Rhythm - looking and listening activity page
Alma Thomas

Look at the Alma Thomas painting,
Red Rose Cantata.

What rhythms do you see in this painting?

Listen to the cantata

Feel the flow of the recitatives, solos and choruses. Do you sense any similarities in the rhythm of Alma Thomas' painting?

What do the white spaces in the painting contribute to the rhythm?

What parts of the music correspond to the white spaces?

Click here to change the color of the spaces - does the rhythm stay the same?

How could you show rhythm in a painting of your own?

The color red brings a vibrant and spiritual rhythm to this artwork. What would happen if the color were to be changed?

See more artworks by Alma Thomas. Compare them to this one and try to imagine what pieces of music might be appropriate to represent each one.

Listen to the cantata again. Create a painting which expresses the rhythms or repetitions in the music.