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32 Cards in this Set
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● John Singer Sargent, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Portraits can come in a number of media and forms, normally they are 2-d, oil on canvas, however can also have marble/wax busts, we can have minatures, photographs, or works such as Lynn Hershman Leeson, Agent Ruby, 1999-2002 . ● This work is of 4 girls in a space (family ap. in Paris). Girls all in dif. stages of childhood. Their shape similar to vases. this is an interior, only see outside in reflection. Sargent creates atmosphere through brushwork, moves away from naturalism to do so. |
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Simone Martini, St Louis of Toulouse Crowning Robert of Anjou (‘St Louis Altar’), 1317, Naples, Capodimonte Definition - Main panel and then five periled scenes beneath it - Landmark of Early Renaissance Sienese art, but created with a definite political agenda for Robert The King of Naples (Louis brother) - Complex iconographical programme found within the painting to emphasise the Kings exalted lineage - Sumptuous painting, intricate patterns, gilding elegance of line at odds with the humble Franciscan Louis who espoused the Franciscan tents of poverty and humility - Robert seized the occasion of his brother Louis’ canonisation in 1317 to to present his version of the story. Louis’ personality and raison d’etre have been all but effaced; the image that remains, that of an aristocratic prince-bishop, is far removed from the humble Franciscan friar he aspired to be. - Louis proved more useful to the Angevins in death than in life. Robert, in particular, basked in Louis’ reflected glory, exploiting his brother’s sanctification to legitimise his own shaky claim to the throne. - St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse, is shown in the act of placing the earthly crown of Naples on the head of his younger brother, Robert of Anjou, while he himself receives a celestial crown from two hovering angels. - St. Louis altarpiece presents Robert’s kingship as divinely ordained. At the same time, the painting emphasises his family’s dynastic connections with both French and Hungarian royal saints to bolster his claim to the throne. - Louis is attired in a richly decorated cope bearing the arms of France and Hungary,163 while his great morse displays the arms of Jerusalem and Sicily - A pattern of fleur-de-lys, the French royal arms differenced for Anjou, has also been punched into the dazzling real gold background,166 while others modelled in gilded pastiglia decorate the border of the imposing frame, - At the top of the panel, above Louis’s head, another heraldic device affirms the family’s lineage, France ancient with a label of five points gules - Alter piece is set to impress with its sheer size, 6ft by 8ft highlighting the Angevin wealth, status and power - originally adorned with precious stones and pearls that would have sparkled against the real gold background - Seated on a claw-footed throne, the gorgeously attired saint towers over his kneeling brother as he places the crown of Naples on his willing head. To emphasise the young saint’s status, Simone has depicted him as a bishop, with mitre, crozier, and opulent cope - Simone not depicting Louis as he really was but as Robert wanted him to be - Louis depicted frontally like iconic images of Christ in majesty, makes us think of divine authority, not completely iconic, not tally central bringing the painting back into the real world and allowing it to serve dramatic temporal purpose as well - Robert on the other hand, suggests all the uniqueness of a real portrait, with its double chin, high forehead, and aquiline nose, presenting a less idealised image of a living individual. - enthroned saint and kneeling king – not only signifies the presence of divinity but represents a feudal gesture, implying that St. Louis himself is intended to be “monarchical rather than episcopal.” As such, the painting becomes “a political document” whose theme is the transference of power People have been making portraits as early as ancient eygpt, greece and (rome, most common). in 14thC, portraits start to have greater phsychological likeness. Portrait physionomic likeness of teh king. Donor painted in side profil in small. The altarpiece painted for the Angevin, Robert the Wise, King of Sicily. Represents St Louis of Toulouse seated with his brother, Robert the Wise, kneeling before him. Predella beneath. New demands for facial characterization, up to now associated mainly with sculpture, are here extended to painting in the kneeling figure of Robert the Wise. There is a considerable emphasis on costume, Robert kneeling in what are presumably his coronation robes. Both these and St Louis's cope are liberally covered with family heraldry. This extends to the frame, for the border of the whole panel is carved with "fleur-de-lis". Gem stones added. |
