Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and private persons, or they may be inspired by admiration or affection for the subject. Portraits often serve as important state and family records, as well as remembrances.
Historically, portrait paintings have primarily memorialized the rich and powerful. Over time, however, it became more common for middle-class patrons to commission portraits of their families and colleagues. Today, portrait paintings are still commissioned by governments, corporations, groups, clubs, and individuals. In addition to painting, portraits can also be made in other media such as prints (including etching and lithography), photography, video and digital media.
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It may seem obvious today that a painted portrait is intended to achieve a likeness of the sitter that is recognisable to those who have seen them, and ideally is a very good record of their appearance. In fact this concept has been slow to grow, and it took centuries for artists in different traditions to acquire the distinct skills for painting a good likeness.
Technique and practice
A well-executed portrait is expected to show the inner essence of the subject (from the artist's point of view) or a flattering representation, not just a literal likeness. As Aristotle stated, "The aim of Art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance; for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes true reality."[1] Artists may strive for photographic realism or an impressionistic similarity in depicting their subject, but this differs from a caricature which attempts to reveal character through exaggeration of physical features. The artist generally attempts a representative portrayal, as Edward Burne-Jones stated, "The only expression allowable in great portraiture is the expression of character and moral quality, not anything temporary, fleeting, or accidental."[2]
In most cases, this results in a serious, closed lip stare, with anything beyond a slight smile being rather rare historically. Or as Charles Dickens put it, "there are only two styles of portrait painting: the serious and the smirk."[3] Even given these limitations, a full range of subtle emotions is possible from quiet menace to gentle contentment. However, with the mouth relatively neutral, much of the facial expression needs to be created through the eyes and eyebrows. As author and artist Gordon C. Aymar states, "the eyes are the place one looks for the most complete, reliable, and pertinent information" about the subject. And the eyebrows can register, "almost single-handedly, wonder, pity, fright, pain, cynicism, concentration, wistfulness, displeasure, and expectation, in infinite variations and combinations."[4]
Portrait painting can depict the subject "full-length" (the whole body), "half-length" (from head to
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Among the other possible variables, the subject can be clothed or nude; indoors or out; standing, seated, reclining; even horse-mounted. Portrait paintings can be of individuals, couples, parents and children, families, or collegial groups. They can be created in various media including
Sometimes, the overall size of the portrait is an important consideration. Chuck Close's enormous portraits created for museum display differ greatly from most portraits designed to fit in the home or to travel easily with the client. Frequently, an artist takes into account where the final portrait will hang and the colors and style of the surrounding décor.[8]
Creating a portrait can take considerable time, usually requiring several sittings. Cézanne, on one extreme, insisted on over 100 sittings from his subject.
Managing the sitter's expectations and mood is a serious concern for the portrait artist. As to the faithfulness of the portrait to the sitter's appearance, portraitists are generally consistent in their approach. Clients who sought out
After putting the sitter at ease and encouraging a natural pose, the artist studies his subject, looking for the one facial expression, out of many possibilities, that satisfies his concept of the sitter's essence. The posture of the subject is also carefully considered to reveal the emotional and physical state of the sitter, as is the costume. To keep the sitter engaged and motivated, the skillful artist will often maintain a pleasant demeanor and conversation.
Central to the successful execution of the portrait is a mastery of
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For complex compositions, the artist may first do a complete pencil, ink, charcoal, or oil sketch which is particularly useful if the sitter's available time is limited. Otherwise, the general form then a rough likeness is sketched out on the canvas in pencil, charcoal, or thin oil. In many cases, the face is completed first, and the rest afterwards. In the studios of many of the great portrait artists, the master would do only the head and hands, while the clothing and background would be completed by the principal apprentices. There were even outside specialists who handled specific items such as drapery and clothing, such as
Self-portraits are usually produced with the help of a mirror, and the finished result is a mirror-image portrait, a reversal of what occurs in a normal portrait when sitter and artist are opposite each other. In a self-portrait, a righted handed artist would appear to be holding a brush in the left hand, unless the artist deliberately corrects the image or uses a second reversing mirror while painting.
