| Writing Assignment: Describe the Iconic Humboldt Portrait | last modified: |
Length: 1 page (250 words) • Estimated time to do assignment: <20 minutes
Reasons: 1) furnish initial writing sample; 2) insight into Humboldt's identity and world; 3) experience with graphics arts as communication through a process of selection and emphasis (paired with comprehension process that also involves selection and emphasis); 4) strengthen writing skills by relating writing to personal observation and paying attention to the demands and tools of a particular kind of writing; 5) prepare for upcoming lectures about graphic representation of Humboldt and about how he equipped his expedition; 6) food for thought about what we will want our own individual Explorer portraits to look like, and why.
Activity:
Our portraits tell a lot about ourselves and our world. We see that in such portraits as baby, graduation, wedding, or professional pictures – or even the ones we send with text messages. But understanding other people's portraits can be difficult, because we may not know much about them or their worlds. The "iconic" portrait of Humboldt is Weitsch's painting of 1806:
(Click on the picture to see it enlarged.)
In one page - just one page, but make it a full page - describe the painting. You can structure your description in various ways - list the items in it, move from section to section of the picture, etc. But the main point is, first, to SEE WHAT IS THERE - to notice things a casual observer might overlook, and to be sure that what you think you see is actually what is there. You may want to interpret the painting - to explain what you think it means - but don't try to do that until you have described what you have actually observed, and don't spend many of your 250 words on what it all means - we'll get to that elsewhere in the course. And, until you have described what is actually there, avoid expressions like "it seems" or "we're supposed to think that…". But, on the other hand, don't waste words by describing the obvious, like "the painting is rectangular and in color" - unless you think that is important, and then you'd better explain why it is. It may help you to think of the paragraph or two that we find in art museums on plaques that help explain paintings by pointing out what we need to see as we think about them.
These questions may help you with your description:
1) What catches our eye when we first look at the painting?
2) Where is Humboldt, and what is he doing?
3) What human and natural objects in the painting "speak" to us about his life and work?
4) What parts of the picture- the items in it or the arrangement of space and color - might strike a person as odd, though perhaps second or later looks at them reveals more meaning?
5) How does this painting compare to your mental image of what portraits of explorers and scientists look like?
6) What about the portrait still puzzles you, and what additional knowledge would you need to explain it?
Grading: Here is the scoring guide. It is written as though the activity were an assignment to hand in after several days of thinking and an hour or more of writing. If you are doing this activity in-class for immediate collection, the score will be adjusted upward by .5 points.