Picasso Cubist Inspired Self-Portraits

Introduction

In this WebQuest, students will explore contemporary art through the cubist movement. Students will observe the geometric lines and Pablo Picasso's cubist paintings and portrait and perform their very own. Students will learn that drawings do not have to be realistic or natural looking. 

            (Pictured: Self-Portrait by Pablo Picasso)

The cubism movement started in Paris in the year 1907-1914 when Cubist movement pioneers Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque broke away from traditional realistic painting and created a more modern approach. Picasso simplified objects into geometric shapes like cylinder, triangles, spheres, when painting observational. Cubism became the first abstract style in modern art.

Students will demonstrate their version of Pablo Picasso's self portrait using the elements of Cubism. 

Materials:

• Pencil
• Sketch paper 
• 9" x 12" Mixed media Paper
• Pencil
• Oil Pastels
• Mirror or source image

Step 1: 

In this first step, you must take a sketch piece of paper, pencil and a mirror or image source. Using a mirror, draw yourself using simple shapes and lines. Remember, the self portrait is not meant to look realistic. 

Step 2:

Once, you feel that you have understood and mastered the technique, you may now work on the large mixed media paper. I suggest that you use pencil to draw your self portrait and make adjustments in this step. 

Step 3:

Now that your final sketch is complete, you may now add color to you drawing using oil pastel. Remember to use complementary colors and fill the background and color block. 

Overall, the idea of cubism is to break down objects into simplified shapes. This projects allows students to think abstractly and explore drawing observationally in a non traditional way. This style and idea created by Pablo Picasso allows students to let loose and use their creativity.