Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 4 John Singleton Copley Questions: |
Think Questions
1. Was Copley more interested in showing Mrs. Allen's personality or how she looked? What makes you think so?
2. Why do you think Mrs. Allen and her husband wanted to have PORTRAITS made? Why do people today have portraits made? Why do many more people have portraits made nowadays than during colonial times?
3. Do you consider this a good PORTRAIT? Why or why not? Do you consider this a beautiful portrait? Is a good work of art necessarily beautiful? Is a beautiful work of art necessarily good?
4. Copley based the scenery, pose, and clothing on an ENGRAVING of a PORTRAIT of an English noblewoman made several years earlier. What information are we left with about the real Mrs. Allen? Where could you go if you wanted to have a costume portrait made? Why do we have costume photos made?
5. Copley had two problems to deal with in the colonies. One was the absence of art schools. The other was that the only paintings COMMISSIONED were PORTRAITS. How do you think an artist could learn to paint without art schools? Why do you think people only wanted portraits?
6. Compare and contrast Copley's Portrait of Mrs. Nathaniel Allen to Chuck Close's painting Frank . What size is each painting? What is the relationship between artist and subject in each? For what purpose was each made? How did each artist determine his COMPOSITION? Which one is more NATURALISTIC? Why do you think so? When was each painting made? How does this factor account for the differences discussed?
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