Gutter Apples by Ian Hunter
Often a portrait focuses on people’s faces but this painting has a very unusual composition. We can only see the people in the painting from the waist down, which makes it an interesting painting to investigate.
Research Activities
Investigate the painting! How old do you think the people in the painting are? Are they friends? When do you think the painting was made? How can you work these things out from what you can see in the painting? (Think fashion and pose!)
Find some photographs of friends or family at home, or some images of famous people on the internet. Hide the top half of the photo and see if someone else can work out who it is.
Create a portrait of someone (or yourself) where you can’t see the person’s face. How can you use objects, clothes, pose and colour to communicate things about the person; what things they like, where they are from, how they are feeling.
