Rosemary Grimble, ‘The Bedroom’, 1953, Ink, Collection of Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
Rosemary Grimble was an English painter and illustrator who lived for a while in Cyprus with her husband, a sailor and writer. She hardly ever used colour in her drawings preferring linear black and white sketches, sometimes using only ink.
Activity one: The artist’s bedroom
Observe the painting very carefully.
Can you quickly spot the items in the list below?
- Two books
- A chair
- A pair of slippers
- A painting
- A glass
- A meander shape
- Two windows
- Why did Rosemary choose to draw her own bedroom?
- What information does this painting reveal about the artist?
- How was the artist feeling in her room?
- What was the season when this drawing was made?
- What time of the day is in the painting?
- What do you like the most in this painting?
Activity two: A hand-woven bed-cover
On the bed of the artist lays a bed-cover which reminds us a lot of the traditional Cypriot weavings.
- Could you describe it?
- What colours might it originally had?
Did you know…
The art of weaving textiles is a centuries old tradition in Cyprus. Before the 1950s, if you had visited a rural house you would have probably seen a loom: a manual weaving machine on which women used to work night and day to weave all the necessary textiles for their family. Usually, the weaving textiles were white or red depending on the area they were made and they were decorated with colourful lines, shapes and tassels (black, blue, red, yellow, green).
HERE you can download the image of the painting and colour it as you like!
You can send us a photo of your creation at firstname.lastname@example.org with the title ‘Museum at Home’.
Activity three: Compare the paintings
Did you know...
Many artists have been inspired and painted their own spaces. These paintings are very important as they reveal valuable information on the life of the artists.
The famous artist Vincent Van Gogh made a painting of his bedroom in Arles. He even painted various versions of it.
"The Bedroom (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh. Original from the Art Institute of Chicago. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel." by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Observe the famous painting and compare it with Rosemary’s drawing. What differences and what similarities can you spot related to….
- The objects in the room
- The colours
- The emotions that the artwork arouses
Observe now carefully your own bedroom and make a list of objects that you can see in it, the colours and the condition of the room, whether it is tidy or not.
Do you think someone could guess your age, your interests or your favourite colour by seeing your room?
Now that you have observed your bedroom, try to draw it. An alternative idea is to draw your dream room.
We would be very happy to see your drawing at email@example.com with the title ‘Museum at Home’.
Activity four: A room and a story
Close your eyes tightly and imagine that you are entering the painting. You are in the bedroom of the artist…
- Lay in her bed. Tidy up the pillows and cover yourself. How does that make you feel?
- Sit on her bed and wear her slippers. How comfortable are they?
- Walk to the window and take her book in your hands. What book is it?
- Now look out of the window. What do you see, hear and smell?
- Sit on the chair. What else do you see in the room? What might be under the bed?
Listen HERE to the imaginary story of Rosemary's kitty that takes place in this room.
The challenge for this week is to observe the painting all the family together and write or record your own story, taking place in this room.
Please send us your story at firstname.lastname@example.org with the title 'Museum at Home'
Let's go to the museum
What about visiting the museum to look around for this and other paintings by Rosemary Grimble? Can you spot other paintings made using only ink?