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Anthony van Dyck, Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio, c. 1625, Florence, Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti) In looking at history of portraiture, some key principals remain which dictate certain ideas about status. you can tell important, when we engage man remains seated, cardinal clothing, we look up, books (learned), full figure portrait large scale. Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio (1579-1644), an Italian cardinal, statesman and historian, commissioned this portrait of himself. As papal nuncio, he had work for peace between the Catholics and the Protestants in Flanders, and the Catholics and the French Protestants (the Huguenots) in France. Van Dyck, refining the robust style of his master, Rubens. - Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio (1579-1644), an Italian cardinal, statesman and historian, commissioned this portrait of himself. - reference to his historical leanings highlighted through the depiction of book in his lap or documents - portrait created to signify his power, classical column in the background tying him to antiquity - red cloth framing him, theatrical, almost stage like - perspective, he is higher up than the viewer, we have to look up at him denotes a sense of power and authority - costly nature of his robes, intricate lace detail again pointing to wealth and power - looking off into the distance, intellectual, thinking, but also not meeting the viewers gaze more important that them - As papal nuncio, he had work for peace between the Catholics and the Protestants in Flanders, and the Catholics and the French Protestants (the Huguenots) in France. - Van Dyck, refining the robust style of his master, Rubens, specialised in long, sensitive fingers and the lush treatment of fabrics - note the sitter's moiré robe. |
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Anna Morandi Manzolini, Self-Portrait Dissecting a Human Brain, before 1774, Bologna, Palazzo Poggi Highlights the range of media portraits can be done in. This is in wax. Anna Morandi Manzolini was an internationally known anatomist and anatomical wax modeler, as lecturer of anatomical design at the University of Bologna. Represents herself in sumptuous aristocratic dress while dissecting a human brain. Mixes art and science here, at a time of Enlightenment in Bologna Similar one she did of her husband, in similar activity, recieved special permission to lecture in his place when he died,, shows herself along side him as a professional. |
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Bruce Nauman, Self-Portrait as a Fountain, 1966-7, chromogenic print Highlights the range of media portraits can be done in. This is a chromogenic print. “Nauman’s ambition, formed early on in his career, was to make things charged with personal meaning, using his own body in photographically recorded performances." doesnt think of himself as a photographer, uses photography to capture a performance. Self-Portrait as a Fountain is one of Bruce Nauman’s Photographic Suite of eleven photographs based on puns. In Self-Portrait as a Fountain, Nauman questions the traditional role of the artist. He depicts himself shirtless, with raised arms and open palms, spewing an arc of water out of his pursed lips, in imitation of the nude statues customarily found in decorative fountains. Thus the artist and the work of art become one and the same. This playful illustration of the statement satirizes the cliché of the artist as a prolific genius who spews forth a steady stream of masterpieces. Also pays homage to Marcel Duchamp‘s notorious Fountain (1917)—a readymade porcelain urinal that Duchamp provocatively exhibited as a sculpture. Like Fountain, Nauman’s Self-Portrait as a Fountain subverts conventional definitions of what constitutes a work of art. - Self-Portrait as a Fountain is one of Bruce Nauman’sPhotographic Suite of eleven photographs based on puns. - The portfolio reveals Bruce Nauman’sinterest in the functions of language, as he humorously depicts literalinterpretations of common phrases. - In Self-Portrait as a Fountain, Nauman questions thetraditional role of the artist. He depicts himself shirtless, with raised armsand open palms, spewing an arc of water out of his pursed lips, in imitation ofthe nude statues customarily found in decorative fountains. - Thus the artist andthe work of art become one and the same. During the period in which he madethis work, Nauman used the statement “The true artist is an amazing luminousfountain” in a number of text-based works. - his playful illustration of the statement satirises thecliché of the artist as a prolific genius who spews forth a steady stream ofmasterpieces. Self-Portrait as a Fountain also pays homage to Marcel Duchamp‘snotorious Fountain (1917)—a readymade porcelain urinal that Duchampprovocatively exhibited as a sculpture. - Like Fountain, Nauman’s Self-Portrait as a Fountain subvertsconventional definitions of what constitutes a work of art |
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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Madame Moitessier, 1856, London, National Gallery
