Reviewing A Day's Picnic on Clark Island
This is the student activity 1 of 2 of the A day's picnic at Clark Island learning activity.
Key inquiry question #1
A Day’s Picnic at Clark Island, 1870, Eugene Montagu Scott, oil painting
Task No. 1
Review and description of A Day’s Picnic on Clark Island
A day's picnic on Clark Island, Sydney Harbour
Read through the review of A Day’s Picnic on Clark Island from an 1870 edition of the Illustrated Sydney News. Photographs were not common in Australian newspapers at the time and so a black and white engraving accompanied the review as an illustration of the events.
Discussion Questions
Discuss the style of the review:
- What do you notice about the vocabulary and voice of the writer?
- What did you learn about the painting that you had not realised before reading the review?
- What does the reader learn about the writer of this review?
- What is the reviewer’s opinion about the painting?
Activity
Imagine you are an art critic who has been asked to write a review of A Day’s Picnic on Clark Island.
In your review you should:
- Briefly describe the painting
- Offer your opinion of the painting
- Explain what you see as its appeal or lack of appeal
- Make a recommendation about a suitable audience for the painting
Your review might be for a newspaper, blog or magazine. Alternatively, it might be the transcript of a review written for radio or television.