What is a portrait? - Madame Tussauds

Activity 1
What do you think the poses and
costumes of these Madame Tussauds wax
figures tell us about their subjects?
The importance of
observation in portraiture
In order to produce a realistic portrait, it is important to
observe your subject closely.
At Madame Tussauds, the wax figures are usually the result
of one or more ‘sittings’. The celebrities are taken to a private
purpose-built area, where our sculptors take precise measurements
with a tape measure and a measuring instrument called ‘callipers’. Then they
photograph the subject’s head and body from every possible angle. During the sitting, the
sculptors also make observations that will help the sculpture show the celebrity’s personality.
Sometimes it is not possible for subjects to come in for a sitting at Madame Tussauds (for example,
when they are famous characters from history!) and our
sculptors will have to work from photographs or drawings
of a character instead.
Activity 2
Look at these wax portraits. Which
of them do you think was sculpted
following real-life observations
and which from photographs
or other reference material?
Activity 3
Do you think it is better to work from a photograph of your subject, or to
have them sit for you in real-life? Sketch somebody you know from a
photograph that you have at home (maybe a family member) and then
ask one of your class-mates to pose for you and sketch them from
real-life. Which was easiest? Which sketch was most like your subject?
Sculptor
Callipers
Key words
Observation
Sketches
Investigating
portraits
Subject
Wax
Art top tips
Keeping a sketchbook with you at all
times and sketching quick
observations of people that you see
is great portrait practice. You may
be able to use some of your sketches
as the base for more developed
pieces of work at a later date.
Worksheet