Portraiture

I

Introduction

Portraiture, visual representation of individual people, distinguished by references to the subject's character, social position, wealth, or profession. In the broadest sense, portraiture can include representations of animals (favored pets or prize-winning livestock, for example) or even representations of dwellings. As discussed here, however, portraiture refers only to images of people.

II

Characteristics of Portraits

Portraitists often strive for exact visual likenesses. However, although the viewer's correct identification of the sitter is of primary importance, exact replication is not always the goal. Artists may intentionally alter the appearance of their subjects by embellishing or refining their images to emphasize or minimize particular qualities (physical, psychological, or social) of the subject. Viewers sometimes praise most highly those images that seem to look very little like the sitter because these images are judged to capture some nonvisual quality of the subject. In non-Western societies portraiture is less likely to emphasize visual likeness than in Western cultures.

Portraits can be executed in any medium, including sculpted stone and wood, oil, painted ivory, pastel, encaustic (wax) on wood panel, tempera on parchment, carved cameo, and hammered or poured metal. See also Woodcarving; Oil Painting; Ivory Carving; Crayon; Encaustic Painting; Tempera Painting; Founding; Metalwork.

Portraits can include only the head of the subject, or they can depict the shoulders and head, the upper torso, or an entire figure shown either seated or standing. Portraits can show individuals either self-consciously posing in ways that convey a sense of timelessness or captured in the midst of work or daily activity. During some historical periods, portraits were severe and emphasized authority, and during other periods artists worked to communicate spontaneity and the sensation of life.

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III

Assessment of Portraits

Portraiture is considered a specialized subgroup of art, and therefore it has its own standards and criteria. A portrait is judged, in part, on how closely it resembles the appearance of the subject. Portraits, however, are not limited to simply recreating external appearances and situations and often are highly regarded for portraying a range of qualities of an individual or group. Artists utilize elements of their portraits—backgrounds, props, or mounts for the sitter (thrones or horses, for example)—to provide information about the subject's character or place in society. The most appreciated portraits exhibit strong composition, refined handling of materials, and an appropriate or interesting application of color. See also Sculpture; Painting; Drawing; Prints and Printmaking; Folk Art.

IV

Functions of Portraiture

Portraiture has broad and varied functions. In the Roman Empire (44 bc-ad 476), portraits of the emperor were required to be present in order for court proceedings to take place. Many societies regard portraits as important ways to convey status and acknowledge power and wealth. During the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) and the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century), portraits of donors were included in works of art as a means of verifying patronage, power, and virtue. Many societies have employed portraits as a means of remembering the dead. Egyptian mummy portraits and Roman death masks played important roles in death rituals. Japanese portrait sculptures commemorate deceased monks, and skulls refashioned to be lifelike are memorial representations of ancestors in Oceania.

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