After looking closely at the painting of Cupid and Psyche, Maple class noticed how the artist had made use of symmetry in this piece of art. Noticing the symmetry in the positioning of the bedroom, the fabric of the curtains and the positions of the characters within the story, we decided to explore symmetry further within individual faces. The children spent time sketching faces and refining their sketching skills. The children were also keen to explore how to use paint to represent the movement of the facrics within the painting. So we took real fabrics and laid them over objects, noticing the folds that were created. We then explored how to use paint to achieve the impression of a 3D fold on a flat piece of paper.
After this, the children took further inspiration from the story of Cupid and Psyche, looking for themes within the story. Beauty, jealousy, secrets and lies were some of the the themes we found. In their final pieces, children were encouraged to bring together the elements of the themes of the story, and to include symmetry and faces in their compositions.
“I was inspired by Jacop Del Sallaio. The message I wanted to get across was not tur love always gets freedom. I liked the way Psyche and Cupid are looking at each other without even knowing it. I also liked doing the sunset as the background. I learned to shade and how to create an effect on the picture so the fabric looks like it is folding.” Sakshi, aged 11
Mrs Palmer and Mrs Heijne, Class Teacher
