- Southwest and Hawaii
- Midwest
- Northeast
- Southeast
Fellowships
Fellowship opportunities for teachers (K–12, all subjects) are listed below. All fellowships offer stipends of $2,000 and fee-waived program enrollment. Applicants must identify the sources of funding for which they wish to be considered, meet the selection criteria for the program, and briefly explain the classroom outcomes they anticipate. Selection of fellows will be based on merit; not on financial need. Consideration will focus on individual (or team) statement of reasons for wanting to attend (#5 on applications), the topic's connection to curriculum and/or students needs and anticipated teaching outcomes.
Educators of any discipline who are currently employed within a public, private, or parochial school system, K–12, are eligible for funding.
Successful fellowship candidates will be paid upon the completion of the program and submission of a two-page report summarizing the applications they anticipate making as a result of attending the institute.
- Annetta J. and Robert M. Coffelt Sr. and Robert M. Coffelt Jr. Endowed Fellowship
Open to all K–12 educators teaching in the United States or its territories.
- Sara Shallenberger Brown Fund
K–12 educators who teach in Kentucky are eligible to apply.
Transportation and Housing
Participants will be responsible for their own transportation and housing. A list of housing options will be provided upon admission.
Credit Option
One hour of graduate credit is available through the School of Education, University of Virginia. Credit fees are $215 for Virginia residents and $325 for out-of-state residents and are payable to the university on the first day of the seminar. Three weeks after the program ends, those who register for credit must submit either a written lesson plan that focuses on a work of art from the Gallery's collection or that explores student use of iPod technology. A letter grade based on the curriculum model will be registered with the university.
Acknowledgments
The 2008 Teacher Institute is supported by generous gifts from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Annetta J. Coffelt and Robert M. Coffelt Jr., the Park Foundation, and the Sara Shallenberger Brown Fund.
Applications are due March 15, 2008, and must be submitted via the online form.
Educators may apply as individuals or as teams of two. Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose explaining why they would like to attend this program, including how the subject matter will be incorporated into their classroom studies, and a plan for sharing the institute experience with their students and colleagues upon completion of the program. K–12 educators of all subjects and grades are eligible.
Confirmation
Participants will be notified of their acceptance by May 1, 2008. If accepted, applicants will have until May 15, 2008, to confirm their participation.
Questions about this program should be directed to teacher@nga.gov. When contacting us, please provide a telephone number and the times of day when you may be reached.
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