Portrayal and the Search for Identity

(Hardback)

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Description

We are surrounded by portraits: from the cipher-like portrait of a queen on a bank note to security pass photos; from images of politicians in the media to Facebook; from galleries exhibiting Titian or Leonardo to contemporary art featuring the self-image, as with Jeff Koons or Cindy Sherman. In Antiquity portraiture was of major importance in the exercise of power. Today it remains not only a part of everyday life but also a crucial way for artists to define themselves in relation to their environment and their contemporaries. In Portrayal and the Search for Identity, Marcia Pointon investigates how we view and understand portraiture as a genre, and how portraits function as artworks within social and political networks.

Reviews

"Portrayal and the Search for Identity is a compelling study by one of the foremost scholars writing on portraiture. Marcia Pointon draws upon a remarkable range of historical examples and methodological approaches to produce a book of great originality and sophistication. It addresses important current issues in the field and will be invaluable not only to historians and art historians but to critics, curators and artists."-- "Peter Funnell, Curator, National Portrait Gallery, London"

Author Bio

Marcia Pointon is an independent scholar and research consultant; she is Professor Emeritus of History of Art at the University of Manchester, UK, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. She is author of Hanging the Head: Portraiture and Social Formation in Eighteenth-century England.