as Joanna Woodalll explains in Portraiture; facing the Subject, there were issues of realism and truth became important in 19thC portraiture. Became important to characterise the sitter's socio-political position but with essential inner quality to justify his priviledged place. Seen here, all the exhibits of wealth, but also emphasis on inner self - this is dualism. Division between any individual, their exterior and their true interior self. Problems: Karl Marx thought men don't make their own lives, they don't have their own personality. Difficult also to know if one accurately expresses the inner. Also, preceeding modern era - idea was that women could present dualism as incapable of original thought. |
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Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait, 1500, Munich, Alte Pinakothek In the image of Christ. V. symettrical, full frontal position - all remind us of christ. Makes connection between christ himself and art. Portraits of christ at heart of image making. In Exodus 20:4-6 it preaches against worship of images of Gods, however this is recognised less seriously in Christianity than in Islam of Judaism. 4thC Christiams produced images of christ. There was a belief that portraits of christ were not always made by human hands but by miracles eg shown in Hans Memling, Veronica, c. 1470-75 - most personal, iconic and complex of his self-portraits, resemblance to earlier representations of christ are striking - symmetry, dark tones and the manner in which the artist directly confronts the viewer are all hallmarks of representations of christ the way he raises his hands to the middle of his chest as if in an act of blessing also denotes christ - directness and apparent confrontation of the viewer different from any self-portrait that came before it - Lack of a conventional background seemingly presents Dürer without regard to time or place. The placement of the inscriptions in the dark fields on either side of Dürer are presented as if floating in space, emphasising that the portrait has a highly symbolic meaning - Its sombre mood is achieved through the use of brown tones set against the plain black background. - In 1500 a frontal pose was exceptional for a secular portrait; in Italy the conventional fashion for profile portraits was coming to an end, but being replaced with the three-quarters view which had been the accepted pose in Northern Europe since about 1420 - A conservative interpretation suggests that he is responding to the tradition of the Imitation of Christ. A more controversial view reads the painting is a proclamation of the artist's supreme role as creator. - This latter view is supported by the painting's Latin inscription, composed by Celtes’ personal secretary,[8] which translates as; "I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg portrayed myself in appropriate [or everlasting] colours aged twenty-eight years". A further interpretation holds that the work is an acknowledgement that his artistic talents are God-given - Typically he was shown with a short beard, moustache and brown parted hair. Dürer has rendered himself in this manner, and gives himself brown hair, despite his other self-portraits showing his hair as reddish-blond |
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Hieronymus Bosch, Christ Carrying the Cross, 1515-1516, Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten Only Christ and Veronica meet any criteria of beauty amoungst characatures of humanity.. Face of Christ is colourful and seems to reflect light. Extroadinarily rich with highly sophisticated technique and colour palette. late work of Bosch. Like most of Bosch's work this is religious but also critical of humanity. Demonstates how Bosh identified with Christ's suffering, fits in with concept of christ at the time as a lonely, resigned man who conquered teh sins of the ugly and even beastial world. Christ's head at centre of two diagonals. He depicts men as they appear on teh inside, bad men appear ugly - links to a primitive idea of dualism. Portraits of christ at heart of image making. In Exodus 20:4-6 it preaches against worship of images of Gods, however this is recognised less seriously in Christianity than in Islam of Judaism. 4thC Christiams produced images of christ. There was a belief that portraits of christ were not always made by human hands eg Hans Memling, Veronica, c. 1470-75 |