Occasionally, the client or the client's family is unhappy with the resulting portrait and the artist is obliged to re-touch it or do it over or withdraw from the commission without being paid, suffering the humiliation of failure. Jacques-Louis David celebrated Portrait of Madame Récamier, wildly popular in exhibitions, was rejected by the sitter, as was John Singer Sargent's notorious Portrait of Madame X. John Trumbull's full-length portrait, General George Washington at Trenton, was rejected by the committee that commissioned it.[17] The famously prickly Gilbert Stuart once replied to a client's dissatisfaction with his wife's portrait by retorting, "You brought me a potato, and you expect a peach!"[18]
A successful portrait, however, can gain the lifelong gratitude of a client. Count Balthazar was so pleased with the portrait Raphael had created of his wife that he told the artist, "Your image…alone can lighten my cares. That image is my delight; I direct my smiles to it, it is my joy."[19]
History
Ancient world
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Portraiture's roots are likely found in prehistoric times, although few of these works survive today. In the art of the ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent, especially in Egypt, depictions of rulers and rulers as gods abound. However, most of these were done in a highly stylized fashion, and most in profile, usually on stone, metal, clay, plaster, or crystal. Egyptian portraiture placed relatively little emphasis on likeness, at least until the period of Akhenaten in the 14th century BC. Portrait painting of notables in China probably goes back to over 1000 BC, though none survive from that age. Existing Chinese portraits go back to about 1000 AD,[20] but did not place much emphasis on likeness until some time after that.
From literary evidence we know that
Much the largest group of painted portraits are the funeral paintings that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's
While free-standing portrait painting diminished in Rome, the art of the portrait flourished in Roman sculptures, where sitters demanded realism, even if unflattering. During the 4th century, the sculpted portrait dominated, with a retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. (Compare the portraits of Roman Emperors
Middle Ages
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Most early medieval portraits were
Around the end of the century, the first oil portraits of contemporary individuals, painted on small wood panels, emerged in Burgundy and France, first as profiles, then in other views. The Wilton Diptych of ca. 1400 is one of two surviving panel portraits of Richard II of England, the earliest English king for whom we have contemporary examples.
At the end of the
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Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 1444), Portrait of a Young Woman (paired with her husband), 1430–1435. Van der Weyden's style was founded on Campin's.
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Arnolfini Portrait, by Jan van Eyck, 1434
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Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1460
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One of the earliest stand-alone self-portraits, Jean Fouquet, c. 1450
Renaissance
If the poet says that he can inflame men with love…
the painter has the power to do the same…
in that he can place in front of the lover
the true likeness of one who is beloved,
often making him kiss and speak to it.
–Leonardo da Vinci[26]
Leonardo's Ginevra de' Benci (c. 1474–8) is one of the first known three-quarter-view portraits in Italian art.[26]
Partly out of interest in the natural world and partly out of interest in the classical cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, portraits—both painted and sculpted—were given an important role in Renaissance society and valued as objects, and as depictions of earthly success and status. Painting in general reached a new level of balance, harmony, and insight, and the greatest artists (Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael) were considered "geniuses", rising far above the tradesman status to valued servants of the court and the church.[27]
Many innovations in the various forms of portraiture evolved during this fertile period. The tradition of the portrait miniature began, which remained popular until the age of photography, developing out of the skills of painters of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts.
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Profile portraits, inspired by ancient medallions, were particularly popular in Italy between 1450 and 1500. Medals, with their two–sided images, also inspired a short-lived vogue for two-sided paintings early in the Renaissance.[28] Classical sculpture, such as the Apollo Belvedere, also influenced the choice of poses used by Renaissance portraitists, poses that have continued in use through the centuries.[29]
Northern European artists led the way in realistic portraits of secular subjects. The greater realism and detail of the Northern artists during the 15th century was due in part to the finer brush strokes and effects possible with oil colors, while the Italian and Spanish painters were still using tempera. Among the earliest painters to develop oil technique was Jan van Eyck. Oil colors can produce more texture and grades of thickness, and can be layered more effectively, with the addition of increasingly thick layers one over another (known by painters as ‘fat over lean’). Also, oil colors dry more slowly, allowing the artist to make changes readily, such as altering facial details. Antonello da Messina was one of the first Italians to take advantage of oil. Trained in Belgium, he settled in Venice around 1475, and was a major influence on Giovanni Bellini and the Northern Italian school.[30] During the 16th century, oil as a medium spread in popularity throughout Europe, allowing for more sumptuous renderings of clothing and jewelry. Also affecting the quality of the images, was the switch from wood to canvas, starting in Italy in the early part of the 16th century and spreading to Northern Europe over the next century. Canvas resists cracking better than wood, holds pigments better, and needs less preparation―but it was initially much scarcer than wood.
