In Print and Paint: Picturing Identity through the Self-Portrait and Autobiography
 
The French Revolution
World Book, 1995

The French Revolution brought about great changes in the government and society of France between 1789 and 1799. It introduced democratic ideals to France, but did not make the nation a democracy. Yet, it did end the rule of French kings and brought power to the middle class. After the revolution, no European king, noble, or privileged class could ever again take their powers for granted or dismiss the ideals of liberty and equality. The Revolution created a unified state, a strong central government and a free society dominated by the middle class and landowners.

Vocabulary

Autobiography - story of a person’s life written by that person.

Biography - an account of a person’s life written by another person.

Emphasis - the result of one part of an artwork dominating other parts to capture the viewer’s attention.

French Revolution - a revolution in France from 1789 to 1799 that ousted the monarchy and set up a republic.

Memoir - another term for autobiography.

Personal Narrative - a short autobiographical account of an event or story

Portrait - picture of a person, especially the face.

Portraiture - the painting of portraits.

Self-Portrait - portrait of oneself made by oneself.

Body of the Lesson
Display the overhead transparency of the assessment rubric for this lesson and give a brief overview of the unit and the lesson. Display the transparency of the unit vocabulary.

Ask students to define the meaning of biography, and then autobiography (vocabulary for the lesson). Ask students to name autobiographies they have read. (for example, Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder, or It Came from Ohio: My Life as a Writer, by R. L. Stine). How do autobiographies express personal identity? (through the written word, through voice, style, point of view, personal opinion, personal stories or experiences) How can artists express similar ideas in self-portraits? (same ideas but visually, without words)

Display the self-portrait by Vigee-Lebrun and lead students through a comparison of autobiographies and self-portraits, using the reproduction as a focus. On an overhead or chalkboard use or copy the handout, Parallels between Writing and Art (the version with the “art” column blank). As class discussion proceeds, record student responses in the appropriate column. For example, a self-portrait is an image or picture of its subject; an autobiography is a written account about its subject.

Identify the self-portrait by its title and ask: When do you think it was painted? (after 1782) What clues does it give to the time period? (subject matter, clothing, style) What was happening in history at that time? (The French Revolution was being fought.) What kind of personality did the subject have? What did the artist want the viewer to know about her? How truthful do you think it is? (Refer to chapter six in Mary D. Sheriff’s The Exceptional Woman: Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun and the Cultural Politics of Art for additional information on the artist’s self-portraits.) Distribute. Distribute the student readings about Vigee-Lebrun’s self-portrait and discuss.

Discussion Questions to Consider

• What is a biography? (story of a person’s life written by another person.)
• What is portrait? (picture of a person, especially the face)
• What is an autobiography? (story of a person’s life written by that person.)
• What is the parallel of a biography in art? (a portrait)
• What is a self-portrait? (portrait of oneself made by oneself)
• How is a self-portrait similar or parallel to an autobiography? (they both tell stories about the subject, from the subjects point of view) How is it different? (one is a picture or image, the other is told in words)
• Why is the self-portrait similar to an autobiography? (they both represent the artist’s or writers personal perspective)
• Why do people write autobiographies or paint self-portraits?
• How is an autobiography or self-portrait important to other readers or viewers?
• What is the purpose of this painting? (perhaps to serve as an advertisement of the artist’s skills, vanity, self-expression) What are some other purposes self-portraits may have?

Discuss parallels between the two forms:

• How do students identify with the writers and painters of those times and what is different in their (the student’s) lives?
• How important are details in paintings and writings?
• Would the work be the same without details?
• How would the students present themselves in a self-portrait?

Using the overhead projector, display the transparency Write an Autobiographical Poem (found at the end of the lesson) to model the poem form by completing one about Vigee-Lebrun together as a class. Encourage students to use visual clues to support their choices of words and phrases. On completion of the group poem, distribute hard copies of the Write an Autobiographical Poem handout (found at the end of the lesson) and ask each student to complete the form about themselves.

Summary and Closure

On completion of the individual poems, have students take turns reading their poems aloud. Have the students discuss the way they perceive themselves and how others see them. Ask students if they would rather have a written description or an image made that represented themselves. Have students set the poems aside for later consideration in Lesson 4.

Assessment

Display again the overhead transparency of the rubric for this lesson and review and discuss it with students. Were the objectives of the lesson met?

Extensions

• Display autobiographical poems with the poem about Vigee-Lebrun and her self-portrait.
• Research Vigee-Lebrun’s memoirs and compare her work to her comments and recollections about it.
• Compare the Vigee-Lebrun with self-portraits by other women, such as Judith Leyster and Frida Kahlo (found in Women Artists, Take 5 print set from Crystal Productions).
• Have students create a self-portrait using words or a collage using only objects that represent themselves. William Harnett’s still life paintings are good examples of non-traditional portraits.
• Research Vigee-Lebrun on the Internet to see how many of her works can be located.
• Compare Vigee-Lebrun’s self-portrait to other autobiographies from the same time period in Europe.