"A portrait is typically defined as a representation of a specific individual, such as the artist might meet in life. A portrait does not merely record someone’s features, however, but says something about who he or she is, offering a vivid sense of a real person’s presence." –"Portraiture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe," by Jean Sorabella, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2007 I invite you to take some time to explore the Met Museum's article on portraiture (see link above) and the works below (follow the orange tabs to the web links). The artists of these works have been introduced to us, the time period in which they worked (Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, Late Renaissance). Women here are depicted from the perspective of the male artist in Figures 1, 2, and 3, but Figure 4 is from the perspective, and literally the reflection, of a woman artist–Sofonisba Anguissola. For our discussion here, I'd like for you to consider how the sitter (the figure depicted) is represented in each painting. How does the artist portray the subject in each work? Is there a difference between how Figures 1, 2, and 3 are presented in comparison to Figure 4? Do you notice any similarities? Any obvious differences? Leave a short comment about any one of these questions by 11:59 pm, . If anyone's interested, consider sketching/tracing any one of these works for extra credit and bring it to class on Tuesday. See you all then!
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