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Francesco Mochi, St Veronica, 1629-1632, Rome, St Peter’s The relic itself is rarely shown. On of the very few sculptures of the vera icona. This sculpture is a good example of the Baroque attitude to art, of its striving to represent feelings and passions by movement and action. Agitated figure seems about to burst out of its niche in order to present the viewer with the miraculous imprint of Christ's countenance. The eighteenth-century critic Giovanni Battista Passeri famously objected to Veronica's movement, which seemed contradictory to the static nature of statuary, but praised the extraordinary carving of the drapery and the cloth on which Christ's face was imprinted. Portraits of christ at heart of image making. In Exodus 20:4-6 it preaches against worship of images of Gods, however this is recognised less seriously in Christianity than in Islam of Judaism. 4thC Christiams produced images of christ. There was a belief that portraits of christ were not always made by human hands but by miracles eg shown in Hans Memling, Veronica, c. 1470-75 Authenticity of the vera icona and the Mandylion and relic like it, supported by their placemennt, the timing at which they were celebrated (rarely overlapped), by supportive legends that surrounded these works, and by artworks that endorsed idea of authenticity, and stories of miracles they could perform (manylion healing lame man). - Veronica was among the most venerated saints of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. - Several legends about her were conflated and she was identified with different people, including the compassionate woman who gave Jesus a cloth as he struggled on the way to Calvary; when he wiped his brow with the cloth, it was miraculously imprinted with his face. - By the 12th century, a cloth believed to be Veronica's veil had entered the Vatican. Indulgences (reducing time in purgatory and even remitting sin) were granted for reciting prayers either before the relic or before images of it. - authenticity of origin, representation needed to abel to trace its origin, proof of the origin and age of relic provided by bringing the first owner into the picture - introduction of narrative motif, story of Veronica |
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Jan Gossaert, St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child, c. 1520, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum There is an earlier 1515 version, based upon a Rogier Van der Weyden of the same name for a chapel in Belgium. This is a later version. Imagined scene. Looks like a divine intervention as guided by the angel. Stylistic change, move to a more classical style. Behind is moses with 10 commandments which tells jews not to recreate images of christ, acknowledges this, but shows it to be divine inspiration. - The scene was a favourite subject of the late Gothic German and Netherlandish masters. - This painting, one of the greatest by Gossart, is a departure from traditional Netherlandish representation of the subject. It was inspired by Italian art and reformulated in Gossart's manner. - The setting is a Renaissance hall decorated with grotesque pilasters bearing classical medallions copied from Roman coinage. - In the background there is a tempietto adorned with the statue of Moses. St Luke, kneeling at a prie-dieu, makes a metalpoint drawing of the Virgin, appearing in a vision before him. He is guided by the hand of an angel. - St. Luke believed to have been a painter, portrayed the virgin and child from life, evangelist hand made it, sanctioned from life - in this painting we have a difference in levels of realities, like a vision or divine inspiration - angel literally guiding his hand, sanctioned depiction of christ, vision seems to have a physical presence |
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- Géricault's death at the age of thirty-three came about as a result of an infection following a riding accident, but the circumstances were never satisfactorily explained, and Géricault was thought to have neglected various ailments from which he was already suffering, and even to have attempted suicide. - He had struggled to win artistic recognition, and there seemed a tragic inevitability about his end. It was fitting that the Salon of 1824 - often called the 'Romantic' Salon for including so many icons of the movement - should also have contained the moving memorial to Géricault painted by Ary Scheffer. - Mourned by his friends, the painter lies on his deathbed in his small room in the rue des Martyrs, his favourite sketches and pictures on the wall above - indeed a martyr to art. - death, idea of the incorruptible corpse, one that doesn't decompose, captured on his death bed |
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Anne-Louis Girodet, Citizen Jean-Baptiste Belley, Ex-Representative of the Colonies, 1797, Versailles, Chateau Former slave, double portrait with man who had advocated ending slavery. Shows enlightenment in depicting black man. However juxtaposition between white and black, and large genitals, stereotype and suggest teh noble savage. Portraits of anyone not white are very rare. Exhibited in Paris Salonin 1798. Uniform of a Convention member, pose chosen by many revolutionaries. Most portraits of black people generic at this time, without personality. - Depicts Jean-Baptiste Belley, a former representative of the colonies, accompanied by a bust of the abolitionist Guillaume-Thomas Raynal. A double portrait - The portrait acknowledges one of the fundamental achievements of the French Republic: the establishment of human rights. - expresses revolutionary values, all human beings are equal and can be portrayed in portraiture - who decides whether someones portrait is art, if they are worthy of the the status? - A former Senegalese slave, Belley worked to abolish slavery in the colonies. Girodet emphasises the stature of his subject through his elegant posture and heavenward gaze, which recall grand portraits of nobles and sovereigns. - However, there is the obvious juxtaposition between the white marble of the bust and black skin of Belley - idea of the noble savage dressed in western clothes but attributes that were associated with black people such as large genitals bulging obviously through his wester trousers |
