What is a portrait?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how artists use a range of creative tools to represent themselves and other people.
Key learning points
- A portrait is a representation of a person, usually focusing on their face, expression, and identity.
- Portraits are found across art, craft, and design celebrating individuality.
- Artists often use a multidisciplinary approach when creating portraits.
Keywords
Portrait - a representation of a person, usually focussing on their face, expression and identity
Represent - to show or stand for something, often in a visual or symbolic way
Gestural - the application of media in free sweeping gestures
Common misconception
Portraits must always show the person directly.
A portrait can also include symbolic representations, like objects that reflect the person’s personality or even something as unique as a sample of their DNA.
Teacher tip
For Learning Cycle 1, you’ll need to find or take a photo for your portrait. This could be of yourself, a loved one, someone you admire, or an everyday person. This task can be pre-prepared or split across two lessons.
Equipment
Portrait image. For wax transfer print: card or plastic sheet, oil pastels, pencil. For wax resist method: watercolours, brushes, water.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does a portrait typically aim to represent?
Q2.Match the term to its meaning.
the qualities or traits that make a person unique
showing feelings or emotions through art
representing something beyond its literal meaning
the emotional atmosphere created by the artwork
the social position or standing of a person
Q3.Portraits are often used to explore , showing a person’s personality or how they want to be perceived.
Q4.Why might an artist use a portrait to express identity?
Q5.Why were early portraits, like cave paintings and sculptures, created?
Q6.What is the main difference between figurative and abstract art in portraiture?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What are the main purposes of a portrait?
Q2.Which statement best shows how a portrait can represent someone without showing their face?
Q3.What is meant by a multidisciplinary approach in portraiture?
Q4.Match each keyword to its correct meaning.
to show or stand for something symbolically
made with expressive, sweeping marks
art that clearly shows a recognisable subject
art that uses shapes/colours, not realistic
Q5.Artists use marks to show movement and emotion in portraits.
Q6.In a wax resist technique, oil pastel watercolour, creating texture and contrast.
To help you plan your 9 art and design lesson on: What is a portrait?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 art and design lesson on: What is a portrait?, 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.