Early on, the Northern Europeans abandoned the profile, and started producing portraits of realistic volume and perspective. In the Netherlands,
Leading German portrait artists including
In Italy, Masaccio led the way in modernizing the fresco by adopting more realistic perspective. Filippo Lippi paved the way in developing sharper contours and sinuous lines[37] and his pupil Raphael extended realism in Italy to a much higher level in the following decades with his monumental wall paintings.[38] During this time, the betrothal portrait became popular, a particular specialty of Lorenzo Lotto.[39] During the early Renaissance, portrait paintings were generally small and sometimes covered with protective lids, hinged or sliding.[40]
During the Renaissance, the Florentine and Milanese nobility, in particular, wanted more realistic representations of themselves. The challenge of creating convincing full and three-quarter views stimulated experimentation and innovation. Sandro Botticelli, Piero della Francesca, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Lorenzo di Credi, and Leonardo da Vinci and other artists expanded their technique accordingly, adding portraiture to traditional religious and classical subjects. Leonardo and Pisanello were among the first Italian artists to add allegorical symbols to their secular portraits.[38]
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One of best-known portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting entitled Mona Lisa, named for Lisa del Giocondo,[41][42][43] a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The famous "Mona Lisa smile" is an excellent example of applying subtle asymmetry to a face. In his notebooks, Leonardo advises on the qualities of light in portrait painting:
A very high degree of grace in the light and shadow is added to the faces of those who sit in the doorways of rooms that are dark, where the eyes of the observer see the shadowed part of the face obscured by the shadows of the room, and see the lighted part of the face with the greater brilliance which the air gives it. Through this increase in the shadows and the lights, the face is given greater relief.[44]
Leonardo was a student of
Raphael's surviving commission portraits are far more numerous than those of Leonardo, and they display a greater variety of poses, lighting, and technique. Rather than producing revolutionary innovations, Raphael's great accomplishment was strengthening and refining the evolving currents of Renaissance art.[46] He was particularly expert in the group portrait. His masterpiece the School of Athens is one of the foremost group frescoes, containing likenesses of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael himself, in the guise of ancient philosophers.[47] It was not the first group portrait of artists. Decades earlier, Paolo Uccello had painted a group portrait including Giotto, Donatello, Antonio Manetti, and Brunelleschi.[35] As he rose in prominence, Raphael became a favorite portraitist of the popes. While many Renaissance artists eagerly accepted portrait commissions, a few artists refused them, most notably Raphael's rival Michelangelo, who instead undertook the huge commissions of the Sistine Chapel.[38]
In Venice around 1500,
Court portraiture in France began when Flemish artist Jean Clouet painted his opulent likeness of Francis I of France around 1525.[53] King Francis was a great patron of artists and an avaricious art collector who invited Leonardo da Vinci to live in France during his later years. The Mona Lisa stayed in France after Leonardo died there.[53]
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Pisanello, perhaps Ginevra d'Este, c. 1440
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Young Man by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1483. An early Italian full-face pose.
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Possibly Raphael, c. 1518, Isabel de Requesens. The High Renaissance style and format were enormously influential for later grand portraits.
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Christiane von Eulenau by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1534
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Agnolo Bronzino, 1540
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Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574), Family of Pieter Jan Foppesz, prior to c.1532, considered the first family portrait, in Dutch portraiture.[54]
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Charles V by Titian, 1548, a seminal equestrian portrait.
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Theportraiture of Elizabeth I of Englandwas unique in Europe.
Baroque and Rococo
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During the
Rubens' fame extended beyond his art—he was a courtier, diplomat, art collector, and successful businessman. His studio was one of the most extensive of that time, employing specialists in still-life, landscape, animal and genre scenes, in addition to portraiture. Van Dyck trained there for two years.[56] Charles I of England first employed Rubens, then imported van Dyck as his court painter, knighting him and bestowing on him courtly status. Van Dyck not only adapted Rubens’ production methods and business skills, but also his elegant manners and appearance. As was recorded, "He always went magnificently dress’d, had a numerous and gallant equipage, and kept so noble a table in his apartment, that few princes were not more visited, or better serv’d."[57] In France, Hyacinthe Rigaud dominated in much the same way, as a remarkable chronicler of royalty, painting the portraits of five French kings.[58]
One of the innovations of Renaissance art was the improved rendering of facial expressions to accompany different emotions. In particular, Dutch painter Rembrandt explored the many expressions of the human face, especially as one of the premier self-portraitists (of which he painted over 60 in his lifetime).[59] This interest in the human face also fostered the creation of the first caricatures, credited to the Accademia degli Incamminati, run by painters of the Carracci family in the late 16th century in Bologna, Italy.
