TWENTIETH CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY GALLERIES (Rooms 30 41)

Transcription

1 Teachers Notes TWENTIETH CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY GALLERIES (Rooms 30 41) These guided discussion notes reflect the way in which the National Portrait Gallery Learning Department works when using portraits as historical sources, with pupils of all ages. As far as possible, pupils are encouraged through questioning to observe in detail and to form their own hypotheses; a small amount of information is fed into the discussion at appropriate points to deepen their observations. These notes therefore consist of a series of questions, with suggested answers; where there is information to add this is shown in a box. The questions, perhaps slightly rephrased, would be suitable for pupils at both primary and secondary level; what will differ is the sophistication of the answers. The information will need rephrasing for younger pupils and it may be necessary to probe by adding extra questions to get the full interpretation of the picture. Please note we cannot guarantee that all of the portraits in these notes will be on display at the time of your visit. Please see for these and other online resources. Other guided discussions in this series of online Teachers Notes include: Tudors Stuarts Georgians Regency Victorians These guided discussions can be used either when visiting the Gallery on a self-directed visit or in the classroom using images from the Gallery s website, All self directed visits to the Gallery must be booked in advance by telephone on If you wish to support your visit with the use of Teachers Notes please book in advance, stating which notes you wish to use in order for us to check that the appropriate Gallery rooms are available at the time of your visit.

2 CAPTAIN BASIL LIDDELL HART by Hein Heckroth oil on board, /4 in. x 20 1/4 in. (768 mm x 514 mm) Purchased, 1986 NPG 5907 A few of these objects, like the pipe, are easy to guess why; some of the stranger things are hard even to identify for certain. Let s think about some of the others and what they might mean there are no definite right answers here. Looking more closely, is the plant healthy and does the desert have things living in it? No the plant is dying and the desert just has bones. Does the world/globe look strong or fragile? Fragile, like a bubble or a glass or crystal ball. Can you find a theme that links the way these are? Perhaps the environment and its destruction. A number of clues the date of the picture, the state of the map and where it shows, his title Captain and the camouflage fabric suggests what he believes might perhaps be causing the destruction War. Is there anything strange about the way he is being shown? It looks as though his arms have been torn off. List some of the objects in the picture Globe/world, pipe, large ear, desert, map, table, strange light bulb, some bone-like things. Why might they all be in Basil Liddell Hart s portrait? They might have something to do with him. After having his lungs damaged by gas while fighting in WW1, Basil Liddell Hart was a military strategist advising the British army. Having at first thought that tanks and military technology would save soldiers lives, he gradually came to realise the full destructiveness of war. He then recommended defence, rather than attack, making him very unpopular during WW2, in which he worked in Intelligence, monitoring enemy communications. Later he opposed the development of nuclear weapons. What is the ear about? Listening to enemy communications. Have you come across any other artists who put a range of strange and puzzling objects into their artwork like this? Do you know what this kind of art is called? Surrealist Salvador Dali is probably the best-known artist. 2

3 T.S. ELIOT by Patrick Heron oil on canvas, in. x 24 3/4 in. (762 mm x 629 mm) Purchased with help from the Contemporary Art Society, 1965 NPG 4467 If you wanted to know exactly what T.S. Eliot looked like, would this picture be more or less helpful than a photograph? Probably less. If you want to know what T.S. Eliot s personality was like would this painting be more or less helpful than a photograph? Almost certainly more. Would you like your portrait painted in an abstract way like this? Look carefully at his face; how many faces can you see? Two faces put together to make one; one in profile and the other nearly full face. How do the two faces differ in colour? The profile is much darker. Now look at the colouring of the rest of the picture; where are the brighter colours and where are the more sombre ones? The picture divides into two halves, corresponding to the different faces. What do the two faces suggest about T.S. Eliot? Two sides of his character, a more cheerful one and a darker one - link this to some of his work e.g. Old Possum s Book of Practical Cats for the lighter humorous side and something like The Wasteland for the darker side. 3

4 CONVERSATION PIECE AT THE ROYAL LODGE, WINDSOR by Sir James Gunn oil on canvas, /2 in. x 39 1/2 in. (1511 mm x 1003 mm) Commissioned, 1950 NPG 3778 Where do you often place the most important thing or person in a painting? Generally in the middle, often making them larger than anyone else in the portrait. Sir James Gunn has not done that, but has made up for it in other ways. For example, where is everyone looking? The women all look at the king, creating with their intent gaze a triangle pointing to him; he seems less focused on them than they are on him. Which sitter is nearest to the viewer? The king. Travelling your eye horizontally across the painting at his foot level, how far across does he reach? To about half way (above here another king, his ancestor King George IV, is shown in a portrait on the centre of the back wall). What has Sir James Gunn placed near George VI on the floor, attracting the viewer s eye to that side of the picture? The family pet, a corgi. Where is the image of a crown placed in the painting? look carefully as it isn t immediately obvious Just behind the king s head, embroidered on the firescreen, associating it, and the royal coat of arms below the crown, very clearly with George. This family portrait shows King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth (more recently called the Queen Mother), Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret, her younger sister. It looks very informal George VI is even shown smoking but the composition is very careful to uphold the hierarchy of power. What are this family doing? Sitting at a round table to have tea Margaret is just about to sit down. Who is the most powerful person here, and who is the least? The king is the most, the least is Margaret. 4

