Using portraiture to reveal and conceal identities

Art and design

What is a portrait?

Exploring portraits through paint

Exploring portraits through 3D

Exploring power in the portrait

Words in portraits

This unit explores portraiture’s power in expressing identity, culture, and belief. Pupils will study artists who challenge stereotypes and explore power, representation, and concealment. They will develop critical thinking while reinforcing respect, tolerance, and self-expression.

Identity: exploring portraiture

Traditional portraits show a person’s face and mood through their ...

By manipulating what to conceal or reveal artists can challenge traditional ...

by focusing on realistic depictions of the subject's face

by emphasising only the subject's physical features

by concealing and revealing aspects of identity through materials

by using abstract shapes to convey emotional expression

How does layering serve as a method for exploring portraiture?

What is the impact of a background on an expressive portrait?

something we can see that gives us information

Positive space moves; negative space stays still.

Positive space is where the artist makes mistakes.

Positive space is colourful; negative space is black.

Positive space is the subject; negative space is the background.

What is the difference between positive and negative space in art?

Portraits can tells us about the {{ }} without including a figure or face.

Match the following definitions with the correct terms.

a dark shape or outline filled with black

a colourful portrait with visible features

to copy the style or technique used by the artist in the artwork

to describe the visual elements in the work without offering deeper meaning

to explore the meaning or message behind the artwork in your own way

to present the art work in a gallery or museum for exhibition

What does it mean to interpret an artwork?

the artist’s technique for blending colours

the choice of materials used in an artwork

the emotional theme or message of the artwork

the way artists arrange visual elements within the artwork

What does the term 'composition' refer to in visual art?

It guides the viewer's eye to what stands out.

It has no effect on how the viewer interprets the work.

How does the composition of an artwork affect its meaning?

Starter Quiz

Portraits can tells us about the without including a figure or face.