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Group portraits were produced in great numbers during the Baroque period, particularly in the Netherlands. Unlike in the rest of Europe, Dutch artists received no commissions from the Calvinist Church which had forbidden such images or from the aristocracy which was virtually non-existent. Instead, commissions came from civic and businesses associations. Dutch painter Frans Hals used fluid brush strokes of vivid color to enliven his group portraits, including those of the civil guards to which he belonged. Rembrandt benefitted greatly from such commissions and from the general appreciation of art by bourgeois clients, who supported portraiture as well as still-life and landscapes painting. In addition, the first significant art and dealer markets flourished in Holland at that time.[60]
With plenty of demand, Rembrandt was able to experiment with unconventional composition and technique, such as
In Spain, Diego Velázquez painted Las Meninas (1656), one of the most famous and enigmatic group portraits of all time. It memorializes the artist and the children of the Spanish royal family, and apparently the sitters are the royal couple who are seen only as reflections in a mirror.[63] Starting out as primarily a genre painter, Velázquez quickly rose to prominence as the court painter of Philip IV, excelling in the art of portraiture, particularly in extending the complexity of group portraits.[64]
Rococo artists, who were particularly interested in rich and intricate ornamentation, were masters of the refined portrait. Their attention to the details of dress and texture increased the efficacy of portraits as testaments to worldly wealth, as evidenced by François Boucher's famous portraits of Madame de Pompadour attired in billowing silk gowns.
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The first major native portrait painters of the British school were English painters
The two British artists had opposite opinions on using assistants. Reynolds employing them regularly (sometimes doing only 20 percent of the painting himself) while Gainsborough rarely did.[67] Sometimes a client would extract a pledge from the artist, as did Sir Richard Newdegate from portraitist Peter Lely (van Dyck's successor in England), who promised that the portrait would be "from the Beginning to ye end drawne with my owne hands."[68] Unlike the exactitude employed by the Flemish masters, Reynolds summed up his approach to portraiture by stating that, "the grace, and, we may add, the likeness, consists more in taking the general air, than in observing the exact similitude of every feature."[69] Also prominent in England was William Hogarth, who dared to buck conventional methods by introducing touches of humor in his portraits. His "Self-portrait with Pug" is clearly more a humorous take on his pet than a self-indulgent painting.[70]
In the 18th century, female painters gained new importance, particularly in the field of portraiture. Notable female artists include French painter
In the United States, John Singleton Copley, schooled in the refined British manner, became the leading painter of full-size and miniature portraits, with his hyper-realistic pictures of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere especially well-regarded. Copley is also notable for his efforts to merge portraiture with the academically more revered art of history painting, which he attempted with his group portraits of famous military men.[71] Equally famous was Gilbert Stuart who painted over 1,000 portraits and was especially known for his presidential portraiture. Stuart painted over 100 replicas of George Washington alone.[72] Stuart worked quickly and employed softer, less detailed brush strokes than Copley to capture the essence of his subjects. Sometimes he would make several versions for a client, allowing the sitter to pick their favorite.[73] Noted for his rosy cheek tones, Stuart wrote, "flesh is like no other substance under heaven. It has all the gaiety of the silk-mercer's shop without its gaudiness of gloss, and all the softness of old mahogany, without its sadness."[74] Other prominent American portraitists of the colonial era were John Smibert, Thomas Sully, Ralph Earl, John Trumbull, Benjamin West, Robert Feke, James Peale, Charles Willson Peale, and Rembrandt Peale.
