What is a portrait?
I can explain how artists use a range of creative tools to represent themselves and other people.
What is a portrait?
I can explain how artists use a range of creative tools to represent themselves and other people.
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Lesson details
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.
To help you plan your year 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 year 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.
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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Starter quiz
6 Questions
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
Exit quiz
6 Questions
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