Overview

In this Art Quest, students will gain a better understanding of color schemes. Specifically, they will be able to explore monochromatic, analogous, and complementary color schemes. They will be able to see examples of this topic by visiting the following museum Web sites:

• The Corcoran Gallery of Art
• Carnegie Museum of Art
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Guggenheim Museum
• National Gallery of Art
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Objectives

After completing this Art Quest, students should be able to:

• Define the term color scheme.
• Differentiate between monochromatic color schemes, analogous color schemes, and complementary color schemes.
• Identify color schemes in paintings.

Suggested Follow-Up

Once students have completed this Art Quest, divide the class into five groups. Assign each group one of the paintings listed in the Test Yourself section. Have each group discuss the color scheme in their assigned painting. After the groups have determined the color schemes for their painting, gather as a class to discuss group answers.