A
portrait is a
painting,
photograph,
sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,
personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a
snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.
Some of the earliest portraits of people who were not
kings or
emperors, are the
funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's
Fayum district. These are the only paintings of the
Roman period that have survived, aside from
frescos.
The art of the portrait flourished in
Roman sculptures, where sitters demanded realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. (Compare the portraits of Roman Emperors
Constantine I and
Theodosius I at their entries.) In
Europe true portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late
Middle Ages, in Burgundy and France.
Moche culture of Peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits. These works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. The individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a written reference to their names. The individuals portrayed were members of the ruling elite, priests, warriors and even distinguished artisans.
They were represented during several stages of their lives. The faces of gods were also depicted. To date, no portraits of women have been found. There is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdresses, hairstyles, body adornment and face painting.
One of the best-known portraits in the Western world is
Leonardo da Vinci's painting titled
Mona Lisa, which is a painting of an unidentified woman. The world's oldest known portrait was found in 2006 in the
Vilhonneur grotto near
Angoulême and is thought to be 27,000 years old.
Self-portraiture
When the artist creates a portrait of him- or herself, it is called a
self-portrait. Identifiable examples become numerous in the late Middle Ages, but if the definition is extended the first was by the
Egyptian
Pharaoh Akhenaten's sculptor Bak, who carved a representation of himself and his wife Taheri c. 1365 BC. However, it seems likely that self-portraits go back to the
earliest representational art, and literature records several classical examples, now lost.
Portrait photography
Portrait photography is a popular commercial industry all over the world. Many people enjoy having professionally made
family portraits to hang in their homes, or special portraits to commemorate certain events, such as graduations or weddings.
Since the dawn of photography, people have made portraits. The popularity of the
daguerreotype in the middle of the 19th century was due in large part to the demand for inexpensive portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some cranking out more than 500 plates a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the
painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever else could be reflected with mirrors.
As photographic techniques developed, an intrepid group of photographers took their talents out of the studio and onto battlefields, across oceans and into remote wilderness.
William Shew's
Daguerreotype Saloon,
Roger Fenton's
Photographic Van and
Mathew Brady's
What-is-it? wagon set the standards for making portraits and other photographs in the field.
Politics
In
politics, portraits of the leader are often used as a
symbol of the
state. In most countries it is common protocol for a portrait of the
head of state to appear in important
government buildings. Excessive use of a leader's portrait, such as that done of Stalin, can be indicative of a
personality cult.
Literature
In
literature the term
portrait refers to a written description or analysis of a person or thing. A written portrait often gives deep insight, and offers an analysis that goes far beyond the superficial. For example, American author
Patricia Cornwell wrote a best-selling book titled
Portrait of a Killer about the personality, background, and possible motivations of
Jack the Ripper, as well as the media coverage of his murders, and the subsequent police investigation of his crimes.
See also