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Sir Kenelm Digby by Anthony van Dyck, c. 1640
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Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of Jan Six, 1654
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Gerrit Sichterman, by Cornelis Troost, 1725
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Thomas Kerrich (1748-1828), by Pompeo Batoni
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John Durand, The Rapalje Children, 1768, New-York Historical Society, New York City
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John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere, 1770
19th century
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In the late 18th century and early 19th century, neoclassical artists continued the tradition of depicting subjects in the latest fashions, which for women by then, meant diaphanous gowns derived from ancient Greek and Roman clothing styles. The artists used directed light to define texture and the simple roundness of faces and limbs. French painters Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres demonstrated virtuosity in this draftsman-like technique as well as a keen eye for character. Ingres, a student of David, is notable for his portraits in which a mirror is painted behind the subject to simulate a rear view of the subject.[75] His portrait of Napoleon on his imperial throne is a tour de force of regal portraiture. (see Gallery below)
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The
In America, Thomas Eakins reigned as the premier portrait painter, taking realism to a new level of frankness, especially with his two portraits of surgeons at work, as well as those of athletes and musicians in action. In many portraits, such as "Portrait of Mrs. Edith Mahon", Eakins boldly conveys the unflattering emotions of sorrow and melancholy.[80]
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The Realists mostly gave way to the Impressionists by the 1870s. Partly due to their meager incomes, many of the Impressionists relied on family and friends to model for them, and they painted intimate groups and single figures in either outdoors or in light-filled interiors. Noted for their shimmering surfaces and rich dabs of paint, Impressionist portraits are often disarmingly intimate and appealing. French painters Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir created some of the most popular images of individual sitters and groups. American artist Mary Cassatt, who trained and worked in France, is popular even today for her engaging paintings of mothers and children, as is Renoir.[81] Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, both Post-Impressionists, painted revealing portraits of people they knew, swirling in color but not necessarily flattering. They are equally, if not more so, celebrated for their powerful self-portraits.
The American-born internationalist
The development of photography in the 19th century had a significant effect on portraiture, supplanting the earlier
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Francisco de Goya, Charles IV of Spain and His Family, 1800–1801
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Musée de l'Armée, Paris
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Gustave Courbet, Portrait of Charles Baudelaire, 1848
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Portrait of Alfred Sisley, 1868
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Pedro Américo, The Throne Speech. Portrait of Pedro II of Brazil in the opening of the General Assembly, 1872, Imperial Museum of Brazil, Petrópolis
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Edgar Degas, Portrait of Miss Cassatt, Seated, Holding Cards, 1876-1878
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John Singer Sargent, Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson, 1887
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Portrait of Doctor Gachet, (first version), 1890
20th century
Other early 20th-century artists also expanded the repertoire of portraiture in new directions.
British art was represented by the
A significant contribution to the development of portrait painting of 1930–2000 was made by Russian artists, mainly working in the traditions of realist and figurative painting. Among them should be called
Portrait production in Europe (excluding Russia) and the Americas generally declined in the 1940s and 1950s, a result of the increasing interest in abstraction and nonfigurative art. One exception, however, was Andrew Wyeth who developed into the leading American realist portrait painter. With Wyeth, realism, though overt, is secondary to the tonal qualities and mood of his paintings. This is aptly demonstrated by his landmark series of paintings known as the "Helga" pictures, the largest group of portraits of a single person by any major artist (247 studies of his neighbor Helga Testorf, clothed and nude, in varying surroundings, painted during the period 1971–1985).[94]
By the 1960s and 1970s, there was a revival of portraiture. English artists such as Lucian Freud (grandson of Sigmund Freud) and Francis Bacon have produced powerful paintings. Bacon's portraits are notable for their nightmarish quality. In May 2008, Freud's 1995 portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold by auction by Christie's in New York City for $33.6 million, setting a world record for sale value of a painting by a living artist.[95]
Many contemporary American artists, such as Andy Warhol, Alex Katz and Chuck Close, have made the human face a focal point of their work.
Warhol was one of the most prolific portrait painters of the 20th century. Warhol's painting
Close's specialty was huge, hyper-realistic wall-sized "head" portraits based on photographic images. Jamie Wyeth continues in the realist tradition of his father Andrew, producing famous portraits whose subjects range from presidents to pigs.
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Green Stripe, Portrait of Madame Matisse, 1905
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National Museum in Warsaw
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Umberto Boccioni, Self-portrait, 1906
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The Art Institute of Chicago
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Juan Gris, Portrait of Pablo Picasso, 1912
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Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of Chaïm Soutine, 1916
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Boris Grigoriev, Portrait of Vsevolod Meyerhold, 1916
Islamic world and South Asia
The
When the Persian tradition developed as the
Later emperors, especially
Ottoman miniatures generally had figures with faces even less individualized than its Persian equivalents, but a genre of small portraits of males from the Imperial family developed. These had highly individual, and rather exaggerated, features, some verging on caricatures; they were probably seen only by a very restricted circle.
The Persian Qajar dynasty, from 1781, took to large royal portraits in oils, as well as miniatures and textile hangings. These tend to be dominated by the magnificent costumes and long beards of the shahs.
