Lesson 11: Portrait

Objective: To have the children create a portrait with facial proportions.

Vocabulary:

detail - A part, individual feature, or item.

facial proportions - The way the features of the human face, such as eyes, nose, and mouth are related to each other in size and placement.

portrait - An artwork that shows a person, a group of people, or an animal as the main subject matter.

self-portrait - A portrait of an artist made by himself or herself.

subject or subject matter - What an artwork is about.

Young Man in a Blue Suit by Alice Kent Stoddard1930, oil on canvasCollection of David David Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Proportion

All of the artworks in this lesson are portraits. A portrait is an artwork that shows a person, a group of people, or an animal. An artist creates a portrait to show how a subject looks or what a subject is like.

Personality in Portraits
A portrait reflects the subject's personality. An artist may experiment with lines, shapes, or colors to express the feelings and character of the subject. What do you think the artist wanted to show about the man in Young Man in a Blue Suit by Alice Kent Stoddard?

Portrait of Francesco I De'Medici by Agnolo Bronzino1551, tempera on wood panel58.5 cm x 41.5 cmUffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy, EU

Facial Proportions
When an artist draws or paints a realistic portrait, he or she studies the subject's head, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Then the artist shows the facial proportions, or how these features are related to each other in size and placement.
Notice the facial proportions in Portrait of Francesco I De'Medici by Agnolo Bronzino. Compare the boy's face with the diagram. The boy's eyes are about halfway between the top of his head and his chin. His nose is about halfway between his eyes and chin, and his mouth is about halfway between his nose and chin.

Self-Portrait with Loose Hair by Frida Kahlo1947, oil on masonite24" x 17.75"Private Collection

Self-Portraits
Self-portraits are portraits that artists create of themselves. Look at Self-Portrait with Loose Hair by Frida Kahlo. Each of Kahlo's many self-portraits expressed something about her personality. Kahlo added details to reflect her emotions. What can you tell about the artist by the details she included?

Think Critically - Tell what you learned.

Studio Time: Portrait

Materials:

Pencils, Sketchbooks, White Paper, Colored Pencils or Markers

Plan

Choose a person you would like to draw. Observe the person's facial features closely. Lightly sketch what you see. Look at the diagram of human facial proportions above to help you.
Check list:
- Create a portrait.
- Use correct facial proportions.
- Include something that tells something about your subject.

Facial Features

Create

Use your sketch as a guide to draw the portrait. Think about the size and placement of each facial feature.

2. Use colored pencils or markers to add color and details to your drawing.

3. Show something in your portrait about your subject's personality.

Reflect - Tell about your work.

Photograph and Submit your work on Google Classroom.

Photograph sketches as well as completed artwork.
"Add" (attach) to Google Classroom assignment.
"Mark as done" to submit your work for a grade.

Challenge: Photographic Portrait Drawing

Create a portrait with pencil to complete the other half of the photograph.