September's Lesson
The Styles of Smiles
Three hundred years ago, no one would know what to do if you said "Say
cheese". That's because there were no cameras back then. If you wanted
a picture of yourself you'd have to hire an artist to paint one. Kings
and queens had their pictures painted by the best artist in the country.
He would work in the palace, painting pictures of the royal family. A painting
of a person is called a "Portrait". If you were a Court Painter
you'd be expected to paint a beautiful picture of your subject - even if
your subject wasn't so beautiful!
Before the invention of the camera, painted portraits
were in great demand. Kings would hang them in their palaces or give them
as gifts. When it came time for a prince or princess to get married, they
were often introduced to each other through portraits. The picture would
be brought by an official whose job was to arrange royal marriages. This
kept the royal artist very busy.
Diego Velasquez was one of these artists. In 1623 the king of Spain, Philip
IV, made him Court Painter. King Philip liked his work so much that he
made him a knight. To the right is a portrait of King Philip's daughter.
Notice that the princess isn't smiling. Back then, people were painted
looking serious. This picture is a part of one of Velasquez's most famous
paintings. Click here to see the entire picture.
The invention of the camera in the 1800's made a big change
in portrait paintings. Now artists were free to express themselves in less
realistic ways.
In 1957 a famous artist named Pablo Picasso looked at Velasquez's painting
and made his own version of Princess Margarita. Can you recognize the princess?
The style of this smile is called "Cubism".
Craft Projects for This Lesson
Learn how to draw a face - it's easy! And, make
Mr. Cone Head - he's a party hat.