As part of the University of Chicago Web Institute for Teachers, this website has been developed by Mary Ellen Zieglerand Nenette Luarca using artwork from the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. This curriculum has been developed to explore the artistic genre of portraiture. It will allow students and teachers to look at a small sampling of portraiture in order to learn how portraits and self-portraits have been done throughout history as well as give them an opportunity to create their own "Technological Self-Portraits" consisting of web pages they have chosen to bookmark. This curriculum can also function as a model for other educator-museum partnerships.
Our aim is to give upper elementary and middle school students an understanding of portraiture as way of representing one person (or themselves) to the viewer of the artwork. This can be achieved in both traditional and non-traditional ways, and often a portrait is reflective of the conventions of a certain historical time.
Understanding portraiture and
its place in art history is important because it can be an aesthetic forum
for learning basic elements, as well as more advanced ways of critical
thinking and looking. While looking at a portrait, or any piece of
artwork, a student must consider not only what the work looks like, but
why. Questions students can ask themselves include: Why did the artist
choose to use specific elements? How do the elements relate to each
other in the composition? How did the time period in which the artist
was active affect his or her work? Learning to think critically about
the many layers of meaning and significance in a work of art is a skill
that can be translated easily to other arenas of study and thought.
But why is the internet an
integral resource in learning about portraiture and the arts? With
the World Wide Web, students can make virtual "visits" to museums around
the world. This wealth of resources and the amount of artwork reproductions
cannot be provided in any other way. Additionally, by allowing students
to create a "Technological Self-Portrait," they can think about the internet
in a new way, as a mode of self-representation. The "Technological
Self-Portrait" also shows students that artwork and portraiture not only
has its place in the past, but can continue to be used in the future with
the changing resources and media.
This curriculum is intended for students in Grades 5-8, but can easily be adapted by educators in order to apply to varying age groups. It can be used by teachers in self-contained classrooms and specialized art teachers.
Students and teachers should be familiar with using a mouse, and have been exposed to browsing the web. Basic knowledge about the arts such as the elements of art (line, shape, color, texture) are also necessary.
This curriculum deals with art-making and art history. Learning about portraiture through history can also incorporate social studies and history.
--Technological Self-Portrait: Your class
will need computers with internet access, disks on which they will save
their bookmarks, and a paper notebook for a "Fine Arts Journal."
--Looking and Learning about Portraits and Artists:
You will need computers with internet access, about 5 students can work
on a computer together and then discuss what they see.
--Other Activities: From the extended activities
page, it will depend on the various activities you choose to do with your
students as to the materials that you will need.
At the end of this set of lessons, students should be able to:
This module is designed to last about eight weeks, but you can tailor it to fit your school or class's schedule. It will be most effective to start this unit on portraiture with "Looking and Learning about Portraits and Artists" because students can become familiar with the genre of portraiture by looking at examples throughout history. Students will look at six examples of portraiture from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, and should work in small groups or as a class to answer the discussion questions that accompany each artwork. The discussion questions can be altered or added to, or merely used as a springboard for class discussion. Students can either go through the examples by choosing the order they look at the works, or you can lead the class through the chronological order of works.
After learning the basics about portraiture, you
can begin the "Technological Self-Portrait" activity. More information
about this activity can be found on the following page:
http://cuip.uchicago.edu/wit/99/teams/portraits/techportrait.htm
The Other Resources/Links page contains links to other artmaking activities that may or may not incorporate the Web or technology. You may want to do some of these activities before doing the Technological Self-Portrait as a way to further familiarize your students with different interpretations of portraiture. Students can also explore this page on their own. There are also links to different museum collections that you can use as other examples of artwork.
While this module is intended for upper-elementary
or middle school students, it can easily be adapted for older or younger
students. You should go through the Looking and Learning about Portraits
and Artists activity first, and decide which types of discussion questions
you would like to ask your students. Because creating a self-portrait
can be a reflection of the person who creates it, age level is not necessarily
relevant.
Assessment and Activities for Students
You can follow this link to the Students' Page.
Assessment of these activities will be based on class participation and
enthusiasm when creating the students' self-portrait.