THE QUEEN’S GALLERY BUCKINGHAM PALACE LEARNING TO … · the queen’s gallery buckingham palace...

THE QUEEN’S GALLERY

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

LEARNING TO LOOK AT PORTRAITS

TEACHER INFORMATION SHEETS

PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING NOTES TO LEAD YOUR GROUP AROUND THE GALLERIES, LOCATE THE PAINTINGS FOR DISCUSSION USING THE GALLERY PLAN AND USE THE

QUESTIONS PROVIDED TO ASK PUPILS ABOUT THE PAINTINGS

Group Group Group Group Route to view paintingsRoute to view paintingsRoute to view paintingsRoute to view paintings 1 1, 2, 3, 4 2 2, 3, 4, 5 3 3, 4, 5, 6 4 4, 5, 6, 1

Painting 1Painting 1Painting 1Painting 1

The Misers, The Misers, The Misers, The Misers, 1548-51---- Follower of Marinus van Reymerswaele

TeaTeaTeaTeacher Info cher Info cher Info cher Info

• The ‘Misers’ demonstrates a popular type of painting in the 16th Century where figures wear fifteenth century dress (which would have looked old fashioned) and have grotesque features

• There are around 60 surviving paintings on the same theme

• It may have been painted by 2 artists - as the lively handling of the paint on the left hand man contrasts with the tighter depiction of the still life on the shelf above

• The scene shows two men with faces contorted in concentration and greed. The man on the right points at a ledger, which is being filled in by his colleague on the left. The wealth of both men is suggested by their rich clothing

• The two figures have traditionally been called ‘Misers’ (this is retained in the title of the present work), but are most likely tax collectors

• The crowded nature of the scene, with the two figures positioned tightly together and the desk placed impossibly close to the door, lends the painting an uncomfortable atmosphere

• The scene is intended to amuse the viewer with its caricature-like features and colourful costumes. However, the underlying message is a warning against greed, because life is short, as symbolised by the flame of the candle, which will soon burn out.

Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion. . . . 1. Thirty Thirty Thirty Thirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look

• Have students look at the portrait for thirty seconds. Then have them turn away from the image. Conduct a conversation with students about what they saw.

• Be sure to ask probing and open-ended questions 2. Character Creation2. Character Creation2. Character Creation2. Character Creation

• Ask the students what kind of character and personality they think the sitters have

• Get them to look closely at the expressions on the Misers face

• Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives 3. Objects and Symbols Objects and Symbols Objects and Symbols Objects and Symbols

• Have students look carefully at the symbols and objects in the painting – what do they think some of them might mean? Why did the artist include them?

• What do the objects tell us about the nature of the sitters’ employment?

• Ask the students what the candle might symbolize? Additional Questions Strike a Pose Strike a Pose Strike a Pose Strike a Pose • Have students pose like the sitter in the portrait. • Ask students to consider what it feels like to pose like the misers, to wear their clothes, and be in the setting of the portrait. What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking? • Have your students consider what the sitters might be thinking as he or she is sitting for the portrait. • Ask them what the sitters might be getting ready to say or are saying to one another


Portrait of a Man, Portrait of a Man, Portrait of a Man, Portrait of a Man, c.1475-80. . . . Hans Memling

Teacher infoTeacher infoTeacher infoTeacher info

• Though born near Frankfurt, Memling probably trained in the workshop of Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels, before in 1465 becoming a citizen of Bruges, where he worked for the rest of his life.

• No record exists of this commission and there is no clear clue within the portrait to identify the man

• In his portrait style Hans Memling created a means of expressing not only the individual personalities of his sitters but also a sense of idealised beauty – he had a unique approach to portraiture bringing life and movement to his sitters.

• In order to emphasise the most prominent aspects of a face - the eyes, nose and mouth - Memling often elongated the overall shape. Consequently, the scale of the face is not entirely true to life

• The hair is immaculate, curling strictly to the shoulders and perfectly framing his face. The resolutely turned-down corners of the mouth imbue the sitter with a seriousness bordering on severity

• Memling created the illusion of an even skin tone by carefully building up layers of thin glazes to give a pure porcelain-like quality.

• The man’s simple dark tunic is worn over a grey collar fastened at the neck with three strips of cord. He gestures to a pendant hanging from a button on his tunic. The significance of this ornament is not known.

• It has been suggested that this portrait commemorates the swearing of an oath. It is certainly not a devotional image because the man points so markedly towards himself rather than clasping his hands in prayer

• It is possible that the portrait marked the sitter’s initiation into a confraternity or society or was intended as a gift to a prospective bride. In either case, the gesture indicates a hope of acceptance.

Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion 1. ThirtyThirtyThirtyThirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look


• Be sure to ask probing and open-ended questions. 2. What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking?