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Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Louis XIV, 1665, Versailles, Chateau de Versailles Used portraiture as an instument to not just to show power but to create power. Louis Marin even suggests that the King was his representation and without representation there was noKing. V. important bust. He looks up at you, never makes eye contact. Drapery very importrant (avoids prob. of a cut off). Also cloth and teh hair movement suggest life and vitality. Made sketches then put them away, then sculpts the bust, then needs to see King t finish. Bernini believed if you wanted it to look like the person you had to exaggerate the features as couldnt rely on colour. IN relation to Louis XIV how we consider teh portrait should remain broad, Versaille, garden and town all designed to reflect Louis XIV. - He was known as the Sun King. His childhood was marked by the political troubles of the Fronde, so throughout his reign he sought to maintain the unity of the kingdom at all cost, crushing any moves the aristocracy made to obtain extra power. - Louis XIV also greatly encouraged the arts. The château of Versailles is the finest achievement of his reign. Art and power inextricably linked during his reign |
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Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, Madamede Pompadour, 1748-1751, New York, Metropolitan - The portrait was completed in 1751 when Madame de Pompadour was twenty-seven years old. - She chose the stone for the bust, a hard and brittle marble, with the intention of promoting the use of local French materials. This piece was the first to be made of the white marble from the newly discovered quarry of Sost in the French Pyrenees. - contrast from Louis XIV marble bust, very still and composed, balanced within itself - cloth and lace rendered with enormous attention to detail, delicate and beautiful - idealised and beautiful, smooth flawless skin, - breast exposed recalls Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels, gives her an almost divine like feeling |
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Maurice-Quentin de la Tour, Madame de Pompadour, 1755, Paris, Louvre Mistress and friend of Louis XV, we aspired to be his counselor. Shows her intentions. Although he wasn't much of an art patron and didn't use of much for propagandistic purposes, he did however. She used art for promotion, was a great art patron, shows herself as protector of the arts. Nothing new: Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels (Madonna is a portrait of Agnes Sorel (1421-1450), Mistress of Charles VII), but Mme Pompadour has displayed herself as learned and cultured. - This pastel portrait depicts one of the rare women to play a decisive role in the political, intellectual, and artistic life of the 18th century. - First mistress and later friend of King Louis XV, she also aspired to be his counsellor. Commissioned from the most famous and gifted pastelist of the period, Maurice-Quentin Delatour, this masterpiece sheds light on the intentions of the Marquise de Pompadour - Madame de Pompadour used portraits as propaganda for herself and her position in court, constantly reinventing herself for Louis - The marquise is seated in a collector's cabinet decorated with blue-green paneling accented in gold. The sumptuousness of her clothing - a spectacular French-style dress in fashion around 1750 - shows a tendency to ostentation, while the absence of jewellery and the simplicity of her coiffure underscore the portrait's personal nature. - She is shown as a protector of the arts, surrounded by attributes symbolising literature, music, astronomy and engraving. Arranged on a table next to her in a splendid still life are Guarini's Pastor Fido, the Encyclopédie, Montesquieu's De l'esprit des lois, Voltaire's La Henriade, a globe, and Le Traité des pierres gravées by Pierre-Jean Mariette. Lastly, there is an engraving by the Count de Caylus, which, however, Delatour has signed "Pompadour sculpsit": an allusion to the marquise's fondness for engraving and her own creations in this art form. - The presence of references to the arts and literature should be read here as an educational program. Still in love with Louis XV, she hoped to bring about in him a transformation through exposure to the extraordinary intellectual, moral, and philosophical developments which animated Paris at that time but which failed to reach the court, frozen as it was in principles and codes of etiquette. - Delatour knew how to satisfy the demands of his patron: create an image that would correspond to her role and ambitions. Using only pastel pencils delicately heightened with gouache, he succeeded in evoking, through this official portrait, an air of intimacy. - The marquise is presented in her home, surrounded by familiar and meaningful objects. This work signals the end of the fashion in codified official portraits, giving way, thanks to Delatour, to depictions as psychologically accurate as they were charged with meaning. |
