in the Kingdom of Benin, the Oba was the spiritual, political, and cultural leader

how people or groups are shown or left out in art/media

a type of artwork where shapes or images are raised above (or carved into) a flat surface

Raised portraits: representation through dots and relief

Art and design

Painting a portrait with colour and feeling

Layers and symbols: surface, texture and identity

Patterns in medieval art

Made in collaboration with October Gallery, in this unit pupils express personal identity through portraiture, material, memory and imagination. Pupils create textured paintings, symbolic surfaces, close-up feature portraits, and expressive self-maps that combine journey and face.

Charting self: exploring portrait and identity

turn an ordinary person into someone heroic

make the artwork smaller and less detailed

What can material and scale do in a portrait?

the strong contrast between light and dark in art

Light and shadow can help express __________ and focus attention in a portrait.

It decides who gets seen, remembered, or valued.

What do geometric patterns in medieval art often represent?

a design made by repeating shapes, lines, or images

True or False? If shapes in an artwork look abstract, they don’t mean anything.

What can material surfaces and patterns carry in an artwork?

Starter Quiz

What do geometric patterns in medieval art often represent?