Gustav Klimt Inspired Portraits

STUDY OF THE ARTWORK OF GUSTAV KLIMT

This unit of work has as its focus the following skills:

•Use of web links to search the internet, collect information about Gustav Klimt and create a research sheet.
•Class Art Analysis of the artist’s work and the Art Nouveau style, using the
Feldman Model.
•The use of line and shape in portraiture and collage
•Drawing and shading techniques using soft pastel
•Pattern and symbolism
•Colours and the colour wheel
•Collage technique using the Zart patterned paper collection

1.Students were presented with a Design Brief, outlining the Unit of work. They were also provided with an assessment rubric detailing how the Unit of work would be assessed. These sheets, along with the student’s resource sheet and design drawings would be collated in the Visual Art Diary, which forms a detailed record of every Unit of Study.

2.Web Links were established on the school intranet to direct student research on Gustav Klimt.

3.Students used their resource documents to create a series of design drawings, depicting the pastel shaded face and depicting the collage designs.

4.The teacher modelled the technique used to create a pastel-shaded self portrait, using the digitally manipulated photographic image as a starting point. Students then followed these steps to create their own self portrait using this medium. Students selected paper from the Zart patterned paper collection that reflected their favourite colours, shapes patterns and personality and used these, along with symbolic shape templates and plain paper to create the Klimt-style collaged backgrounds:

•Take a series of digital photographic portraits of each girl
•Students opened these in Photo
Shop and digitally manipulated their favourite photograph so that it clearly showed areas of light and shade on the face.
•Images printed and pasted in to the Visual Art Diary as a resource.
•Students completed a pencil sketch of their face enlarging the image to A3 size.
•This sketch was coloured using soft dry pastel, blending the colours to enhance features.
•Completed portraits were sprayed with fixative and cut out
•Girls completed a design process for the collaged background, selecting patterns, colours and shapes that reflected their individual personalities.
•Collages were completed on A2 Cartridge, with the cut out self portrait superimposed and overlayed with paper and symbols.

Year 6 girls were very engaged with this Unit of work and particularly loved the patterned papers as a collage medium.

Download Design Brief & Assessment Rubics for this activity.

Haileybury College
Suitable for Year 6