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Marlene Dumas, The Neighbour, 2005, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum We have a history of tension with portraits of controversial and hated figures. Eg. Portraits of hitler. Power of portraiture, worry portraits can be used as a tool to exert power and idolisation. |
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Oskar Kokoschka, Hans Tietze and Erika Tietze-Conrat, 1909, New York, Museum of Modern Art Looking at subjecthood. Artist known for intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person. Looked to express psychology increasingly through colour. Painting helped to secure early reputation. Painted Viennese art historians, as a marriage portrait. They were strong supporters of contemporary art in Vienna. Uses thin layers of coulour to create hazy atmosphere and scratches into paint with fingernails. - In 1909 the Viennese art historians Hans and Erica Tietze asked 23-year-old Oskar Kokoschka to paint a marriage portrait for their mantelpiece. They were strong supporters of contemporary art in Vienna and together helped organise the Vienna Society for the Advancement of Contemporary Art. - Mrs. Tietze recalled that she and her husband were painted individually, a fact suggested by their separate poses and gazes. Kokoschka used thin layers of colour to create the hazy atmosphere surrounding the couple, and added a sense of crackling energy by scratching the paint with his fingernails. - marriage portrait, set on equal plane, mimicking each others gestures with a focus on the hands - Hans’s hands are entering Erika’s personal space whilst hers remain within the proximity of her body, do not enter into his space - almost touching hands must be a reference to Creation of Adam Michelangelo, both the Tietze’s were art historians similarity would not have gone unnoticed - Kokoschka’s portraits of assimilated Jews marked by their absence of overt religious signification, in this painting sense of displacement, no historical context - nothing apart from their clothe signifies their bourgeoisie status, significance of this portrait can only be found outside of the painting only find Jewish significance or a Jewish identity when we venture outside the frame - idea of context is particularly interesting since it was meant to hang privately not displayed publicly - both Kokoschka and the Tsetse’s are outsider, a jew portraying a jew, similar treatment of all his Jewish subjects give them a shared sense of identity facial expression and features are not rendered in detail, this is not a photographic likeness to the people this portrait is portraying |
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Anonymous, William Shakespeare (the ‘Chandos Portrait’), c. 1600-1610, London, National Portrait Gallery Portrait was the first painting at the NPG, which was set up to be devoted to portraits of ‘eminent persons in British history’. The Chandos portrait, circa 1600-1610, has the greatest claim to authenticity. It depicts a somewhat portly middle-aged man, balding, with a mullet, wanton lips, gold hoop earring and red-edged, sleepy-looking eyes. He looks a bit like he has a hangover. He wears what appears to be a buttoned doublet or gown with an undecorated white linen collar, casually untied to give him the appearance of informality. Scientific analysis of the paint suggests that the portrait was done during Shakespeare's lifetime, but there is no mention on the front or back of who the subject is -- a not-uncommon occurrence at that time. It is believed to have been painted by John Taylor, an obscure painter and possibly an actor known to Shakespeare, and was willed by Taylor to Shakespeare's godson, William Davenant, before ending up in the possession of the Duke of Chandos. It was also the first painting presented to the gallery at its founding in 1856. Tarnya Cooper of the National Portrait Gallery completed a three-and-a-half-year study of portraits purported to be of Shakespeare and concluded that the Chandos portrait was most likely a representation of Shakespeare. Cooper points to the earring and the loose shirt-ties of the sitter, which were emblematic of poets (the poet John Donne and Shakespeare's patron the Earl of Pembroke sported similar fashions). However, she readily acknowledges that the painting's authenticity cannot be proven.