5 by Maggi Hambling oil on canvas, /8 in. x 68 7/8 in. (1520 mm x 1750 mm) Given by Imperial Tobacco Ltd., 1992 NPG 6562 MAGGI HAMBLING Ask your group to list all of the objects in the Hambling self-portrait Cat, tomato, magician, teapot, Concorde etc. Why do you think that the painter has put them in the picture? They are all objects that mean something to her. What s the most important thing in the portrait? The artist. Is there anything usual about her? Three arms and hands/her incomplete face. What s in each hand? Cigarette, glass and paintbrush. Why is she painted with three hands? Moving very quickly like a cartoon. Who do you think painted the portrait? The artist Maggi Hambling. 5

6 Does anyone else in the picture have three hands? The magician. Look at the tomato in the painting is it real? No it s a painting so it s 2D not 3D bring in the idea of painted objects as illusion. What do you think the link is between the magician and the artist? They create illusions, eg the snake needs very little paint but we think that it looks real. Can you guess what Maggi s favourite number is? Three 3 cats tails, candlesticks (shadows). Are these objects in a real space or a made up space? Objects are floating all around her. 6

7 DAME DOROTHY HODGKIN by Maggi Hambling oil on canvas, /4 in. x 30 in. (932 mm x 760 mm) Commissioned, 1985 NPG 5797 What is each of her four hands doing? Writing, using a magnifying glass, holding a piece of paper and pointing to mark her place. Is she holding the magnifying glass still and how can you tell? No, she is moving it quickly you can see the after image. Why do you think she is painted with four hands? She is moving them really quickly as she works. Think about a cartoon what do you see when a cartoon character runs fast? Lots of legs this is the same kind of idea. Can you see what she is studying? Something like the object on the shiny surface, with little red, white and black balls joined together a scientific model (she is most famous for her work on the Vitamin B12 and for discovering the structure of insulin). How has the painter applied the paint in this portrait in big, slow, steady brushstrokes with lots of paint, or in short, quick, busy dabs with not much paint? Short, quick and busy, rather like how Dorothy Hodgkin is working. What do you notice about this woman? She has four arms. What kind of age is she and how can you tell? Old white hair, wrinkles, bent fingers, glasses. Do you think this is a good portrait for showing what this woman is like? Would you like to be painted using these kind of techniques? Is she interested in being painted? No, she is busy working. Does she look a tidy person? No, hair wild, desk covered in papers, files and books leaning different ways on her shelves. Can you find any reflections in this painting? The window is reflected in the shiny surface in the foreground; the colours of her cardigan are reflected in her face especially on her chin and in her hair. 7

8 STEPHEN HAWKING by Yolanda Sonnabend oil on canvas, in. x 28 in. (914 mm x 710 mm) Commissioned, 1985 NPG 5799 Explain that he has motor neurone disease and has an electronic voice box to enable him to talk. What particularly strikes you about his face? From the range of the answers you might draw out the contrast between the brightness of his eyes and the lack of control in his muscles. Explain that he works on black holes, the universe and infinity. Contrast a mind that stretches so far, trapped in a body that he cannot control. What is written on the board behind this man? Mathematical signs. Are there any signs you recognise? Plus, equals, fractions etc. So what is his job? Mathematician, teaches maths. Is it easy or hard maths? Hard - he teaches at Cambridge University. Look carefully at his chair; what kind of chair is it? Wheelchair. How does he control it? From the box on the arm. 8

9 GERMAINE GREER by Paula Rego pastel on paper laid on aluminium, /4 in. x 43 3/4 in. (1200 mm x 1111 mm) Commissioned, 1995 NPG 6351 Having slender graceful hands in the past has been an important asset for a lady. How would you describe Germaine Greer s hands? Rough, chunky, worn, masculine, uncared for, unmanicured. How important then, do you think Germaine Greer s appearance is to her? Not very, scruffy shoes, messy hair, no jewellery or make-up. Germaine Greer is a famous writer and talker, but what is she doing here? Listening. Germaine Greer is a feminist and Paula Rego has tried to show this in the portrait. What do you think a feminist is? A woman who is less concerned with her appearance, a strong determined woman. Someone who is seeking equality for women with men in all aspects of life. Is this a painting? No, it is a large pastel drawing on paper, laid on aluminium. Would you agree that Germaine Greer looks quite relaxed? Yes. What is it about the pose (the way she is sitting) that shows this? Slumped forward, knees wide apart, elbows resting on knees, head tipped to one side. Is she smartly dressed for her portrait? Yes, designer dress and no, old shoes with a hole in one sole. Is this a flattering portrait (ie. do you think Paula Rego has made Germaine Greer look better than she does in real life)? No, harsh lines on her face and strong black outlines make her look haggard and older. 9