If you ever find yourself wandering about Prague not knowing what to do, consider visiting the National Gallery. We did so with our spectacularly educated French teacher Mrs. Kuchtová and as we were handed seat cushions so we could sit on the ground while listening to our guide speak, it was obvious we couldn’t have chosen better.
Before we started, our teacher informed us, that our tour, unfortunately, won’t be in the French language. Imagine our surprise when the guide immediately switched and started describing the works of famous artists in French. After five minutes we knew, she was not only fluent in French but she was also a lover of art.
The exposition was interactive. We were each handed a sheet of paper where there was a table with basic description of each style, some famous painters connected with it and we had to fill out the main differences between the paintings. After the guide told us everything we needed to know there was another task ahead of us. Now we were divided into groups and each group was assigned a poem. Then we had to figure out what inspired the author to write it, what was the main meaning of the poem and we also had to choose a painting that reminded us the most of the core idea of the poem. We proceeded to present it to the rest of the groups. We all enjoyed this activity very much because the guide showed us a key to decipher an author’s mind.
When we came home, we were tired but very happy. Realising the connection between literature and other kinds of art was very enlightening and new. All in all, it was a great way how to say goodbye to all the events we attended with our school.
Markéta Zindulková, oktáva A