Chinese portrait painting
Chinese portrait painting was slow to desire or achieve an actual likeness. Many "portraits" were of famous figures from the past, and showed an idea of what that person should look like. Buddhist clergy, especially in sculpture, were something of an exception to this. Portraits of the emperor were long never seen in public, partly for fear that mistreatment of them might dishonour the emperor or even cause bad luck. The most senior ministers were allowed once a year to pay homage to the images in the imperial gallery of ancestor portraits, as a special honour.
Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD)
During the Han dynasty, the rise of Confucianism, which regarded human as the center of the universe and society, led to a focus on psychological study. In the meantime, Taoist scholars started the study of physiognomy. The combined interests in human psychological and physical features caused a growth in biography and portraiture. Portrait paintings created during the Han dynasty were considered prototypes of the earliest Chinese portrait paintings, most of which were found on the walls of palace halls, tomb chambers, and offering shrines. For instance, the engraved figure of a man found in a tomb tile from western Henan dating back to the third century B.C. indicates the painter's observation and desire to create lively figures. However, the subjects of most wall portraits are anonymous figures engaging in conversation. Despite the vivid depiction of physical features and facial expression, due to the lack of identity and the close bound to narrative context, many scholars categorize these Han dynasty wall paintings as "character figures in action" instead of actual likenesses of specific individuals.[101]
Jin dynasty (265–410 AD)
The
The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Rong Qiqi is a thread-relief painting on tile found in a Jin dynasty brick-chambered tomb in Nanjing. The relief is 96 inches in length and 35 inches in width, with more than 300 bricks. It is one of the most well-preserved thread-relief paintings from the Jin dynasty which reflect high-quality craftsmanship. There are two parts of the relief and each contains four figure portraits. According to the names inscribed next to the figures, from the top to the bottom, and from the left to the right, the eight figures are Rong Qiqi, Ruan Xian, Liu Ling, Xiang Xiu, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Shan Tao, and Wang Rong. Other than Rong Qiqi, the other seven people were famous Neo-Daoist scholars of the Jin dynasty and were known as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove". They were eminent intelligentsias accomplished at literature, music, or philosophy. The relief depicts a narrative scene of the eight cultivated gentlemen sitting on the ground in the grove performing various activities. The figures were portrayed in a relaxed and self-absorbed posture wearing loose garments with bare feet.
The historically recorded name inscriptions next to the figures cause the relief painting functions as "portraiture represents specific people".[102] In addition, the iconographic details of each figure based on biography renders an extent of individualization. For instance, the biography of Liu Ling in the Book of Jin records his obsession with alcohol. In the relief painting, the figure of Liu Ling sits in a casual posture with a curving knee and holds an erbei, a vessel for alcohol, while dipping the other hand into the cup to have a taste of the drink. The portrait reflects the essence of Liu Ling's characteristics and temperament. The figure of Ruan Xian who was famous for musical talents according to the Book of Jin plays a flute in the portrait.
Gu Kaizhi, one of the most famous artists of the Eastern Jin dynasty, instructed how to reflect the sitter's characteristics through accurate portray of the physical features in his book On Painting. He also stressed the capture of the sitter's spirit through vivid depiction of eyes.[101]
Tang dynasty (618–907)
During the
In terms of the imperial portrait, Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, used portraits to legitimize succession and reinforce power. He commissioned the Portrait of Succession Emperors, which contains the portraits of 13 emperors in the previous dynasties in chronological order. The commonness among the selected emperors was that they were the sons of the founders of the dynasties. Since Emperor Taizong's father, Emperor Gaozu, was the founder of the Tang dynasty, Emperor Taizong's selection of the previous emperors in the similar position of himself served as a political allusion. His succession was under doubt and criticism since he murdered two of his brothers and forced his father to pass the throne to him. Through commissioning the collective portraits of the previous emperors, he aimed at legitimize the transmission of the reign. In addition, the difference in the costumes of the portrayed emperors implied Emperor Taizong's opinion on them. The emperors portrayed in informal costumes were regarded as the bad examples of a ruler such as being weak or violent, while the ones in formal dresses were thought to accomplish either civil or military achievements. The commission was an indirect method by Emperor Taizong to proclaim his achievements had surpassed the precedent emperors. Emperor Taizong also commissioned a series of portrait paintings of famous scholars and intellectuals before he became the emperor. He attempted to befriend with the intellectuals by putting the portraits on the wall of Pingyan Pavilion as a signal of respect. The portraits also served as evidence that he had gained political support from the portrayed famous scholars to frighten his opponents. During his reign, Emperor Taizong commissioned portraits of himself receiving offerings from the ambassadors of the conquered foreign countries to celebrate and advertise his military achievements.[104]
