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PORTRAITURE

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 130 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PORTRAITURE . The earliest attempts at individual portraiture (see also See also:

PAINTING) are found in the eidolon and See also:mummy-cases of the See also:ancient Egyptians; but their painting never went beyond conventional See also:representation—See also:mere outlines filled in with a See also:flat tint of See also:colour. In See also:Greece portraiture probably had its origin in skiagraphy or See also:shadow-painting. The See also:story of the See also:Greek See also:maiden tracing the shadow of her departing See also:lover on the See also:wall points to this. The See also:art See also:developed rapidly. In 46.3 B.C., See also:Polygnotus, one of the first Greek painters of distinction, introduced individual portraiture in the decoration of public buildings, and See also:Apelles nearly a See also:century later showed so much See also:genius in rendering See also:character and expression, that See also:Alexander the See also:Great appointed him "portrait painter in See also:ordinary," and issued an See also:edict forbidding any one else to produce pictorial representations of his See also:majesty. Similar edicts were issued in favour of the sculptor See also:Lysippus and Pyrgoteles the See also:gem en-graver. No See also:works of the Greek painters survive, but the See also:fate of two portraits by Apelles, which were in the See also:possession of the See also:emperor See also:Claudius (A.D. 41-54), is known, the heads having been painted out to make See also:room for the features of the divine See also:Augustus! After the See also:time of Alexander (300 B.c.) Greek art rapidly deteriorated. There is, perhaps, nothing in the See also:history of human intelligence to compare with the dazzling swiftness of its development or the rapidity of its decline. See also:War was followed by pillage and devastation, and victorious See also:Roman generals, mere depredators and plunderers, crowded See also:Rome with the stolen treasures of Greece, with the result that Greek art and Greek See also:influence soon made themselves See also:felt in•the imperial See also:city, and for generations its artists were almost exclusively Greeks, chiefly portrait painters and decorators.

The See also:

Romans possessed no innate aptitude for art, and rather despised it as a pursuit little becoming the dignity of a See also:citizen. Although lacking in appreciation of the higher conditions of art, they had from See also:early times decorated their atria with See also:effigies—originally See also:wax moulds—of the countenances of their ancestors. These See also:primitive " wax-works " ultimately developed into portrait busts, often vivid and faithful, the only See also:branch of art in which Rome achieved excellence. With the invasion of the See also:Northern barbarians and the fall of the See also:empire Graeco-Roman art ended. In the following centuries See also:Christianity gradually became the dominant See also:religion, but its ascetic See also:temper could not find expression in the old See also:artistic forms. Instead of joy in the ideals of bodily perfection, came a loathing of the See also:body and its beauty, and artists were classed among " persons of iniquitous occupations. " Before the 5th century these prejudices had relaxed, and images and pictures again came into See also:general favour for religious uses. In the 8th and nth centuries, the See also:iconoclasts commenced their systematic destruction, and it was not till the See also:Renaissance in the 13th century that art began again to live. The great revival brought with it a closer observation of the facts of nature and a growing sense of beauty, and the works of See also:Cimabue and See also:Giotto prepared the way for those of Benozzo See also:Gozzoli, Ghirlandaio and the See also:long See also:line of masters who raised See also:Italian art to such a height in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although the works of the early painters of the Renaissance were mostly devoted to the expression of the dogmas of the See also:Church, the growing love and study of nature led them, as opportunity afforded, to introduce portraits of living contemporaries into their sacred pictures. Gozzoli (1420–1498) and Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) began the practice, followed by nearly all the old and great painters, of introducing portraiture into their works; Ghirlandaio especially filling some of his great See also:fresco compositions with the forms and features of the living men and See also:women of See also:Florence, members of the Tornabuoni, See also:Medici and other great families. Acuteness of observation was innate in the See also:race.

By degrees it manifested itself in a marvellous subtlety in the rendering of individual character, in the portrayal of individual men and women, and a school ofportraiture was developed of which See also:

Titian became the crowning See also:glory. This great Venetian painter, by universal consent reckoned one of the masters of portraiture, has handed down to us the features of many of the greatest See also:historical and See also:literary personages of his time—emperor, See also:pope, See also:king, See also:doge—all sat by turn to him and loaded him with honours. The names of See also:Bellini, Raffaelle, Tintoret, Verdhese and See also:Moroni of See also:Bergamo occur among those of the great Italian portrait painters of the 15th and 16th centuries. The last-named, some of whose finest works are now in See also:England, was highly praised by Titian. A love of ugliness characterizes the artists of the early See also:German and Flemish See also:schools, and most of the portraits produced by them previous to See also:Holbein's time suffer from this cause. See also:Schongauer, Diirer and See also:Lucas See also:Cranach are never agreeable or pleasant, however interesting in other respects. Diirer, the typical German artist, the dreamer of dreams, the theorist, the thinker, the writer, was less fitted by nature for a portrait painter than Holbein, who, with a keen sense of nature's subtle beauty, was a far greater painter although a less powerful See also:personality. He produced many See also:fine works in other branches, but it is as a portrait painter that Holbein is chiefly known, and his highest claims to fame will See also:rest on his marvellous achievements in that branch of art. He first came to England in 1526, bringing with him letters of introduction from See also:Erasmus. See also:Sir See also:Thomas More received him as his See also:guest, and during his stay he painted More's and See also:Archbishop See also:Warham's portraits. In 1532 he was again in See also:London, where till his See also:death in 1543 he spent much of his time. He was largely employed by the German merchants of the See also:Steelyard and many Englishmen of See also:note, and afterwards by See also:Henry VIII., by whom he was taken into permanent service with a See also:pension.

