Fine Arts · Class 12

Active learning ideas

Somnath Hore: Printmaking and Human Suffering

Active learning transforms Somnath Hore’s emotionally charged prints into tangible experiences. When students physically engage with intaglio plates or respond through their own artwork, they move beyond passive observation to feel the weight of Hore’s techniques and themes directly.

• CBSE Learning Outcomes
• CBSE: Contemporary Indian Art - Graphic Prints - Class 12

• 35–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 50 min · Small Groups

Workshop: Replicating Hore's Drypoint

Provide soft copper plates, needles, and ink for students to scratch expressive lines mimicking Hore's famine figures. Print on damp paper using a barren and press. Reflect on how texture conveys emotion through group sharing.

Analyze the unique stylistic features and thematic concerns of Somnath Hore's prints.

Facilitation Tip

For the drypoint workshop, remind students to vary pressure while scratching the plate to experience how resistance in the metal creates emotional depth.

What to look for

Present students with two of Hore's prints, one from the Famine Series and one related to Partition. Ask: 'How does Hore's use of linework and composition in each print specifically convey the distinct emotions associated with famine versus displacement?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Print Analysis

Display enlarged Hore prints around the room. Students note stylistic features and themes on sticky notes at each station, then vote on most impactful elements in whole-class discussion.

Explain how Hore used printmaking to convey the trauma of famine and partition.

Facilitation Tip

During the gallery walk, place prints in pairs so students can compare Hore’s famine and Partition works side by side and note immediate visual differences.

What to look for

Provide students with a short text describing a contemporary social issue. Ask them to sketch a single image or a series of 3-4 thumbnail sketches in the style of Somnath Hore that could visually represent this issue, focusing on expressive linework.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 60 min · Individual

Response Prints: Personal Suffering

Students create original drypoint prints inspired by local social issues, using Hore's techniques. Share and critique in a class exhibition, linking personal work to his themes.

Evaluate the emotional impact of Hore's stark and expressive linework.

Facilitation Tip

For response prints, encourage students to first sketch their ideas in rough thumbnails to clarify their emotional intent before committing to the plate.

What to look for

Students create a small drypoint or soft-ground etching plate. After printing, they exchange their prints with a partner. Ask partners to evaluate: 'Does the print effectively convey a sense of struggle or emotion? What specific technical choices (line quality, texture) contribute to this?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 40 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Art as Activism

Divide class into teams to argue if Hore's prints effectively raised awareness on famine and Partition. Use evidence from prints and historical context, followed by synthesis vote.

Analyze the unique stylistic features and thematic concerns of Somnath Hore's prints.

Facilitation Tip

In the debate, assign roles like artist, survivor, critic, and activist to ensure multiple perspectives are heard.

What to look for

Present students with two of Hore's prints, one from the Famine Series and one related to Partition. Ask: 'How does Hore's use of linework and composition in each print specifically convey the distinct emotions associated with famine versus displacement?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Begin with a short demonstration of intaglio tools to build confidence, as beginners often hesitate to scratch metal. Avoid letting discussions stay abstract; always tie technique back to emotion. Research shows that tactile engagement with plates and inks strengthens students’ ability to articulate how texture and line evoke feeling.

By the end of these activities, students will confidently identify how Hore’s expressive lines and textures convey suffering, and they will apply these techniques to create prints that reflect personal or social struggles with clarity and impact.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the workshop Replicating Hore's Drypoint, some students may assume prints lack emotional depth compared to paintings.

  While setting up tools, hold up a drypoint plate next to an inked print and ask students to run their fingers over both to feel the physical traces of struggle in the metal and ink.

• During the Gallery Walk: Print Analysis, students might dismiss Hore’s works as historical records without artistic merit.

  Before the walk, give each student a small magnifying glass and a list of symbolic elements to find, such as skeletal forms or jagged lines, to focus their attention on expressive choices.

• During Response Prints: Personal Suffering, students may think social themes in art are outdated and irrelevant today.

  Ask students to pair Hore’s prints with a recent newspaper article on displacement or hunger before sketching, to ground their response in current parallels.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Formal Debate