LESSON PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS
SHAPE
HEAD OF MAN
Lesson Objectives: Students will use simple shapes to create a portrait in the style of Paul Klee’s Head of Man.
Time Required: 1 hour
Artist: Paul Klee, Head of Man
Materials:
Tan, orange, or yellow 9×12 construction paper
Chalk pastels: white, light yellow, light orange, gray, light brown, etc. (muted colors)
Sponges cut into shapes: squares, rectangles, triangles
Tempera paint: white, light blue, orange, yellow
Paint palettes
Circle templates (optional) (located in 1st grade Sample book)
Presentation:
Discuss Paul Klee’s Head of Man. Discuss shape. What shapes can the students see in the painting? Notice that faces are symmetrical, but the face in the painting is not. Point out the warm, muted colors the artist uses in his painting.
Procedure:
- Hand out construction paper and have them put their names on the back.
- With a piece of light yellow or white chalk, trace the circle template onto the paper or draw a large circle, leaving room for shoulders on the bottom of the page.
- Guide students in dividing the face into sections, and further subdividing into shapes. Make the features of the face asymmetrical (i.e. on either side of the midline, the mouth is different; one eye is above the line dividing 2 sections and the other eye is below, etc.). Guide students in drawing the shoulders and dividing them into sections of different shapes.
- Color in each section with a different color of chalk so that no two sections touching each other are the same color.
- Place the sponges and paint in a central station. When the students have finished coloring, they can sponge on 3-4 different shapes onto their chalk drawing.
- Let dry.
