Take One Picture 2022

Jewellery for Pharaoh’s Daughter

Pencalenick School, Truro – A school for students with complex learning needs, ages 11–14

Students were drawn to the women’s beautiful jewellery and decided to make their own beads from clay and coils of paper.

‘I liked making the beads, the paper stuck to my fingers but I liked the clay ones.’

Why Would a Mother Send Her Child Away?

Combe St Nicholas CE VA Primary School, Somerset, ages 10–11  

The children asked why someone would give up their baby, so the class discussed different times when families have protected their children by sending them away.

‘Mothers would send a child away because of natural disasters or wars like WW1 or 2.’

Watercolour Landscapes

Pembroke Park Primary School, ages 10–11  

Year 6 noticed that the landscape in the painting looked more like somewhere in the UK than Egypt, so they used watercolours to paint their own school field.

‘I enjoyed painting my own landscape and thinking about who would commission it.’

Our Families

Icknield Primary School, Luton, ages 4–5 

Nursery children thought that the painting showed a family, so they decided to represent their own families and build houses for them out of lollipop sticks.

‘It made me really happy because I could see my family safe inside.’

Shimmery Fabrics

Yewstock School, Dorset – A school for students with additional learning needs, ages 10–11

Focusing on the women’s shimmering dresses led Year 6 to experiment with layering pearlescent paints over a selection of shiny surfaces.

‘This reminds me of water too, all the swirls of the river rushing past.’

Helping Hands

Yewstock School, Dorset – A school for students with additional learning needs, ages 7–9

Children from Yewstock school were inspired by all of the hands and arms in the painting, pointing and telling the story.

Fantastic Feet

St Robert’s First School, Northumberland, ages 7–8

Year 4 had lots of questions about the bare feet in the painting, inspiring a project with a local podiatrist.

‘We wanted to know about why the ladies had dirty feet.’

Baskets with Notes from Moses’ Mother

Headlands Primary School, Northampton, ages 8–9 

Year 4 were worried that Moses would be uncomfortable and upset inside his basket, so they made new ones and added comforting notes from his mother.

‘Learning how to weave and how different shapes are created was amazing.’

Capturing Movement 

Grange Park School, Kent – a specialist school for pupils with a diagnosis of ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition), ages 11–13

The women’s elegant, outstretched arms inspired students from Grange Park School to focus on movement and dance.

‘I think the women are going to keep the baby safe.’

Goggling at the Baby

Woodford Halse CE Primary Academy, Northamptonshire, ages 3–4 

This project was inspired by what all the women were looking (goggling) at in the picture, so they added googly eyes to draw attention to Moses.

‘There's a baby in the middle in a basket.’

Floating Pebbles

Headley Park Primary School, Bristol, ages 6–7 

Year 3 wondered if the pebbles in the painting were floating in the water, so they made their own hollow ceramic stones to float down the river.

‘The pebbles are floating and clattering and chattering to keep the baby Moses company.’

Beautiful Brooches

Headley Park Primary School, Bristol, ages 7–10

After noticing the ornate brooches on some of the women’s dresses, children from Headley Park made their own using card, pasta, string and tin foil.

‘Moses' mum lived in Egypt. She might not have looked like the Mum in the painting.’

The Making of Moses 

Holy Trinity CE Primary School, London, ages 9–10 

Year 5 decided to create a blanket for Moses, showing scenes from his life and symbols to represent his character.

‘We started by sketching our designs, labelling which colour fabric we would use for each piece.’

Re-Take One Picture

Holy Trinity CE Primary School, London, ages 5–6 and 10–11 

Year 6 children noticed that the story had been restaged to take place in the 1600s, so they thought about what it might look like at different periods in history.

‘We thought that if Gentileschi could change the time of events to suit his audience, then why can’t we?’

Moses’ Blanket

Mab’s Cross Community Primary School, Wigan Hertfordshire, ages 5–6 

After interviewing new mums about what a baby might need, children made a blanket for Moses, making sure the material was soft and warm.

‘I learned loads about looking after a new baby … things I can do to look after my new baby brother.’

Hopes of a Mother

Mab’s Cross Primary School, Wigan, ages 10–11 

Year 6 wondered how the bright colours in the painting might have been made, leading to them making a selection of natural dyes.

‘The colours we ended up with were really surprising.’

Sign Language Stone

Sellincourt Primary School, London, ages 4–11 

After noticing the gesture in the painting, children at Sellincourt Primary told Moses’ story through symbols and sign-language.

‘I like the way the hands are telling the story.’

Stormy Seas and Gentle Rivers

Hill Top CE Primary School and Nursery, Bradford, ages 7–8

Year 3 learned that Moses was hidden in a basket to keep him safe, so they made baskets designed to keep their loved ones safe during stormy times.

