Discussion Questions

Self-Portrait

Dorothea Tanning

October 2022

Dorothea Tanning, Self-Portrait, 1944; collection SFMOMA, purchase, by exchange, through a fractional gift of Shirley Ross Davis; © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; photo: Katherine Du Tiel

  1. What was the first thing you noticed about this work of art? Why do you think you noticed what you did? What else caught your eye?
  2. Describe the place that you see in this work of art? Does it remind you of a place you’ve seen before?
  3. What is the mood of the painting? What visual evidence from the work makes you think this?
  4. Find a hidden idea or emotion in this work of art. What clues in the work helped you find it?
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