Portraits

Portraits are some of the most common paintings within the art community, as long as people have made art there have been portraits. For the first few thousand years, portraits, whether drawn, painted or sculpted, were typically reserved for those deemed important enough to be honored with a work of art bearing their likeness. This thought still rains true, but the consideration of those named important enough has then shifted. Along with that the meaning of a portrait has changed to become more

First written in the 1880s and extensively revised in 1908, The Portrait of a Lady is often considered to be James's greatest achievement. In it, he explored many of his most characteristic themes, including the conflict between American individualism and European social custom and the situation of Americans in Europe. James proclaimed that “The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent reality.” Plot was for him but the extension of character. The novel must

The Arnolfini Portrait is a very cleverly composed single picture story. Various singular objects, depicted within the image, all of which contain an individual meaning/symbol. For example, the oranges within the painting display the couple’s wealth, for such a fruit would have to been imported during the times the wedding took place and would cost a small fortune to purchase. Two pairs of wooden shoes can also be seen in the image, one a bright ruby red the same as that of the bedding and couch

into by society through self portraits. However, these forms of protest expressed through art were not always accepted or praised as well as they are in modern times. There were many women who took a stand within their art against standards placed on women. In the 20th century, self portraits were heavily used as a form of protest by female artists in order to reject societal standards placed on women. Paula Modersohn-Becker was a female artist whose self portraits opened up a new path of self

During the Renaissance, portraits were very powerful to the Italian culture and society because they highlighted the development of the individual. This is important because the Renaissance focused on classical learning and art, rather than just religious figures which can be portrayed through different portraits showing actual living people and represents humanism. Portraits in the early 15th century were meant to be represented as the “ideal republican citizen”, and were also made to honor the

1. Rembrandt Self Portrait with a Wide-Brimmed Hat 1632 In the Baroque period, artists started to depict themselves as the main subject matter more often. Rembrandt had painted a lot of self-portraits in his entire life. In his self-portrait did in 1632, Rembrandt is the focus and he is dressed fashionably. Like most of the self-portraits in Baroque, he only painted his upper body so his face can be seen clearly. At the age of 26, Rembrandt showed a sense of youth and pride in his gaze. The

Joshua Reynolds is one of most influential painters in the 18th century and he mainly specialized in portraits. Reynolds endorsed a style in painting called “Grand Style” which is mainly about the “idealization of the imperfect” (Wikipedia). In this painting, Reynolds uses a very simple and common background. The purpose of this is simply to highlight the main subject of the portrait. This portrait of Anne Montgomery by Sir Joshua Reynolds appears very large in size

West say about the space in Holbein's portrait of George Gisze? What is in the space and what is the contradiction she sees between the things and the figure? Holbein’s portrait is one that contains many contradictions. The composition is somewhat confusing, for it is a meticulously detailed painting; yet, the painting is riddled with perspectival impossibilities. The space surrounding Gisze is cluttered with objects that look entirely out of place in the portrait. These objects, so carefully rendered

American portrait photographer, Philippe Halsman, in the mid 1900’s once said, “A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was.” He provides a good point, as he gives his opinion that portraits are a representation of an individual, to show the memory of their soul through artwork even if it’s photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures. Whether it is to remember the past or present, portraits tell their

Portrait painting thrived in the Netherlands with the increase in production driven by interest in the idea of personhood and the definition of the individual self. Portraits help document the development of a personal identity as it connects factors like marital status, class, and profession. A common portrait genre produced during the seventeenth century portrays their subjects with an impassive demeanor with little vigor. At first, these paintings may be evaluated as lacking “personality” or “characterization”