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John Everett Millais, Thomas Carlyle, 1887, London, NPG NPG was set up to be devoted to portraits of ‘eminent persons in British history’. Thomas Carlyle was one of those who established the NPG. He believed a worthwhile portrait needed not be good art, but be sincere in order to be authentic (also believed portraits were a relic of their tiem, like going back to meet that person, and thought portrait gallery is a place where innocence is restored, modernity put to one side), however, because authentic portraits hard to come by at beginning of collection their were some eccentric inclusions, of people not important to Britain. |
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William Hole, Processional Frieze, begun 1898, Edinburgh, Scottish National Portrait Gallery In the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s Great Hall, along the first-floor ambulatory runs a processional or pageant frieze that depicts many famous Scots in reverse chronological order. Starting with Thomas Carlyle, it was designed as a ‘visual encyclopedia’ and includes figures such as David Livingstone, James Watt, Robert Burns, Adam Smith, David Hume, the Stuart monarchs, Robert the Bruce and Saint Ninian. This cartoon shows the section which runs from the explorer, Mungo Park (1771 – 1806), to fellow traveller, James Bruce (1730 - 1794). The artist, William Hole, also painted a series of large-scale murals depicting scenes from Scottish history on the first floor. Stuff on Thomas Carlyle. |
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Helen Allingham, Thomas Carlyle, 1879, watercolour on paper, Edinburgh, Scottish National Portrait Gallery Helen Allingham was an English watercolour painter and illustrator of the Victorian era. Thomas Carlyle was one of those who established the NPG. He believed a worthwhile portrait needed not be good art, but be sincere in order to be authentic (also believed portraits were a relic of their tiem, like going back to meet that person, and thought portrait gallery is a place where innocence is restored, modernity put to one side), however, because authentic portraits hard to come by at beginning of collection their were some eccentric inclusions, of people not important to Britain. |
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Giovanni Battista della Porta, De humana physiognomonia, 1586: lion and lion-man Two meanings of Physiognomy 1) physical appearance 2) Pseudo science, assessment of character from study of outer appearance. This image relates to the later. Critics say that outer appearance is unstable it changes. We do have architypal ways of depicting character traits eg. wise man (old long beard).. Up until 19thC physiognomy only applied to men, women weren't deemed to have enough character. Pseudo aristotle book c. 300BC believed that if someone looked like an animal, they would have the animal's characteristics. Rediscovered in renaissance by della Porta, re-ignited animal characteristic belief After Phrenology - makes greate claim to scientific truth, strongly refused by Physiognomists. Idea that certain bits of teh skull, responded to dif characterististics. |
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Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), Mouvement de joie (joy) Paris, Louvre Charles Le Brun very important in link between physiognomy and art, builds on della Porta, but ideas more complex. He says not all animals eg dogs, look the same or have the same personality to you can't use them as models to physiognomies humans. Believes body can materialise what is in the soul, as soul located in the pineal gland, eyebrows closest to gland so most telling in determining facial expression. |
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Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), Le rire (laughter), Paris, Louvre Charles Le Brun very important in link between physiognomy and art, builds on della Porta, but ideas more complex. He says not all animals eg dogs, look the same or have the same personality to you can't use them as models to physiognomies humans. Believes body can materialise what is in the soul, as soul located in teh pineal gland, eyebrows closest to gland so most telling in determining facial expression. |
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Hugh Welch Diamond, Woman suffering from mental illness as Ophelia, 1850s Photography became very important for physiognomy. Diamond was a pioneer. From 1848 to 1858 Dr. Hugh Welch Diamond made photographs to document the facial expressions of patients suffering from mental disorders at the Surrey County Asylum in England where he was superintendent of the female department. He believed that a patient's mental state was manifested in her physiognomy, or facial features, and he claimed to use these photographs to help diagnose the disorders. Although Diamond published a paper on this subject, the practical results of this photo-therapy are unknown. Here gives her black mantle, suggests depravity, invites compassion. |
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Angela Palmer, Brain of the Artist, 2012, Edinburgh, Scottish National Portrait Gallery We have a revival of this sort of thinking, this links to phrenology, idea our brain determines who we are, what do we learn about the artist looking at this? Each sheet maps sections of the brain, taken from MRI scan. Challenges notion of self-representation. |
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Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of Antonietta Gonzales, 1594-95, Blois, Musée du Chateau 16th-17thC, attitude towards these creatures was no longer of fright, but of scientific curiosity, and intellectually exciting (242) People would pay to see birth defects . Many stories surrounding why women have deformities, and magical power of deformed babies. Real belief in physiognomy at this time, that people shared traits with anima they looked like. Over the centuries the identification between ugliness and wickedness reached its peak in the analysis of the features of the Jew 266 |
