Portraiture

How many images of faces do you see in one day? Where do you see them? Collect a variety of these images and create a class collage. Try to arrange these images together in different groupings, such as people smiling or people wearing red. Be creative with your groupings. How many variations have you found?

Collect several small objects you feel represent you and place them in a shoebox. Decorate and personalise the outside of the box using collage and papier-mâché. In the classroom, display these ‘identity boxes’ and see if you can guess who owns which one.

Research the conventions of portraiture in different cultures, including styles and techniques, signs and symbols and ideas of beauty.

Place yourself in your favourite room. Photograph the space around you, then draw or paint a series of sketches of this room and several items in it that are important to you. Collage these images together to create an artwork to display in class.

Why do artists create portraits? Discuss portraiture’s role in society – in the past and the present day. Where do we find portraits today, besides art galleries? Discuss whether the following are portraits: passport photos, profile photos for social media accounts, images accompanying news stories, images in advertisements.

Is there a place you visit that is important to you? Select one of these portraits and consider what the artist is intending to portray about place. How would you describe the painting’s overall mood?