Proportion of a Portrait

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Proportions of a Portrait

• Learning to Draw Faces

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In the beginning..

• The proportions of a portrait is based on an
  Idealized set of proportions represented in
  the Ancient Greek Sculptures.

They have been adopted as a guide for the
mechanics of portrait drawing.

• But first, we will take a brief look back to
  discover where this idealized set of
  proportions originated.

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Greek Archaic Period
Earliest (625-480 BC)

• Characteristics
• Kore clothed female figure
• Kouros nude male youth
• Freestanding
• Frontal stance
• Left foot forward
• Clenched fists
• Puppet-like Pose
• Idealized
• Originally painted to emphasize natural
  appearance
• Illustrates the Archaic Smile (the sign of life)

Peplos Kore, about 530 BC, Marble, 4 high.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
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Greek Classical Period
(480 -323 BC)

• Peak of Greek Art and Architecture
• Idealized figures
• Represents Idealism and Humanism
• Athena
• Gown gathers at the waist and hangs in
  natural-looking folds, suggest the presence of a
  real body underneath.
• Form and Posture of a real woman
• Demonstrates the classical contrapposta position
  (natural s curve on body) weight shift A real
  breakthrough in the art of representing the human
  figure.

Athena, by Myron Museum in Frankford Germany
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Greek Hellenistic Period
323-31 BC

• More dramatic / melodramatic
• Nike of Samothrace
• (about 200 BC)
• Symbol of Winged Victory, her great wings spread
  wide as she lands on the prow of a ship.
• The force of the wind whips the drapery into
  wonderfully animated folds.
• Sweeping and energetic forward movement

Nike of Samothrace (about 200 BC)
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The Search for Perfection

• Greek Idealism
• Today most of us know that there is no such thing
  as a perfect human being, but the ancient
  Greeks had a different idea. They believed that
  perfection of mind and character must be
  contained in a perfect body. As a result, Greek
  figures are idealized appearing heroic, athletic
  and well proportioned.

The Discus Thrower
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Idealism and Humanism
Perfect but Human

• Idealism has to do with the concept of
  perfection.
• Humanism (Realism) Man is the measure of all
  things. Realism or Humanism is defined as a view
  of life based on nature, dignity, and interest of
  people (Rather than superstitions like the
  Egyptians.)

Athena Classical Greek Art Period
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Idealism and Humanism
Perfect but Human

• Archaic Greeks represented man in an idealized /
  perfect manner.
• The believed that Man is the measure of all
  things they looked toward nature rather than
  spiritualism to produce art.
• The Classical Greeks built upon the Idealism
  and included a more life-like / humanistic
  representation of man including such things as
  contrapposto and natural looking folds.

Athena Classical Greek Art Period
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Roman Realism

• Roman Realism is represented in the ancient Roman
  busts illustrating real human characteristics of
  individuals and not idealized puppets of the
  Archaic and Classical Greek periods.
• Your job is to use the Idealized proportions to
  draw your portrait but to include the Humanistic
  or Realism elements that make you who you are
  aim for the Roman Realism

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Proportions of a Portrait
Archaic Sculptures
Provides a sense of life quality.
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Proportions of a Portrait

• The proportions of a portrait is based on an
  Idealized set of proportions represented in
  the Ancient Greek Sculptures.

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Proportions of a Portrait

• Therefore, to draw a portrait memorize these
  idealized proportions in order to set up the
  mechanics of your portrait.

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Step 1
Draw an oval.
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Step 2
EYES
Divide in half.
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Step 3
NOSE
Divide the bottom in half again.
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Step 4
Divide in half vertically.
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Step 5
EYE PLACEMENT
On the eye line divide length into 5 equal parts.
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Step 6
MOUTH
Place this line between the nose line and the
bottom of the oval.
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Step 7
CHIN
This is just a suggestion for a minimal amount of
shading for the chin.
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Step 8
WIDTH OF MOUTH
The width of the mouth is as wide as the center
points of the pupils of the eyes.
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Step 9
NOSE WIDTH
The width of the end of the nose is as wide as
the space between the eyes.
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Step 10
EARS
The ear placement is between the eye line and the
nose line.
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Step 11
NECK
The neck begins at the base of the ear and slants
inwards.
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Assignment

• Draw a self-portrait in pencil starting with the
  mechanics of the proportions of a portrait that
  is rendered in such a way that is reflects the
  real you.
• Using the steps in Proportions of a Portrait,
  lightly draw the guidelines on your drawing
  paper.
• Using a frontal photocopy of your photo place the
  proportions of a portrait transparency over the
  photocopy and noice the variation that must be
  made in order to render your portrait as your
  likeness.

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Assignment

• Draw your likeness in contour lines. At this
  point a teacher / student critique is required.
  Bring your artwork and come see me.
• Make a copy of this contour drawing and set aside
  for a future project.

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Assignment

• Shade your portrait using plenty of values to
  give you a rich value drawing that includes black
  and white and at least 3 values in between. You
  may use a mirror on an easel to check the values
  and details of your likeness. At this point a
  teacher / student critique is required. Bring
  your artwork and come see me.

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Assignment

• When you are finished turn in your project for
  evaluation with the following
• Teacher Rubric (fill in your name, class period
  and the date that you turned in your project.
• Self-Assessment (Completing this is included your
  final rubric assessment.)

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Assessment

• Fill in the blank for questions 1 7 using the
  words from the list above.
• Hellenistic is the most dramatic period of Greek
  art exhibiting high _____________ and
  __________________.
• __________________________ is the second ancient
  Greek period of art.
• __________________________ is the first ancient
  Greek period of art.
• __________________________ is the third ancient
  Greek period of art.
• Classical art fuses _______________________ and
  ____________________ philosophies into the art.
• The mechanics of portrait drawings are based on
  the ancient ____________________ statues.
• The archaic smile of the Greek sculptures was an
  attempt by the sculptors to give work a
  ____________________.

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Assessment

• Short Answer Answer in complete sentences.
• What is Roman Realism and explain how and why
  they produced their sculpture busts? (slide 10
  10 pts)
• What is meant by Idealism and Humanism in
  relationship to Classical Greek Art? Why did the
  Classical Greeks produce the art that they did?
  Give two examples of how the Classical Greeks of
  Idealism and Humanism in their sculptures. (slide
  9 30 points)

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Assessment

• Draw an oval and place the mechanics (lines) of
  the proportions of a portrait.

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GalleryOther Presentation Facial Proportions