January 2021 Portrait of the Month — Ita Grynbaum

Ita Grynbaum

January’s Portrait of the Month was created at the three-day virtual program we held in partnership with the Holocaust Museum LA and Cesar Chavez Elementary School.In only about 20 minutes, Vanessa from Cesar Chavez Elementary School, working upside down with oil pastels, created this portrait of Ita Grynbaum. The more you look at Vanessa’s portrait the more you see how well she used the lesson in light, shade and observation. Vanessa constructed the solidity of Ita’s head and the way it moves through space. At the same time, she captured emotion. Notice the expressiveness of Ita’s eyes and mouth. Though Ita died of typhus in a forced labor camp at age 17, young Vanessa has memorialized her and enjoyed the process of drawing and learning about Ita.You can read more about the workshop and see portraits created by other students on the community page.