What is a portrait? - Madame Tussauds

Activity 1
a
b
When you have finished your self-portrait, look at it closely.
Does it look like you? If not, why not? What could you
develop or alter to make it look even better?
Swap portraits with the person sitting next to you. What
are the best things about their portrait? Give them some
tips on how they might develop it further.
Activity 2
Many artists have created self-portraits which show their
mood or feelings (e.g. Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh).
Create a self-portrait that expresses a particular feeling or
mood. You could use colour, marks and textures to suggest
what that feeling or mood might be.
For example:
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Dark, heavy marks or sharp shapes might suggest anger or pain.
Pale, delicate marks might suggest uncertainty.
Pale colours or a lot of blue might suggest sadness or calm.
A lot of bright, vibrant colours might suggest happiness.
You might also like to use symbols to suggest a mood or emotion.
Look at the work of Frida Kahlo. She was a Mexican artist who
experienced a lot of physical and emotional pain in her life and
she often used symbols in her work to reflect that pain.
Activity 3
Write a poem to go with your painting,
expressing the same feeling or mood.
Activity 4
Swap self-portraits with one of your
classmates and evaluate each other’s
work. Think about the following:
Can you tell what mood or emotion
is shown in the image?
Is the composition of the picture
effective?
Symbols
Evaluation
Developing a
self-portrait
Art top tips
Make a number of observational studies of yourself using different drawing
media. Look at how your face changes depending on your expression.
Creating a likeness of somebody, especially yourself, is a challenge, but fun.
The more you practice though, the better you will get!
Looking at, and analysing other artists’ work is a great
way of developing your own personal style. Visit as many
galleries as you can and do research online, making
notes and sketches on their styles and techniques all
the time. The National Portrait Gallery’s website is a
good source of information www.npg.org.uk
Key words
Style
Vibrant
Texture
1
Pablo Picasso:
Self portrait 1901
Credit: The Granger
Collection / TopFoto
2
Pablo
Picasso:
Self Portrait
at Age 26
Credit: The Granger
Collection / TopFoto
Worksheet