‘We drew pictures of who we would keep safe, like in Covid.’

World of Caring Hands

West London Free School Primary and Earl’s Court Free School Primary, ages 9–10

Year 5 were struck by the ways Moses’ story reflected a world of division, so they made an artwork to symbolised unity.

‘Our many hands are meant to reinforce the concept of being able to allow change through unity.’

The Baby in the Basket

Runwell Community Primary School, Essex, ages 9–10

After learning about Moses’ story, students made a model to represent his journey from his birth mother to the palace.

‘We worked in small groups, creating separate parts of the model.’

Gestures

Caroline Chisholm School, Northampton, ages 7–8

Students thought about how hands are used to communicate, and chose words that represent the painting to show in sign language. This example uses the word ‘safety’.

‘I like that the hands in the painting were pointing at something, it was like a secret message from the artist.’

The Finding of Inspiration

Gunthorpe Primary School, Peterborough, ages 10–11

Year 6 thought that the women in the painting may have re-written history, so they replaced each figure with an inspirational woman who has shaped the world.

'It was really interesting how the roles of women changed from the past.’

Woven Willow Baskets

Kingswood Primary School, Gloucestershire, ages 5–11 

After wondering how Moses’ basket might have been made, the children took part in a workshop with a local willow-weaver.

‘I want to do more! I cannot believe how relaxing it is!’

The Finding of Moses at Our School

Grimes Dyke Primary School, Leeds, ages 6–7

Children at Grimes Dyke Primary School decided to create their own version of the painting, using a local pond and woods for the background.

‘When we did a tree, we made a trunk by making a bark-rubbing and shading it in.’

River Animals Batik

Snaresbrook Primary School, London, ages 9–10

After discussing how Moses was found in the Nile, the children decided to make animals that he might have met on his journey.

‘When I washed the glue off, my fish looked 3D, like it was swimming down the Nile past the family.’

Family Dresses

Snaresbrook Primary School, London, ages 6–7

Students were drawn to the style and colours of the women’s gowns, so decided to make their own dresses using the theme of ‘family.’

‘I think the picture is showing a special occasion because the baby was born. That is all about family.’

Exploring Clouds

Bridgewater Primary School, Northampton, ages 3–4

Nursery Class noticed the clouds in the painting, inspiring an exploration of the clouds they could see outside and what different types are called.

‘The clouds can move and they can be anything … they could be soft like a cushion.’

Egyptian Jewellery

John Bunyan Primary School, Essex, ages 7–8 

The class enjoyed designing and making Egyptian-inspired jewellery using clay, cardboard and a variety of beans and pulses.

‘We thought that some people must have more money than others because they were wearing jewellery.’

Animals of the Nile

John Bunyan Primary School, Essex, ages 4–5 

After thinking that Moses might get eaten by a shark, Nursery class investigated what kinds of animals live in the Nile.

‘We liked painting the crocodile. We made green with yellow and blue.’

Moses’ Mobile

Upton Meadows Primary School, Northampton, ages 8–9

Year 4 thought about things that Moses might need on his journey – such as a bottle, teddy or book – and decided to make them for him, displaying them all together on a mobile.

‘I designed a book for baby Moses. Firstly, I sketched my design, then I made it out of clay.’

Colour Mixing

Upton Meadows Primary School, Northampton, ages 8–9 

Inspired by the colours of the women’s dresses, students learned how to mix secondary and tertiary colours to recreate the painting.

‘This was great fun as there are so many bold colours in the painting to use.’

Storyboards

Gurnard Primary School, Isle of Wight, ages 5–11

After looking at the painting and thinking about what might be happening, students at Gurnard Primary School created detailed storyboards.

‘I never knew the story of Moses and doing the storyboard helped me to understand what the painting was about.’

Caring and Sharing

Frith Manor School, London, ages 3–4

Nursery children focused on baby Moses and thought back to when they were babies themselves, talking to their grown-ups and decorating a buggy.

‘When I was a baby, you know what I used to do? I used to play with my toys.’

The Trees

Rothwell St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Leeds, ages 5–6 

Year 1 compared the trees in the painting to ones local to them, learning about how trees grow and creating their own.

‘We went to the woodland area to look at our trees and did rubbings with crayons.’

Pointing to the Creation of a Paper Moses

River Bank Primary School, Luton , ages 7–9

Children created a 3D version of all the pointing arms in the painting, sculpting them from different types of paper and tape.

‘We learnt to make some arms, but they were no ordinary arms… It was really inspirational.’

Wire Hands

St Michael’s School, Essex, ages 10–11 

The gestures in the painting inspired Year 6 to create a dynamic collection of hands, using pliers and chicken wire for their sculptures.

‘I loved working on the floor, using the chicken wire, most of all bending the hand into new positions.’