| PAINTED PILGRIMS : a curriculum unit for Grades 6-12 | |
| Introduction : What is a portrait? A portrait is a depiction of an actual person who has chosen to deliberately pose for an artist. Most portraits are commissioned : the person being depicted (the "sitter") decides to have the portrait made and pays an artist. Portraits reflect both the requirements of the sitter and the creative sensibilities of the artist, with the artistic conventions and techniques of the time providing a framework. The subject and artist generally decide together what clothing will be worn, what expression will be on the sitter’s face, what pose they will strike and what gestures they will use, if there will be a background, if there will be any props. The intended effect of the portrait can often be discovered in these details, which give symbolic expression to the values, the character, and the social position of the sitter. In this way, portraits give an artistic definition of the sitter. Why do people have portraits made? For commemoration, for remembrance, to celebrate an accomplishment or event or having achieved a successful position in life. Vocabulary & Concepts :
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