What is foreshortening in art? Learn about this technique by focusing on David Alfaro Siqueiros’s striking self-portrait. He used dramatic foreshortening to create drama, depth, and motion. In this video, we explore how Mexican muralist Siqueiros, one of “los tres grandes,” pushes foreshortening to its limits in his self-portrait. His use of radical angles, rough textures, and experimental materials pulls viewers into the painting. We also look at Italian renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna’s Dead Christ to compare how artists across time have wrestled with this technique.

This video is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about:

• Mexican art

• Formal techniques in art

• Modern Art

• Mexican modernism

• Mexican muralists

• Portraiture

• Art History

• Latin American Art

Speaker: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

CHAPTERS

0:00 Defining foreshortening?

0:36 Siqueiros and Los Tres Grandes

0:53 Siqueiros’s Self-Portrait

2:08 Andrea Mantegna’s Dead Christ

2:37 A radical extreme