A Roman Triumph by Rubens.
A Roman triumph usually celebrated a significant military campaign or victory. Children explored the sensory elements of the painting and their enquiries were inspired by the people, animals and depiction of Roman culture they discovered.
Brighton College Prep School, Brighton
8–9 year olds
Focusing on the elephant’s saddle-cover, pupils researched Roman trade routes and decided it came from Turkey. They experimented with different patterns in rug-making and weaving then created a knotted rug.
Takeley Primary School, Essex
7–8 year olds
Inspired by Rubens's procession, children photographed their legs to create a ‘joiner’ picture in the style of David Hockney. A pupil-led process developed from drawing through to constructing pairs of legs to create a sculpture.
St Cuthbert’s C of E Primary School, Leicestershire
7–9 year olds
Pupils identified the animals, people and objects in Rubens’s painting, and visualised the sounds they might hear. They made work in the style of artist Roy Lichtenstein to explore onomatopoeia.
Soho Parish Primary School, London
7–11 year olds
Pupils linked Maths with architectural drawing by exploring 3D shapes. Children talked about what they saw, developed their 3D drawing skills, and put Maths into practise in different ways and contexts.
Pooles Park Primary School, London
9–10 year olds
Pupils based their project on the theme of movement. Children experimented with different mark making techniques then translated this onto a larger scale.
Moreton Hall School, Shropshire
9–10 year olds
The man dressed in red reminded children of their local Town Crier who also leads processions. Pupils invited him to visit their school so they could draw him and learn about the history of local processions.
Lunt’s Heath Primary School, Cheshire
5–6 year olds
Pupils used different colours and materials to collage their favourite part of the painting. Children thought about their sense of touch and chose appropriate materials to represent texture.
Loughton Manor First School, Milton Keynes
6–7 year olds
Pupils were inspired by the musical instruments because they were learning to play the trumpet. Working with a visiting brass teacher they made a straight ‘tuba’ and a curved ‘bucina’.
Loughton Manor First School, Milton Keynes
5–6 year olds
Pupils investigated the size of a baby Asian elephant then used Maths and DT skills to construct a sculpture from plastic bottles and chicken wire. In Art they dyed fabric to create its skin, made felt for the headdress and designed the saddle-cover.
Kenmont Primary School, London
7–8 year olds
Year 3 researched Roman culture and focussed on the procession in the painting. They made a concertina book of Roman triumphs in London following the route of the River Thames.
Kenmont Primary School, London
3–4 year olds
Children used different sources and developed new skills to learn about elephants. They made drawings using pencil and charcoal and wrote captions and sentences using their knowledge of phonics.
Hartsbourne Primary School, Hertfordshire
9–10 year olds
Year 5 investigated the different columns found in classical architecture. They made sculptures from clay using techniques they learnt from working with A-Level art students.
Harlands Primary School, West Sussex
5–6 year olds
Pupils were drawn to the flow of the garments worn by the revellers and applied Maths to design their own elaborate robes using repetitive geometric shapes and patterns.
Hornbill School, HQ Brunei Garrison, Borneo
5–11 year olds
Pupils drew self-portraits and arranged them as if they were in a parade. Discussing the picture at home helped develop pupils’ language skills, many of whom speak English as an additional language.
Edward Wilson Primary School, London
7–8 year olds
Year 3 used the painting to focus on their light and shadow topic. They created shadow puppets and then filmed a re-enactment of the parade creating sound effects with their voices and instruments.
Clapham Manor School, London
9–10 year olds
Working together, pupils and teachers researched Greek and Roman temple designs before learning how to use recycled materials to make their own large-scale versions from card, tempera paint, and charcoal.
