Famous Portraits
This famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci shows a woman with a mysterious smile and is one of the most famous portraits in the world.
What is the Mona Lisa?
This feature of the face is located about halfway between the top of the head and the chin.
What are the eyes?
Artists often start a portrait with this simple shape before adding the jaw and facial guidelines.
What is a circle (or oval) for the head?
Many students hope to do this relaxing activity during spring break.
What is sleeping in?
This first step of art critique asks you to list only what you can clearly see, without giving any opinions.
What is Describe?
This Dutch artist painted many emotional self-portraits and is known for swirling brushstrokes and bright colors, including the painting Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.
Who is Vincent Van Gogh?
Most faces can fit about one of these between the two eyes.
What is one eye-width of space?
If you measured the face from side to side, you could usually fit about this many eye widths across the face.
What is five eyes?
This warm destination state is famous for beaches and is a popular spring break location for many Americans.
What is Florida?
If you talk about color, line, balance, or contrast and explain how the artwork is organized, you are doing this step of critique.
What is Analyze?
This Mexican artist is famous for painting many self-portraits and often included monkeys, plants, and a unibrow in her paintings.
Who is Frida Kahlo?
The bottom of this facial feature is about halfway between the eyes and the chin.
What is the nose?
The corners of the mouth usually line up with this.
What is the center of each eye?
If students stay home and relax instead of traveling, their break is often called this type of vacation.
What is a staycation?
This step of critique asks what the artwork means and what message or mood the artist might be communicating.
What is Interpret?
This artist created a famous series of brightly colored celebrity portraits, including one of Marilyn Monroe.
Who is Andy Warhol?
These usually line up vertically with the inside corners of the eyes.
What are the edges of the nose / nostrils?
Most portraits show eyelashes as a ______ rather than individual hairs.
What is a shadow (or shaded line)?
This country is famous for spring break destinations like Cancun and Cabo San Lucas.
What is Mexico?
During this step, you decide if the artwork is successful and explain your opinion using reasons from the artwork.
What is Judge?
This famous painting by Grant Wood shows a farmer holding a pitchfork standing beside a woman in front of a farmhouse.
What is American Gothic?
These sit roughly between the nose and the chin and are usually wider than the nose but narrower than the eyes combined.
What are the lips (mouth)?
This part of the portrait often takes up a large portion of the top half of the head.
What is the hair?
This famous Arizona landmark carved by the Colorado River is one of the most visited national parks in the United States.
What is the Grand Canyon?
If a student says, “I see three figures, a dark background, and a large red circle,” they are doing this step of critique.
What is Describe?