• Have your students considered what the sitter might be thinking as he or she is sitting for the portrait.

• Ask them what the sitter might be getting ready to say. 3. Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation

• Ask the students what kind of character and personality they think the sitter has

• Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives Additional Questions Strike a Pose Strike a Pose Strike a Pose Strike a Pose • Have students pose like the sitter in the portrait. • Ask students to consider what it feels like to pose like this sitter, to wear those clothes, and be in the setting of the portrait. What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder? • Have students consider the question, “What do you wonder about this portrait?” • After a student has asked a question, ask the other students to respond with their opinion.


The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark, The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark, The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark, The Three Children of Christian II of Denmark, 1526. . . . Jan Gossaert

Teacher Notes Teacher Notes Teacher Notes Teacher Notes

• This is a portrait of the children of Isabella of Habsburg, Queen of Denmark. She died the year it was painted and was perhaps commissioned in her honour.

• The children are John, aged 7; Dorothea, aged 5; and Christina, aged 3

• The children are shown wearing the sombre clothes of mourning, and the bloodless pallor of their faces may be an intentional device to indicate their sorrow.

• The children’s' father, King Christian II of Denmark, sent them to be raised by their great-aunt, Margaret of Austria.

• It is an odd painting - the three figures seem to be cramped into a very small space, sitting around a table with a green cloth covering.

• John, in the centre, looks out towards the viewer, his head at a slight angle, emphasised by the tilt of his oversized black bonnet. The two girls stare vacantly ahead as though unaware that they are being observed.

• The bond between the three is illustrated by their physical closeness, painted literally overlapping one another and forming a strong family unit, John’s left hand placed firmly on the table underneath the arm of his younger sister and his right sleeve obscuring Dorothea’s left arm

• The composition is an illusionistic trick. Just inside the frame across the top and along two sides of the painting is an inner fictive frame painted to look like a continuation of the real one, creating the illusion that the children project out from the frame into our space.

• It was common to portray important children as though they were already adults. Here the Crown Prince seems to be taking on the role of king, with Dorothea as his queen and Christina as their child, thereby demonstrating the children’s status.

• The inclusion of cherries and quinces on the green table could be seen to symbolise a well-nurtured childhood)

Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities

Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion

1. ThirtyThirtyThirtyThirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look


• Be sure to ask probing and open-ended questions.

2. What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking?

• Have your students consider what the sitters might be thinking as he or she is sitting for the portrait.

• Ask them what the sitter might be getting ready to say or are saying to each other

3. Jumping into a PortraitJumping into a PortraitJumping into a PortraitJumping into a Portrait

• Have the students imagine jumping into the portrait. Ask them where they would like to be in that portrait. Direct students to use their imagination and “jump” into the portrait.

• Ask questions related to the five senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing: o What can you see all around you? o If you reach your hand out , what can you touch? o What does it smell like all around you? o What can you hear?

Additional Questions

What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder? • Have students consider the question, “What do you wonder about this portrait?” • After a student has asked a question, ask the other students to respond with their opinion.

What happens next? What happens next? What happens next? What happens next?

• Ask the students ‘what do you think happens after the painter has put his paintbrush down?

• Encourage them to think about what the Artist does next and also the sitters.


Sir Henry Guildford, Sir Henry Guildford, Sir Henry Guildford, Sir Henry Guildford, 1527. . . . Hans Holbein the Younger


• This is a painting by Hans Holbein. Holbein was born in Augsburg, Germany in 1497. He visited England in the early 16th century and was employed by Henry VIII for whom he painted numerous portraits. This being one of them.

• Holbein was known chiefly as a painter of portraits and his services were much in demand.

• It is one of Holbein’s most impressive surviving portraits. It shows the sitter standing three-quarter length, richly dressed in velvet, fur and cloth of gold. The painting has been separated from it’s companion, that of Guildford’s wife Mary ( it now hangs in St Louis Art Museum)

• It has been said that despite the rich detail in Holbein’s portraits, they provide little insight into the personality and character of the people he painted. Hopefully the students will challenge this!

• Sir Henry Guildford (1489�1532) was one of Henry VIII’s closest friends and he was also a friend of Holbein’s too – they almost certainly worked together in the planning of royal revels, Holbein carried out decorative painting for the parties.

• Guilldford was a personal attendant on the King - and Master of Revels, responsible for organising the extravagant entertainments at court.

• Guildford remained in Royal employment until his death in 1532 – a true mark of his friendship with Henry V111

• Holbein’s lavish use of both shell-gold paint and gold leaf emphasises the luxuriousness of the sitter’s dress and his high status.

• Guildford’s painted portrait is based closely on the preparatory drawing, which is also in the Royal Collection.

Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion 1. Thirty Thirty Thirty Thirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look


• Be sure to ask probing and open-ended questions. 2. Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation


• Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives 3. How did they paint that? 3. How did they paint that? 3. How did they paint that? 3. How did they paint that?

• Ask the students to consider the materials and paint the Artist used. What kind of paints do they think they used? What did they paint on?

• Ask them whether they think the Artist painted it from life or from drawings?

Additional Questions What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking?What am I thinking? • Have your students consider what the sitter might be thinking as he or she is sitting for the portrait. • Ask them what the sitter might be getting ready to say. What happens next? What happens next? What happens next? What happens next?

• Ask the students ‘what do you think happens after the painter has put his paintbrush down? What do you think the sitter does, where does he go etc?


Portrait of a Man and his Wife, Portrait of a Man and his Wife, Portrait of a Man and his Wife, Portrait of a Man and his Wife, 1512 ---- Ulrich Apt


• Ulrich Apt (1460-1532) trained and worked in Augsburg, becoming an important member of the Guild of Painters, Glaziers, Carvers and Gilders. He concentrated on religious commissions and portraits of leading citizens of Augsburg society

• This painting is a marriage portrait: the numbers 52, 35 and 1512 indicate that the man was 52 and the woman 35 on their marriage in 1512

• A church holds the central position in the landscape between the couple

• The husband, in a gown possibly lined with marten, is set against the open landscape with a castle at his back, suggesting that he is part of the world of affairs, while the wife’s domestic realm is alluded to by her enclosure within the house and placement against a blank wall

Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Questions / activities Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion

1. Thirty Thirty Thirty Thirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look



2. Jumping into a Portrait. Jumping into a Portrait. Jumping into a Portrait. Jumping into a Portrait

• Have the students imagine jumping into the portrait. Ask them where they would like to be in that portrait. Direct students to use their imagination and “jump” into the portrait.

• Ask questions related to the five senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing: o What can you see all around you? o If you reach your hand out , what can you touch? o What does it smell like all around you? o What can you hear?

3. What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking?

• Have your students consider what the sitters are thinking as they sit for the portrait.

• Ask them what the sitters might be getting ready to say.

• Ask the students what they think the married couples relationship is like

Additional Questions Character CreationCharacter CreationCharacter CreationCharacter Creation

• Ask the students what kind of character and personality they think the sitters have

• Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives

What happens next? What happens next? What happens next? What happens next?

• Ask the students ‘what do you think happens after the painter has put his paintbrush down?’

• Encourage them to think about what the Artist does next and also the sitters


Burkhard of Speyer, Burkhard of Speyer, Burkhard of Speyer, Burkhard of Speyer, 1506. . . . Albrecht Dürer


• Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the most influential artist of the Northern Renaissance

• Late in the summer of 1505 Dürer (1471-1528) travelled to Venice where he stayed until early in 1507

• Dürer would have been impressed by the rich and varied colours available in Venice and his painting developed by combining vibrant colours in semi-transparent layers to create dazzling effects

• His meticulous attention to detail was much admired, particularly the delicacy with which he drew individual hairs.

• The sitter has been identified as Buckhard of Speyer who appeared in another earlier painting The Feast of the Rose Garlands

• In both portraits he has a distinctive nose, high cheekbones and small eyes

• The Close up view of the sitter was characteristic of Durer’s portraits of this time

• The portrait’s tonality was recorded in the seventeenth century as a ‘red faced mans picture’. The portrait is thinly painted so that the pink-brown ground can be seen in the shirt and in the modelling of the face, but the highlights are also warm in hue

• Infrared reflectography and X-ray show that the edge of Burkhard's hat was adjusted on his brow and both shoulders lowered. Dürer manipulated and softened the shadows in the nose and neck with his thumb or fingers

Questions / activQuestions / activQuestions / activQuestions / activities ities ities ities Please ensure that the first 3 questions are answered – the other 2 are additional if the students move quickly through the first 3. Encourage all students to participate and add to the discussion 1. ThirtyThirtyThirtyThirty----Second LookSecond LookSecond LookSecond Look



2. What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What am I thinking?

• Have your students consider what the sitter might be thinking as he sits for the portrait.

• Ask them what the sitter might be getting ready to say. 3. Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation Character Creation


• Encourage them to use descriptive adjectives Additional Questions Strike a PoseStrike a PoseStrike a PoseStrike a Pose • Have students pose like the sitter in the portrait. • Ask students to consider what it feels like to pose like this sitter, to wear those clothes, and be in the setting of the portrait. What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder?What Do You Wonder? • Have students consider the question, “What do you wonder about this portrait?” • After a student has asked a question, ask the other students to respond with their opinion

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