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Circle of Titian, Irene di Spilimbergo, late 1550s, Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art We see the subject in a ¾ view, with architecture on one size. Hint of a castle, this way refer to her home town. Some animals and a man, and a unicorn that points to her innocence and virginity. Poetry book dedicated to her when she died an early death in 1559. Started by her friend (platonic lover), ended up being contributed to by lots of poets even some that didn’t know her. Also portrait of Emilia di Spilimbergo, scene of a storm behind. Two sisters have been almost mirrored. It is very likely these portraits were painted to present the two women to potential spouses. Also possible that they were painted with a view of the girls living home, these portraits acted as replacements. More complicated than this. Irene’s points to her death, says in small ‘if the fate had allowed’ – suggests if only she hadn’t died she would have achieved so much more. Begun before she died, inscription added later. Showed us an x-ray, we see palm tree added later. X-ray of Emilia also interesting, we see evidence of sails, when her sister died, changed to be a ship on a stormy sea. Who made the changes, suggests it was Titian or at least his school, he knew the family and taught Irene. |
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Peter Paul Rubens, Henry IV Receiving the Portrait of Marie de’ Medici, from the Maria de’ Medici cycle, 1621-1625, Paris, Louvre One of the way portraits were circulated was through marriage portraits. Possible marriage partners were painted and shown to potential husband/wife, often the only thing they would see before they married. Seen in Ruben’s, Henry IV Receiving the Portrait of Marie de’Medici, canvas 6 of 24, from Marie de’Medici cycle, 1621-25. Implicates that it is the time for the King to stop war and make love, Maria de Medici was the patron (it is she who makes eye contact with us), her portrait is central. Behind is Athena, she is symbolising France. |
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Francesco Laurana, Portrait of Beatrice of Aragon, 1471-74, New York, Frick Collection One of the way portraits were circulated was through marriage portraits. Possible marriage partners were painted and shown to potential husband/wife, often the only thing they would see before they married. • Sent to three royal courts, to see if anyone would marry her. Very white marble, points to the innocence of this woman, her virginity which would have been very important. On the front it says the ‘divine beautirce of aragon’, refers to Italian poetry. Points to the individual, but also a broader idea of feminine beauty and virtue. |
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Scipione Pulzone, Bianca Capello, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, 1585, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum • - interesting doesn’t conform to all the ideals of beauty (not blonde and slim), actually looks to accuracy. Very detailed. This painting is different in its detail. People didn’t really know how to do this kind of painting. Francesco Bembo had seen the Scipione Pulzone and had so enjoyed it, so she had a copy made and sent it to him. He writes of the joy he feel seeing it, like seeing your highness herself, who talks to me, he says certainly the portrait is beautiful, but says she is more beautiful in real life. This guys sounds a bit crazy, he had a wife who he showed it to. Portraits were sent between men as tokens of friendship, often exchanged portraits of beautiful women. At the age of fifteen she fell in love with Pietro Bonaventuri, 28 November 1563 escaped with him to Florence, where they were married. In 1564 she had a daughter named Virginia, or, according to other sources, Pellegrina. The Venetian government made every effort to have Bianca arrested and brought back but the Grand Duke Cosimo I intervened in her favour and she was left unmolested. Until at last her beauty attracted Grand Prince Francesco, son and heir apparent of the grand duke who seduced her (although he was married too). Pietro Bonaventuri, possible that Bianca and Francesco were involved. In 1574 Francesco succeeded to the grand duchy; he now installed Bianca in a palace, remained just a favoured mistress, nothing more. Pulzone portrait had semi-precious stone frame, stone had a magical role, guarding her against further illness that plagued her. It was totally acceptable to have portraits of married women who you didn’t know |
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Piero della Francesca, Double-Portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, after 1474, Florence, Uffizi [front and back] she had just died, likely made from a death mask., this was a commemorative portrait. They are both very formal. Women plucked their forehead, infl. from artists time in Netherlands, also seen in specificity of portraits. Very strict profile, based on ancient coins (at the time widely collected. (these were almost always facing right, here facing left, in part due to wound on his right, missing an eye). Figures tower over the painting. On outside of painting, we see Battista Sforza on chariot, surrounded by figures who represent her virtues, same with Duke. Below incription in latin, explaining virtues. Her chariot carried by unicorn - very fanciful • Love very important in Renaissance time. Marriage (not the same thing), important for political reasons. Also love the topic of lots of philosophical debate. • Platonic love, to move away from the love of material things to higher orders was seen as the ideal. |
