Our last Family Day focused on the artists Pierre Daura and Louise Heron Blair, who married in Paris in 1928. Their friends there included artists, writers and musicians. One of Pierre’s closest friends was Joaquín (wah-KEEN) Torres-García, a Uruguayan artist. The Daura and Torres-García families lived in the same apartment complex in Paris.
Louise and Pierre painted many portraits of their own family and the Torres-García family. A portrait is an artistic representation of a person. It could be a painting, a photograph, a sculpture or something else. Portraits typically focus on a person’s face and often show their personality.
Louise Heron Blair (American, 1905 – 1972), “Ifigenia Torres,” 1929. Oil on paper mounted on board, 24 1/8 × 19 1/8 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of Martha Randolph Daura. GMOA 2003.886.
Louise painted this portrait in 1929, when Ifigenia Torres was 14 years old. What can we tell about Ifigenia and her life by looking at her portrait today? Try to think of answers to the following questions:
Imagine a typical day in Ifigenia’s life in Paris in 1929. What do you think she liked to do?
What do you think her favorite meal was? Why?
What is her mood? How can you tell?
What would make her most happy or sad?
Imagine you are having your portrait painted. Visitors in a museum nearly 100 years from now will see it. What would you wear? What would you want your portrait to communicate about who you are?
Now it is your turn to create a portrait of yourself or someone you love.
You will need the following supplies:
- Paper
- Construction paper
- Pastels or whatever you want to use to draw
- Glue
- Mirror if doing a self-portrait
To make your portrait:
- Decide who you want to create a portrait of. Will you draw a portrait of a family member or loved one? Or create a self-portrait of yourself?
- Ask your friend or family member to sit in front of you (or look in a mirror if you are doing a self-portrait). Start by drawing an oval for the head. You may want to use pencils to sketch things out before you use pastels, markers, pen or paint.
- Add eyes, nose and mouth. What color are the eyes? Are the lips big or small? Is the person smiling or serious? This video might help.
- Add in ears, hair and clothing. What other details or accessories will you add?
- Create a setting or background. Where is the person in the portrait?
- Finish your portrait by using glue to attach the drawing paper to the construction paper.