Song dynasty (960–1279)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Chinesischer_Maler_von_1238_001.jpg/220px-Chinesischer_Maler_von_1238_001.jpg)
During the Song dynasty, Emperor Gaozong commissioned Portraits of Confucius and Seventy-two Disciples (sheng xian tu) on blank ground with his handwritten inscription. The figures were portrayed in vivid lines, animated gestures, and the facial expressions were rendered a narrative quality. The portrait of the saints and his disciples was found on a stone tablet on the wall of Imperial University as a moral code to educate the students. However, scholars argued that Emperor Gaozong's true purpose of the commission was to announce that his policies were supported by Confucianism as well as his control over the Confucian heritage.[105]
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
The Yuan dynasty was a watershed moment in Chinese history. After the Mongol Empire conquered the Chinese mainland and ended the Song dynasty, the traditional Chinese intelligentsia were left in a dilemma situation of choosing between reclusion from the foreign government or pursuing new political careers. Portrait paintings of "men of culture" (wen ren hua) at that period reflects this dilemma. For instance, the Portrait of Yang Qian depicted him standing in a bamboo forest. While the bamboo symbolizes his moral rightness, the half-enclosed and half-opened space in the background alludes to his potential of choosing between reclusion and serve in the Mongol government.[106]
In terms of imperial portrait, the Portrait of Kublai and the Portrait of Chabi by Mongol imperial painter Araniko in 1294 reflect the fusion of the traditional Chinese imperial portrait techniques and the Himalayan-Mongol aesthetic value. Kublai Khan was portrayed as an elder man while Empress Chabi was depicted in youth, both wearing traditional Mongolian imperial costumes. Araniko adopted the Chinese portrait technique such as outlining the shape with ink and reinforcing the shape with color, whereas the highlights on Chabi's jewelry with the same hue but lighter value proved to be a continuation of the Himalayan style. The full frontal orientation of the sitters and their centered pupil add a confrontational impact to the viewer, which reflect the Nepali aesthetics and style. The highly symmetrical composition and the rigid depiction of hair and clothes differed from the previous Song dynasty painting style. There is little implication on the moral merit of the sitters or their personality, indicating a detachment of the painter from the sitter, which contradicts with the Song dynasty's emphasis on the capture of the spirit.[107]
Qing dynasty (1636–1912)
During the Qing dynasty, the eighteenth century European masquerade court portraiture which portrayed the aristocrats engaging in various activities in different costumes was imported to China. The Yongzheng Emperor and his son, the Qianlong Emperor, commissioned a number of masquerade portrait paintings with various political implications. In most of the Yongzheng Emperor's masquerade portrait, he wears exotic costumes such as the suit of the European gentleman. The lack of inscription on the portrait painting leaves his intention unclear, but some scholars believe the exotic costume reflects his interest in foreign culture and desire to rule the world. Compared with the Yongzheng Emperor's ambiguous attitude, the Qianlong Emperor wrote inscriptions on his masquerade portraits to announce his philosophy of the "Way of Ruling" which was to conceal and to deceive so that his subordinates and enemies cannot trace his strategies. Compared with the Yongzheng Emperor's enthusiasm in exotic costume, the Qianlong Emperor showed more interest in Chinese traditional costume such as dressing as a Confucian scholar, Taoist priest, and Buddhist monk, which manifests his desire in conquer the traditional Chinese heritage.
The Qianlong Emperor commissioned the Spring's Peaceful Message after he inherited the throne from his father, which is a double portrait painting of him and his father dressed in Confucian scholar garments instead of traditional Manchu robes standing side by side next to bamboos. Scholars believe that the commission aimed to legitimize his succession of the throne by emphasizing the physical similarity between him and his father such as facial structure, identical costume and hairstyle. The bamboo forest in the background indicate their moral righteousness proposed by traditional Confucianism. The portrait depicts the Yongzheng Emperor, who is in a larger scale, handing a flowering branch to the Qianlong Emperor as a political metaphor of the imperial authority to reign. The Qianlong Emperor also advertised his filial piety proposed by Confucianism by posing in a modest gesture.[108]
The
Portrait painting of women from the Han dynasty to Qing dynasty
Portrait painting of women in ancient China from the Han dynasty to the Qing dynasty (206 BC – 1912) developed under great impact of the Confucian patriarchal cosmology, however, the subject and the style varied according to the culture of each dynasty.
