Doris M. Vázquez
Theme
Francisco Oller—
El Velorio
Outstanding Nineteenth Century Puerto Rican Painter
Objectives
Students, after studying the life of Oller and the painting
El Velorio
will be able to:
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1. Write or discuss the life of Oller in some detail.
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2. Describe what is happening in the scene depicted in the painting.
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3. Write a description of the sights, sounds, and movements found in the painting.
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4. Compare this old practice with how the death of a child is handled today.
Procedure
The teacher will present the reproduction of Oller’s painting to the class. Several questions can be made to the students to start a discussion, such as:
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1. What do you think is happening in this painting? Is it some kind of celebration?
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2. What are the people doing?
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3. If you could hear sounds coming from the painting, what would they be?
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4. Where and when do you think this happened?
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5. How are the people dressed? Do they dress like that now?
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6. Describe the mother (she is the one with the white band across her forehead) and what is she doing?
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7. What is mostly everybody looking at?
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8. What is the old man with the cane looking at?
Discuss these questions with the students, as you look at the painting. There are many details about the hut, the furniture, the dress of the j’baros, and the countryside that can serve as clues as to when this event occurred. This painting is of grand measurements, 96” x 156 1/2”, and the figures are almost life size. It is a marvelous art piece to behold. It is found at the Museo de Arte of the University of Puerto Rico.
