Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe, 1500, by Albrecht Dürer (Alte Pinakothek)
Few genres in the visual arts have been more enduring than the portrait. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, painted around 1510, continues to fascinate us with her enigmatic character and emotions. Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait from 1434, which includes the artist’s tiny self-portrait in a mirror, draws us into its subjects’ world in a similar way.
Over the centuries, portraiture has been shaped both by individual artists and broader social and cultural ideals. Art historian Aneta-Georgievska Shine examines some of the most fascinating examples this genre in the Western tradition, and the ways in which they reflect those ideals. Looking closely at works as diverse as Dürer’s Christ-like self-portrait from 1500 and Francis Bacon’s deeply disturbing re-workings of Velazquez’s classic portrait of Pope Innocent X, she explores the expressive power, emotions, and meanings behind the painted face.
Please Note: Participants can complement the program by attending an optional guided tour of the National Gallery of Art tentatively set for Feb. 25 or 26.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit
Smithsonian Connections
Contemporary artists have extended the concept of portraiture and the media used to capture the human image. The works represented in the Portrait Gallery’s current exhibition of videos, Bill Viola: The Moving Image, demonstrate both.