In the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), women in the portrait painting were mainly a type rather than specific individual. The major subject was idealized exemplary women (lie nü) with virtues prompted by Confucianism such as chastity, three-fold obedience (san cong) to father, husband, son. Gu Kaizhi’s handscroll Exemplary Women (lie nü tu) which was created shortly after the Han dynasty represents this genre.
In the Tang dynasty (618–906), palace women (shi nü) performing daily chores or entertainment became a popular subject. The feminine beauty and charm of the palace ladies were valued, but the subject remained nonspecific under the painting name "Palace Ladies". Characteristics encouraged by the Confucianism including submissive and agreeable were encompassed as standards of beauty and emphasized in the portrait. Painters pursued correctness and likeness of the sitter and aimed to reveal the purity of the soul.
In the Song dynasty (960–1279), portrait paintings of women were created based on love poems written by court poets. Although depicted as living in luxurious fashion and comfortable housing, women in the painting were usually portrayed as lonely and melancholic because they feel deserted or trapped in the domestic chores while their husbands stayed outside and pursued their careers. Common settings include empty garden path and empty platform couch which hint the absence of male figures. Common background include flowering trees which were associated with beauty and banana trees which symbolized vulnerability of women.
In the Ming dynasty(1368–1644), literati painting (wenren hua) which combined painting, calligraphy, and poetry became a popular trend among the elites. Most women in the literati painting were abstract figures serving as visual metaphor and remained nonentity. In the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the literati painting gained more variety of brushstroke and use of bright color.[109]
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Portrait of Ho Bun (何斌), a lateScholar-bureaucrat, late 16th century to early 17th century, Chinese
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Three Beauties of the Present Day by Utamaro, 1793
See also
References and notes
- References
- Chilton Book Co., Philadelphia, 1967, p. 119
- ^ Aymar, p. 94
- ^ Aymar, p. 129
- ^ Aymar, p. 93
- ISBN 978-1-101-56180-5.
- ^ Aymar, p. 283
- ^ Aymar, p. 235
- ^ Aymar, p. 280
- ^ Aymar, p. 51
- ^ Aymar, p. 72
- ISBN 0-8161-8795-9
- ^ Simon, p. 129
- ^ Simon, p. 131
- ^ a b Aymar, p. 262
- ^ Simon, p. 98
- ^ Simon, p. 107
- ^ Aymar, p. 268, 271, 278
- ^ Aymar, p. 264
- ^ Aymar, p. 265
- ^ Aymar, p. 5
- ISBN 1-85928-424-8
- ^ John Pope-Hennessy, The Portrait in the Renaissance, Bollingen Foundation, New York, 1966, pp. 71–72
- ^ Natural History XXXV:2 trans H. Rackham 1952. Loeb Classical Library
- ^ Cheney, Faxon, and Russo, p. 20
- ISBN 0-517-62336-6
- ^ a b "Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci, c. 1474/1478". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Piper, p. 337
- ^ John Pope-Hennessy, p. 209
- ^ Simon, p. 80
- ^ John Pope-Hennessy, p. 54, 63
- ^ Piper, p. 301
- ^ Piper, p. 363
- ^ Aymar, p. 29
- ^ Piper, p. 365
- ^ a b Bonafoux, p. 35
- ^ John Pope-Hennessy, pp. 124–126
- ^ Piper, p. 318
- ^ a b c John Pope-Hennessy, p. 20
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- ^ John Pope-Hennessy, pp. 103–4
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- ^ Piper, p. 330
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- Notes
- The New Age "Art Notes" column of 28 February 1918 is a closely reasoned analysis of the rationale and aesthetic of portraiture by B.H. Dias (pseudonym of Ezra Pound), an insightful frame of reference for viewing any portrait, ancient or modern.
Further reading
- Woodall, Joanna. Portraiture: Facing the Subject. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1997.
- West. S. Portraiture (Oxford History of Art), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004
- Brilliant, R. Portraiture (Essays in Art and Culture), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991
- Christiansen, K. and Weppelmann, S., eds. The Renaissance Portrait: From Donatello to Bellini, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Distributed by Yale University Press, 2011.
External links
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