What is a portrait?

What is the purpose of a portrait?

Do preparatory works have artistic value of their own?

How has the purpose, media, and style of portraits changed and/or stayed the same throughout time?

How might the background, clothes, facial expression, and body language depicted in a portrait reveal something about the sitter?

Look closely at this drawing. How would you describe the color, texture, and line?

Who do you think this is? Why might this artwork have been created?

What is a portrait? What is the purpose of a portrait? Do you think this image serves that purpose?

Why do you think the artist chose not to draw the model’s face? Do you think this was a choice made by the artist or by the model? Why?

One reason the artist might have left out the details of the woman’s face is because this is a study. In terms of art, what is a study? Why is creating a study an important step in the artistic process?

Have you ever had a portrait made of you or your family? What were the steps in that process?

Grades 3–8

Students will write a fictional short story that includes information about the identity of Mrs. Frances Leyland. Where is she going? Why is she dressed in elegant attire? Why is her face not included in this portrait?

For an added challenge, randomly assign different genres (mystery, romance, horror, science fiction, etc.) for their stories.

All Levels

Activity 1
Gesture drawing involves capturing the action, form, and pose of a subject. The model will typically pose for one to five minutes. The shorter the pose, the less amount of details. Focusing on gesture drawing, students will create several sketches of someone in their classroom, home, or community. Students will choose a model and draw them posing in three to five different poses. Suggested times: first pose = 1 minute, second pose = 3 minutes, third pose = 5 minutes, fourth pose = 10 minutes, fifth pose = 30 minutes. Remember, the longer the pose is held, the more detail in the drawing.

Activity 2
Explore the final painting, Symphony in Flesh Color and Pink: Portrait of Mrs. Frances Leyland created by Whistler. What similarities and differences do you see?