Horror & Pleasure in Equal Measure
Ready or not, with the start of September comes a new school year. Whether you’re a student jazzed to go back, a parent buying school supplies, or a teacher bracing for impact, you might have strong feelings about this time of year.
And what better way to convey strong feelings than through art? Combing through the collections of museums around the country to create our many art-filled scavenger hunts, we’ve come across works of art for every situation and emotion. Here are 10 artworks that reflect a few of those back-to-school vibes.
The Need for School Supplies Is Real
That’s…one way to take notes in class. But maybe just pop over to Staples for some nice, normal, not-made-of-human-bone notebooks, yeah? (Self-Portrait by Salvator Rossa)
Looking Cute for the First Day of School
You know you’ve got to look your best walking through those doors on day one. (The Ugly Duchess by Quinten Massys)
That Fresh Back-to-School Haircut
You look great! Perfect, no notes. (Medusa by Carvaggio)
Back to School Means Reconnecting with Friends
“Hey, you! How was your summer?” (Gabrielle d’Estrées and One of Her Sisters by unknown artist)
…And, Unfortunately, Homework
Yup, that’s pretty much everyone’s first-homework-assignment-of-the-year face. (Marsyas by Balthasar Permoser)
Teachers When It’s Time to Flip the Calendar Page to September
If you just leave the calendar on August, it’ll stay August, right? Right? (The Desperate Man by Gustave Courbet)
Parents When the Kids All Want the Coolest Stuff for Back to School
“For the hundredth time, no, you don’t need the fanciest tablets and newest phones and designer backpacks and $1,800 Canada Goose coats and five pairs of AF1s and…” (Ugolino and His Sons by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux)
That Feeling When the Teacher Calls On You For Literally Any Reason
Read out loud to the class, or be fully dead? The choice is clear. (The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David)
Snapshot of a Perfectly Normal School Day
Music class. After-school activities. Man-eating demons. Looks about right to us. (The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch)
Every Educator’s Inner Monologue, All School Year Long
Except maybe on Saturdays. (The Scream, duh, by Edvard Munch)
Find More Fun
Explore famous museums and iconic art on in-person scavenger hunts and virtual games all over the country.
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Images credits: All artworks in the public domain