Using portraiture to reveal and conceal identities
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can play with negative space and mark-making to create an expressive portrait.
Key learning points
- Portraits often reveal how a person looks, but artists can also create portraits that conceal their physical appearance.
- Portraits can challenge us to look at people from different perspectives rather than traditional representations.
- Negative space portraits can help to reveal other aspects of identity.
- Playing with materials to express emotions can bring our feelings to the forefront of our portraits.
Keywords
Conceal - to hide or obscure parts of something
Reveal - to show or uncover something that might not be obvious
Positive space - the area occupied by the main subject
Negative space - the empty area around or within a subject in an artwork
Silhouette - a dark shape or outline usually filled with black
Common misconception
Negative space just means there’s nothing there — it’s empty or unfinished
Negative space may look ‘empty,’ but artists use it intentionally to draw attention elsewhere — it helps us focus on shape, emotion, or story without showing everything. It’s a powerful choice, not a mistake.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to focus on shape over detail when working with silhouettes and negative space — this helps shift their thinking from “drawing a person” to “observing shapes,” which can improve observation and creativity.
Equipment
Paper, scissors, glue sticks, black paint or ink, brushes, water pots, palettes, pencils, coloured pencils, felt tips, collage materials, optional unusual materials (e.g. coffee, tea), silhouettes.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Portraits can tells us about the without including a figure or face.
Q2.Match the following definitions with the correct terms.
the area occupied by the main subject
the empty area around or within a subject in an artwork
to hide or obscure parts of something
to show or uncover something that might not be obvious
Q3.What is the definition of a silhouette?
Q4.What does it mean to interpret an artwork?
Q5.What does the term 'composition' refer to in visual art?
Q6.How does the composition of an artwork affect its meaning?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Traditional portraits show a person’s face and mood through their ...
Q2.By manipulating what to conceal or reveal artists can challenge traditional ...
Q3.How does layering serve as a method for exploring portraiture?
Q4.What is the impact of a background on an expressive portrait?
Q5.What is a visual cue in art?
Q6.What is the difference between positive and negative space in art?
To help you plan your 9 art and design lesson on: Using portraiture to reveal and conceal identities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 art and design lesson on: Using portraiture to reveal and conceal identities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 art and design lessons from the Identity: exploring portraiture unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.