A SHORT HISTORY OF PORTRAITURE GREEK TO BAROQUE

1. A SHORT HISTORY OF PORTRAITURE GREEK TO BAROQUE

2. Portraiture is an important part of the human image in art. Artists have created drawings, paintings, and sculptures of themselves throughout history. Funerary mask, from the royal tombs at Mycenae, Greece, c. 1550-1500 BCE, gold

3. Works of art in which artists have used their own images as subjects for their portraits are called self-portraits.

4. A portrait is more than an attempt to produce an exact likeness of an individual. It is often one person’s interpretation of another. Woman I, Willem de Kooning, 1950-52, oil on canvas

5. The portrait may bear a close resemblance to the subject . . . Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces, Joshua Reynolds, 1765, oil on canvas

6. . . . or it may rendered without making a physical likeness. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Pablo Picasso, 1907, oil on canvas

7. A self-portrait can reveal things other than the physical appearance of an artist. Sometimes we can guess what their personality might be like or how they view their role in society. We can tell what type of clothing they liked to wear or what the fashions of their period in history were like. Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1785, oil on canvas

8. Photographs or paintings are an important tool in discovering what our ancestors looked like. The ancient Romans would display ancestral portraits on the walls of their homes. They arranged them in chronological order and drew lines on the walls behind the portraits linking each family member together. This was superior to a written record because a physical resemblance could not be disputed.

9. Romans would also create sculpture portraits of their ancestors. However, the collapse of the Roman Empire in 395 C.E. changed the importance of portraiture in the Western world.

10. For approximately 900 years after the fall of Rome, social and governmental chaos prevailed and portraiture was almost nonexistent. The church became the only safe haven from the barbarians who roamed the European continent. During the Middle Ages, individual differences were considered of little importance compared to the holy subjects. However, in the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi and other religious leaders inspired a renewed appreciation for the natural world. This meant that artists were again expected to use representational images, specifically portraits, in their art.

11. In the 14th century donor portraits became popular decorative works of art. Donor portraits are paintings, usually murals or altarpieces, commissioned by wealthy persons and donated to their churches as visible signs of their faith. The donor expected that his or her portrait, and perhaps that of the entire family, would be painted next to a saint or a biblical figure. This was to ensure their inclusion in the prayers of the congregation. This practice of incorporating portraits of donors in religious paintings continued into the 17th century.

12. In 1512 the Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) was commissioned by a wealthy patron to paint a donor portrait as part of an altarpiece. Sigismondo de Conte wanted to show his gratitude that his family had survived when their home was hit by meteor. The artwork Saint Francis and John the Baptist are located on the left. Saint Jerome places his hand on the donor’s head in blessing as they both gaze up at the figure of Mary. In the distance, the fireball is streaking through the atmosphere, headed for the de Conte home. Sigismondo’s portrait in the scene is a sign of his gratitude for being spared certain death.

13. The Flemish brothers Jan and Hubert van Eyck were trained to capture the smallest detail of a scene or a face. This painting is believed to be a self-portrait of Jan. The work is particularly significant because it is the first portrait in a thousand years to show the subject looking directly at the viewer. In the middle ages, artists depicted human beings looking toward heaven at a saint, or at some other part of the picture. However, this man in the red turban looks directly at the world in front of him. His attitude and expression seem to signal a change in the way human figures would be used in the art of the future.

14. The Italian Renaissance artist and scholars studied classical literature and art from Greece and Rome for inspiration. Any relic that could be bought or traded from the two countries was brought to Florence and used as a model. This inspired the production of some of the greatest human images in the history of art. Leonardo da Vinci is considered a Renaissance genius because of his contributions to the world through his art and inventions. He has been credited with inventing the helicopter and military tank among others.

15. Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait ever painted. The face of the Mona Lisa is often described as enigmatic, which means puzzling or hard to understand. While the figure’s pose is somewhat aloof or regal, her clothing is quite simple. The subject’s expression radiates an inner warmth, and her relaxed hands are graceful. It is often said that Leonardo was not painting a specific woman (she was actually a real person, the wife of a prominent banker) but an idealized being, in the classical Greek tradition.

16. In many European countries, religious art was forbidden during the separation from the Catholic Church. Portraits commissioned by wealthy patrons soon became the only source of income for artists. Holbein , born in Germany, went to England during the Reformation and became the court painter for King Henry VIII. This portrait of King Henry shows him in an elaborate wedding robe. The detailed fabric, jewels, and ornate, decorative quality of the robe indicate the king’s great wealth and power.

17. The Renaissance artists made art that was compositionally balanced and representational. Baroque art (1600-1780) was dramatic, with strong darks and lights, the illusion of motion, and asymmetrical balance. The most famous Baroque portrait artist was the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

18. Rembrandt is most famous for his unique way of using of areas of darkness and light in his portraits. He carefully placed the light values in his portraits so they would highlight the faces of his subjects, the rest of the figure and the background were painted with deep shadows enhancing the brilliance of the white paint used on the face. This dramatic change in dark and light is called chiaroscuro. Rembrandt painted more than sixty self-portraits. These self-portraits are a remarkable record of his life.