Take One Picture - Seamus Heaney

Take one picture

Portrait of 

Seamus Heaney 

1939-2013 (1974)

by Edward McGuire

 

Better not to explain to the class who Heaney was and what he did - they can figure it out later.

Lets look carefully at the picture for just one minute

A minute can seem like a very long time to look at a picture.  Encourage the class to look at the foreground and the background, to try to memorise what they can see

How long did that feel?

1. Exactly like one minute
2. Really quick
3. Ages - far too long
4. About 5 minutes

In art galleries if people stop at a painting for a minute it is considered a really long 'hit', it is far above average which is around 10 seconds.

Now see what you remember

On the table the man is holding...

1. a cup
2. a book
3. a pen
4. a leaf

A book

How many birds are in the background?

1. None
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four

Three birds.

Do they look like living birds or stuffed birds?

Edward McGuire kept stuffed birds in his studio.  When he had no one to paint painted  their 'portraits' .

If this man was a teacher which subject do you think he would like best?

(Look for a moment and vote on next slide)

History

Maths

English

Art

Languages

Sports and games

Science(including nature)

?

Ask why they decided on the different subjects.  None of the answers are 'wrong' - Heaney was interested in English, nature, history, politics and languages (ancient and modern), he was also inspired by art and artists and he observed details in the world like a scientist.  He also looks like he could enjoy sport - he has a physical presence - a tall, strong man behind a small table (he said he felt cramped when sitting for the portrait)

Then there is the painter to consider, McGuire brings a mathematical precision and feeling of scientific analysis to all his work so the class might pick up on that as well

There is a tiny change between these two pictures.

Can you find it?

Just the shine on the toecaps.  Was it easy to spot?  

Is it better or worse with the shiny toecaps?

Why?

The shoes reflect the light and draw attention in the bottom half of the painting.  Do you think it seems unbalanced/flat without the toecaps? 

Heaney tells the story of how he had a basket of shiny chestnuts when McGuire visited him - they agreed the chestnuts could be great at catching light in the portrait. In the end there are no chestnuts and the toecaps catch the light instead.  Heaney wrote a poem about this called  'A Basket of Chestnuts'

Can you find any square shapes in the painting?

Squares are repeated through the composition -  - the glazing bars on the window, the table cloth, the table itself, the shutters.

Can you find any patterns of lines in the painting?

Lots of lines - jumper, trousers, floorboards, hair, book pages, knuckles, shutters.

Artists echo shapes, patterns, colours and tones in paintings. 

Now you are familiar with one of Edward McGuire's paintings. 

Which one of these pictures looks like it is by him?

The one on the left is a portrait of another poet, John Montague, by McGuire.

The one on the right is 'Woman in White' by Roderic O'Conor

Now two drawings.  

Which one do you think is by Edward McGuire

The one on the left is a McGuire drawing of the writer Francis Stuart (he loved to portray writers).  It has the precision of McGuire's paintings.

The drawing on the right is by Henry Tonks and is far more impressionistic.

Well done you are now experts on Edward McGuire!

A bit more about..

 Seamus Heaney (1939 - 2013) 

He was a world-famous poet from Bellaghy, Co. Tyrone and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. 

This portrait is usually on display in the Ulster Museum