What types of portraits are there? History of the genre and modernity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The word "portrait" is very common in our vocabulary. We use it in relation to painting, to literature, to criminalistics, and also just in everyday life. In this regard, there are various types of portraits that relate to a particular area of life or art. What is the characteristic of a portrait, what are its features, what is its uniqueness in comparison with other genres of creativity? Let's consider these questions in more detail.

What is a portrait

This term refers to the image of a person who lives now, lived earlier, or is a fictional character in a story or story. In art, portraits can be presented in the form of painting, sculpture or engraving. There are also types of portraits that relate to writing. These are descriptions of characters in works, characteristics of certain people, criminal data about a particular individual, information about which is needed. Still, various types of portraits in the fine arts are considered the most popular. They differ from each other in style, colorscale, parameters, features of applying paints, proportions and structure.

Parameters that a portrait can send

This classification implies the following points: head portrait (only the head of a person is depicted on it); bust portraits or busts (a person is drawn or molded to the chest); images of people to the waist; a drawing that shows us a man up to the knee; Finally, full-length paintings. If we consider the types of portraits in terms of the angle of rotation of the model that is depicted, then we highlight the following points. In the portrait, a person can be facing us - this is the front. His face or figure can be turned to us in three quarters or be sideways to the audience - this is a profile. Rarely in painting are portraits where a person has his back turned to us. In all these cases, the main criterion for a portrait is the maximum similarity of the model that posed with the result that turned out on the canvas of the creator or in his sculpture. This work of art should convey as much as possible not only static facial features and proportions, but also the emotional aura of the one who is portrayed.

How people were portrayed in antiquity

The very first types of portraits in painting are sculptures. They are found throughout the entire Ancient East, as well as in ancient countries. Such works of art in those days were made for people who occupied important places in society. They were rulers, public figures and creators. sculpturesalways accurately conveyed the facial features and emotional color of the one who was depicted with their help. Often such creations became tombstones for their owners. The sculptures of these ancient times allow us to restore the picture of the past and understand what kind of people lived in those days.

Medieval painting

In the era of the Middle Ages, certain types of portraits appeared in the fine arts. Rulers, church leaders and important secular people are already depicted on canvas. It was almost impossible to distinguish the faces in such portraits - they all had similar features, however, like the figures of people. The picture has always conveyed more of an atmosphere that was saturated with religion and theology. Donor portraits were popular. They depicted a person who made a donation for a particular Catholic church. He was always surrounded by cherubs or with Jesus in his arms, like the Virgin Mary. An analogue of such images were ktitor portraits, which were popular not only among Catholics, but also in the Orthodox world.

Renaissance and later centuries

Roughly since the 15th century, people have realized that the portrait is an art form, and not just a means of conveying information. Since then, the creative boundaries of society have expanded significantly. Allegorical portraits began to enjoy popularity, where the model was always depicted in clothes that conveyed her emotions and character, and often such paintings were greatly exaggerated. A little later (18th century)artists began to paint genre portraits. On them, people were depicted both in full growth and chest-deep. The essence of the work was that the whole picture had a certain color. It was either an aura of tenderness, or some kind of brutal picture, etc. Also in the Renaissance, various types of subjective portraits arose. And now we will consider what exactly such masterpieces are characterized by.

A portrait that is painted "from the head"

This term refers to those pictures of people in which they are depicted not as they look in reality, but as they appear to the artist. The Creator can change proportions, change facial features, make a person more cheerful or sadder. Often, in order to draw a subjective portrait, a model is not required at all. The artist can restore the pictures of reality and his fantasies in his head, and then transfer it all to the canvas. Nowadays, there are separate types of subjective portraits from painting. These include the following: identikit, restoration of the facial features of the deceased thanks to the technique and memory of eyewitnesses, putting makeup on the face of one person so that it becomes like another.

Our days

The types of portraits that are found today are very different from those that were popular in society before. All people today are photographed, not painted, because their facial features, facial expressions and emotions are transmitted with maximum accuracy. Among modern portraits there are also genre portraits: public, intimate, individual,chamber, as well as selfies - the most common portrait of our time.