Stereotypes Arcimboldo style

Pupils from class 4C at Collège Missy La Rochelle, worked on stereotypes representing the participating countries.

Hélène Lamarche, French arts teacher, introduced and described the topic on the school website:

" Ce travail est réalisé en relation avec plusieurs collègues:

• Maëlle Lahorgue en anglais
• Gaëlle Letourneur en documentation
• Hélène Lamarche en arts plastiques

Il s’agissait pour les élèves de répondre à la question : Quelle est l’image que je me fait des autres pays européens ? de la France ? et d’en élaborer le portrait.

Après avoir mené une recherche documentaire au CDI, ils ont collecté les images pour les assembler sous la forme d’un portrait (à la manière d’Arcimboldo).

A vous de reconnaître les différents pays représentés, sachant que participent : la France, le Royaume-Uni, l’Espagne, l’Italie, les Pays-Bas, l’Allemagne et la Grèce. "

French pupils wrote more about this Italian painter, click here

Finally they added their own comment to the "collages" made by them:

• To me, Spain represents joy, charm and a beautiful language, and that’s why I wanted to work on this country! I love Spain! With this project, I learnt something essential: Picasso is Spanish!!! Maë V.

• I chose Spain because I have family over there, and so I’ve already been there, and I find this country very interesting. The idea I had of Spain was confirmed by this project: it’s a country with beautiful traditions ! Frédérique S.

• I decided to work on the Netherlands, because I realized that I didn’t know much about it. I didn’t have many stereotypes either, and I really wondered why. Was it because of the geographical distance between France and Holland? But I wasn’t really satisfied with this answer. Our languages are really different, and also our two countries don’t have so many historical relations... Really, I don’t know... Anyway, I learnt to know the Netherlands a little better, and I’m glad about it. Youva I.
• I had no precise stereotype about this country, so I was interested in discovering it. Maxime B.

• I’ve chosen Italy because I like this country very much. When I think of Italy, I have a lot of images in mind: Venicia, Arlequin, Julius Caesar, pizzas, pasta, romanticism, carnivals... I love this country and I really enjoyed working on it ! Valentine G.

• I chose Italy because it’s a country with many food specialties, monuments and a rich history. I especially liked to work with the monuments, like the Pise Tower. Marine S.

• I chose France, because I had the impression that people usually saw us as an old man, with his “baguette”, his bottle of wine and his “béret” on the head... That’s just a stereotype, not who we really are, and I wanted to show that. Joyce L.

• I chose France, because I wanted to show to our European friends monuments and cultural elements that maybe they don’t know about. I also had a lot of fun caricaturing the image of our country and its capital! Julien M.
• France seemed to be the best choice for me, because it’s my country, so it’s easy to work on it... I knew what to work on... Mamoudou S.

• I chose England and Great Britain, because I’ve been there several times, and I really like it there. It was the country that inspired me most. I really appreciated working on the images of this country. With Juliette, we broke a stereotype we had by representing it as a punk. Léna L.

• Great Britain is what I chose because I’ve already been there and I had a lot of ideas for the project. With this work, I discovered the punk and rebel side of the Britich culture. I really enjoyed working on this country, because it’s a culture I really appreciate. Juliette L.

• I chose Germany because I’m very interested in this country. Now, I think I know a little more about German culture, lifestyle, food or monument. At first, I had the image of 2nd world war or Berlin wall, but this work helped me to see things differently, and how beautiful and interesting this country also is. Emile B.

• I chose Germany because I was curious about his history and his monuments. I had a lot of ideas for this country, but I’ve been especially interested in the History (Beethoven, the 1st and 2nd world war, Einstein...). I’ve discovered food specialties and many monuments. Paul J.

• I wanted to work on this country, because to me, it evokes beautiful landscapes and I’m also very interested in ancient Greece. Nathan D.

• I chose this country because I had a lot of ideas for the project. I think it’s a very rich culture. My main idea was to build a "monument" showing the Greek culture, and that’s why I chose a lot of architectural elements. Simon M.