French art for kids and art history may sound like a big topic for kids, but when you introduce it with hands-on activities, it suddenly becomes fun, colorful, and inspiring. And look at my page Free Art Unit & Curriculum Grades 1 – 8 for more ideas and my post Free 4 Weeks Claude Monet Unit Study & Best Hands-on Ideas.
Too, learn about the French empire with my post French Revolution 1789 – 1799 Unit Study & Lapbook for more ideas.
French art, in particular, offers a wide range of styles and movements that children can explore. One of the most exciting and kid-friendly techniques is pointillism.
This style of painting, developed in France in the late 1800s, allows children to experiment with color, patience, and creativity while learning about famous artists who changed the way people thought about art.
In this post, we’ll dive into what pointillism is, introduce a few French artists behind the movement, and give you a step-by-step free pointillism art lesson you can try with your kids today.
BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT FRENCH ARTISTS
First, look at some of these books about French artists to add to your
7 French Artist Books
France is one of the most famous countries in the world for art. Many great artists lived and worked there, and Paris is often called the "art capital of the world." Learn about French artist or artist who made France their home.
Meet Artist Claude Monet!
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series combines a delightful mix of full-color historical reproductions, photos, and hilarious cartoon-style illustrations that bring to life the works of renowned artists, combining poignant anecdotes with important factual information for readers (Ages 8-9).This book provides an entertaining and humorous introduction to the famous artist, Claude Monet. Full-color reproductions of the actual paintings are enhanced by Venezia's clever illustrations and story line.
Briefly examines the life and work of the renowned twentieth-century artist, describing and giving examples from his various periods or styles
Meet Artist Georges Seurat!
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series combines a delightful mix of full-color historical reproductions, photos, and hilarious cartoon-style illustrations that bring to life the works of renowned artists, combining poignant anecdotes with important factual information for readers (Ages 8-9).This book presents the life and career of the nineteenth-century French Neo-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat, best known for inventing the painting technique known as Pointillism.
An inspiring picture book biography of the artist Paul Cezanne, the painter who laid the groundwork for modern art and whom Pablo Picasso declared "the father of us all."All Cezanne wants is to be a great painter like his friends Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir. But when he shows his works, the professors, the critics, and the collectors all dismiss him: "Too flat!" "Too much paint!" "These are rough and unfinished!" Even his own pet parrot, Bisou, can't be brought to say, "Cezanne is a great painter!" And who can blame them? Cezanne doesn't care about tradition, and he doesn't follow the rules. He's painting in a way no one else has done before, creating something completely new--and he's destined to change the world of art forever. Cezanne's Parrot is a spirited celebration of creativity, determination, and perseverance--and the artist who would become known as the father of modern art.
Discusses the life and work of French post-impressionist artist Henri Matisse.
Examines the life and work of the nineteenth-century artist Edgar Degas, who loved to paint scenes of Paris and the people who worked and lived there.
Marie's dream is to dance beneath the spotlight in the Paris Opera, but she finds herself only a "rat" in the chorus, until Marie's parents send her to pose for master artist Edgar Degas and he leads her to an unforgettable pose that wins the heart of all Paris.
Next, let’s learn about pointillism.
WHAT IS POINTILLISM
Pointillism is a style of painting where the artist uses small, distinct dots of color placed closely together to form an image. Instead of mixing paints on a palette, artists would apply pure colors directly to the canvas. From a distance, the dots blend in the viewer’s eye, creating shapes, shading, and depth.
This technique was first developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in France in the 1880s. They wanted to experiment with how colors interact and how the human eye perceives them.
Their works became part of the Neo-Impressionist movement, a branch of Impressionism that focused on light and color but used more precise methods.
For kids, pointillism is a wonderful introduction to both science and art—it shows how tiny parts (dots) come together to create something beautiful, much like pixels on a computer screen today.
Georges Seurat (1859–1891)
Best known for his masterpiece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Seurat used thousands of tiny dots to create a lively park scene filled with people, trees, and water. This enormous painting is considered one of the most iconic works of pointillism.
Paul Signac (1863–1935)
Signac was a close friend of Seurat. Signac expanded on the technique and created many colorful seascapes and landscapes. His paintings often capture light shimmering on the water, making them especially vibrant.
OTHER FAMOUS STYLES OF FRENCH ART FOR KIDS
While pointillism is a wonderful entry point, French art has so many movements and artists that inspire kids.
Here are a few more worth exploring and an idea for each…
- Impressionism- Before pointillism came Impressionism, it was led by artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas. Impressionists captured quick “impressions” of everyday life with loose brushstrokes and bright colors. A fun activity is to paint outdoors (plein air style) and try to capture how light changes on water, trees, or flowers.
- Henri Matisse and Fauvism- Known for his bold colors and paper cut-outs, Matisse’s later works are especially fun for kids to imitate. Provide construction paper and scissors, and let children create “painting with scissors” art inspired by his cut-outs.
- French Sculpture- Introduce kids to Auguste Rodin, known for The Thinker. For a hands-on project, let kids sculpt small figures from clay or even playdough, experimenting with movement and expression.
French Stained Glass and Cathedrals- France is home to breathtaking stained glass, like the windows of Chartres Cathedral. Kids can design their own “stained glass” art with black paper outlines and tissue paper colors.
MORE FRENCH ART FOR KIDS
- Free 4 Weeks Claude Monet Unit Study & Best Hands-on Ideas
- Renoir Art Project for Kids
- Easy Claude Monet Art Project: How to Paint Water Lilies
- Salt and Glue Monet
- Rodin For Kids
Finally, here’s a simple pointillism lesson.
FREE POINTILLISM LESSON FOR KIDS
You can use this lesson for kids of all ages. We’re making our own version of Georges Seurat’s –The Seine at La Grande Jatte Spring.
Materials Needed:
- White cardstock or watercolor paper
- Acrylic paint, or tempera paint
- Cotton swabs, paintbrush tips, paint pens, or the eraser end of a pencil
- A printed photo of Seurat’s or Signac’s artwork for inspiration
Show kids a few examples of pointillism paintings. Ask questions like:
- What do you notice about the way the painting was made?
- Can you see the dots up close? What happens when you step back?
Talk about the pointillism artists listed above.
Give children a scrap piece of paper and let them experiment with creating dots in different colors. Encourage them to try making patterns, shading, or blending two colors side by side.
Add your chosen colors to a palette.
Have kids select something easy to recreate—a tree, a sun, a flower, or even a simple landscape. If they need guidance, lightly sketch the outline for them in pencil before they start filling it in with dots.
Using cotton swabs or paintbrush tips, kids can begin adding dots of color to their picture.
Remind them to place colors close together and use bright, pure tones for the best effect.
We used 2 colors for each item-water, grass, tree, etc.. to create depth and shadows.
Continue filling in areas with many dots until the painting is full.
When the paintings are complete, display them side by side.
Stand back and notice how the colors seem to blend from a distance. Talk about how it feels to create a picture this way compared to traditional painting.
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