News Year 10 Art and Design Trip to the National Portrait Gallery 12.12.2024

On Tuesday, our Year 10 GCSE Art and Design students visited the National Portrait Gallery. The gallery staff warmly welcomed the group, and the students had the opportunity to engage with several notable exhibitions, including Francis Bacon: Human Presence and the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Additionally, they explored works from the permanent collection, which provided them with an extensive range of artistic styles and periods to consider.

The primary aim of the trip was to allow students to engage with artworks firsthand, enabling them to reflect on the scale, impact, and symbolism within different pieces. The Francis Bacon: Human Presence exhibition was particularly significant, offering students the chance to observe the intensity of Bacon’s work in person, gaining a deeper understanding of his exploration of human form and emotion.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition also captured the students’ attention, offering them contemporary representations of portraiture. It was a thought-provoking experience, with many students reflecting on the diverse ways in which identity can be captured through photography. This was particularly timely, as students are currently embarking on their own self-portrait studies for their coursework. The exhibition provided valuable insight into the range of styles and approaches that can be taken when portraying oneself.

Additionally, the students spent time in the Tudor gallery, where they considered the symbolic value of objects often depicted alongside the subject in traditional portraiture. These objects, ranging from personal items to ceremonial objects, revealed much about the identity and status of the figures portrayed. This was an excellent opportunity for students to consider how symbolism functions in visual storytelling, a concept that they can apply to their own work.

The visit allowed students to engage critically with the artworks and inspired them to think deeply about how identity is revealed, represented, and challenged across a variety of mediums and styles. The experience also supported their ongoing coursework, offering them practical examples to reflect upon as they continue to develop their artistic skills and ideas.