Gustave Moreau schools sessions

This workshop takes children on a tour to find La Fontaine’s fable characters hidden in the rooms and objects of the manor. Fun activities on the tour include a dinner party with two (stuffed) mice, role play inspired by The Fox and the Grapes fable, and a craft session creating their very own fable puppet.

In this one-day workshop, children will discover La Fontaine’s weird and wonderful Fables and Moreau’s paintings during a tour of the house. They’ll investigate the symbols and themes shared by the fables, paintings, and the many beautiful objects on display. The tour will finish with a visit to the Moreau exhibition, then children will create their own watercolour painting.

In this one-day workshop, students will take a tour of Waddesdon Manor, finding objects and art related to the Symbolist artwork of Gustave Moreau and ancient Roman iconography and mythology. The tour will touch on the themes of politics in the Late Republic, Imperial imagery under the reign of Augustus, the country versus the city in Latin literature, and the perpetuation of Roman Imperial iconography in later history. Following this, students will be able to visit the Moreau exhibition, before an afternoon workshop in which they will have the opportunity to create a Moreau-inspired painting. Over the course of the day, students will gain an improved understanding of the Waddesdon collection, the Symbolist art movement, and the key themes of iconography, culture, and power in early Imperial Rome.

For KS4/5 pupils. A chance to see our new exhibition Gustave Moreau: The Fables. Discover more than thirty rarely-seen watercolours of this famous artist and work with local watercolour artist Caroline Stoneham to create your own artwork. You’ll learn how to colour mix, glaze and use a restrictive palette, and learn more about form and structure. Places strictly limited.