As a portrait painter Holbein is remarkable not only for his keen insight into the character of his sitters, but for the beauty and delicacy of his See also:

drawing. As colourist he may be judged by an admirable example of his See also:work, " The Ambassadors," in the See also:National See also:Gallery in London. Many of his drawings appear to have been made as preliminary studies for his portraits. In See also:Flanders See also:Jan See also:van See also:Eyck (1390-1440), his See also:brother See also:Hubert, Quintin See also:Matsys, See also:Memlinc and other artists of the 15th century occasionally practised portraiture. The picture of See also:Jean Arnolfini and his wife, in the National Gallery, London, is a remarkable See also:sample of the first-named artist, and the small See also:half-length of See also:young See also:Martin van Nieumenhoven, in the See also:hospital of St See also:John at See also:Bruges, of the last-named. Nearly a century later the names of Antony Mor (or See also:Moro), See also:Rubens and Van Dyck appear. Rubens, although not primarily a painter of portraits, achieved no small distinction in that way, being much employed by See also:royalty (Maria de Medici, See also:Philip IV. and the See also:English See also:Charles I. among the number). His services were also in See also:request as See also:ambassador or diplomatist, and thrice at least he was sent on See also:missions of that nature. His See also:personal See also:energy and See also:industry were enormous, but a large proportion of the work attributed to him was painted by pupils, of whom Van Dyck was one of the most celebrated. Van Dyck (1599-1641) early acquired a high reputation as a portrait painter. In 1632 he was invited to England by Charles I., and settled there for the See also:remainder of his See also:life. He was knighted by Charles, and granted a pension of £too a See also:year, with the See also:title of painter to his majesty.

Many of Van Dyck's portraits, especially those of the early and See also:

middle periods, are unsurpassed in their freshness, force and vigour of handling. He is a See also:master among masters. England possesses many of his works, especially of his later See also:period. To Van Dyck we owe much of our knowledge of what Charles I. and those about him were like. A routine practice, luxurious living, failing See also:health, and the employment of assistants told upon his work, which latterly lost much of its early See also:charm. 'In See also:Holland in the 17th century portraiture reached a high See also:standard. A reaction had set in against Italian influence, and extreme faithfulness and literal resemblance became the prevailing See also:fashion. The large portrait pictures of the members of See also:gilds and corporations, so frequently met with in Holland, are characteristically Dutch. The earliest works of the See also:kind are generally rows of portraits ranged in See also:double or single lines, without much See also:attempt at grouping or See also:composition. Later, in the hands of painters like See also:Rembrandt, Frans See also:Hals and Van der Heist, these pictures of civic See also:guards, hospital regents and masters of gilds assumed a very different character, and are among the very finest works produced by the Dutch portrait painters of the 17th century. They may be termed " subscription portraits "—each member of the gild who desired a See also:place on the See also:canvas agreeing, before the See also:commission was given, to pay, according to a graduated See also:scale, his See also:share of the cost. Among the most famous examples of this class of portraits are " The See also:Anatomy See also:Lesson, " " The See also:March-out of See also:Captain Banning See also:Kock and his See also:Company " (erroneously called " The See also:Night See also:Watch "), and " The Five Syndics of the See also:Cloth-Workers' Guild, " by Rembrandt.

The magnificent portrait See also:

groups at See also:Haarlem by Hals—the next greatest portrait painter of Holland after Rembrandt—and the " Schuttersmaaltyd " by Van der Heist in the See also:Amsterdam Museum, which See also:Reynolds considered " perhaps the first picture of portraits in the See also:world, " must also be mentioned. Of the pictorial art of See also:Spain previous to the 15th century, little, if any, survives. Flemish example was long See also:paramount and Flemish painters were patronized in high places. In the 16th century the names of native See also:Spanish artists began to appear—Morales, See also:Ribera, See also:Zurbaran, a great though not a professed portrait painter; and in the last year of the century Velasquez was See also:born, the greatest of Spain's artists, and one of the great portrait painters of the world. None, perhaps, has ever equalled him in keen insight into character, or in the See also:swift magic of his See also:brush. Philip IV., Olivarez and See also:Innocent X. live for us on his canvases. His constantly varying, though generally extremely See also:simple, methods, explain to some extent the See also:interest and charm his works possess for artists. See also:Depth of feeling and poetic See also:imagination were, however, lacking, as may be seen in his prosaic treatment of such subjects as the " See also:Coronation of the Virgin," the " See also:Mars " and other kindred works in the See also:Madrid Gallery. Velasquez must be classed with those whose career has been prematurely cut See also:short. His works often show signs of haste and of the scanty leisure which the duties of his See also:office of " Aposentador See also:Mayor " See also:left him—duties which ended in the fatal See also:journey to the Isle of Rile. In See also:France the most distinguished portrait painters of the x6th and 17th centuries were the Clouets, See also:Cousin, See also:Vouet, Philippe de See also:Champaigne, See also:Rigaud and See also:Vanloo. See also:French portraiture, long inflated and artificial, reached the height of pomposity in the reigns of See also:Louis XIV. and XV., the See also:epoch of which the towering See also:wig is the See also:symbol.

In the 18th and early See also:

part of the 19th centuries occur the names of See also:Boucher, See also:Greuze, See also:David, See also:Gerard and See also:Ingres; but somehow the portraits of the French masters seldom attract and captivate in the same way as those of the Dutch and Italian painters. See also:Foreign artists were engaged for almost every important work in painting in England down to the days of Sir See also:Joshua Reynolds and See also:Gainsborough. Henry VIII. employed Holbein; See also:Queen See also:Mary, Sir See also:Antonio Moro; See also:Elizabeth, Zucchero and Lucas de Heere; See also:James I. van Somer, See also:Cornelius See also:Janssens and See also:Daniel Mytens; Charles I. Rubens, Van Dyck, Mytens, See also:Petitot, See also:Honthorst and others; and Charles II., See also:Lely and See also:Kneller, although there were native artists of merit, among them See also:Dobson, See also:Walker and Jamesone, a Scottish painter. Puritan England and Presbyterian See also:Scotland did little to encourage the portrait painter. The attitude of the latter towards it may be inferred from an entry in the See also:diary of Sir Thomas See also:Hope, the Scottish See also:Lord See also:Advocate in 1638. " This See also:day, See also:Friday, See also:William Jamesone, painter (at the See also:earnest desyr of my See also:sone Mr Alexander) was sufferit to draw my pictur." He does not even give the painter's name correctly, although Jamesone at the time was a See also:man of some note in Scotland. At the commencement of the reign of See also:George I. art in England had sunk to about the lowest ebb. With the See also:appearance of William See also:Hogarth (1697-1764) the English school of painting may be said to have commenced, and in Reynolds and Gainsborough it produced two portrait painters xxss. 5129 whose works hold their own with those of the masters of the 16th and 17th centuries. Both Sir Joshua and Gainsborough are seen at their best in portraits of women and See also:children. George See also:Romney (1734-1802) shared with Reynolds and Gainsborough the patronage of the wealthy and fashionable of his day.

Many of his See also:

female portraits are of great beauty. For some unknown See also:reason he never exhibited his works in the Royal See also:Academy. Sir Henry See also:Raeburn (1756-1823) was a native of See also:Edinburgh, and spent most of his life there. His portraits are broad and effective in treatment, masterly and swift in See also:execution and often fine in colour. He painted nearly all the distinguished Scotsmen of his time—See also:Walter See also:Scott, See also:Adam See also:Smith, Braxfield, See also:Robertson the historian, Dugald See also:Stewart, See also:Boswell, See also:Jeffrey, See also:Professor See also:Wilson and many of the leading noblemen, lairds, See also:clergy and their wives and daughters. For a considerable period his portraits were little known out of Scotland, but they are now much sought after, and fine examples appearing in London See also:sale-rooms bring remarkable prices. Raeburn's immediate successor in Scotland, J. See also:Watson See also:Gordon (1788-1864), also painted many excellent portraits, chiefly of men. A very characteristic example of his art at its best may be seen in his " See also:Provost of See also:Peterhead " in the Scottish National Gallery. Sir Thomas See also:Lawrence (1769-1830) was the favourite English portrait painter of his time, and had an almost unrivalled career. He had an immense practice, and between the years 1787 and 183o exhibited upwards of three See also:hundred portraits in the Royal Academy alone. The See also:Waterloo Gallery at See also:Windsor contains some of his best work, chiefly painted in 1818-1819, including his portraits of the emperor See also:Francis, Pope See also:Pius VII. and See also:Cardinal Gonsalvi.

He was loaded with honours, and died See also:

President of the Royal Academy. Sir J. E. See also:Millais (1829-1896), although most widely known as a painter of figure subjects, achieved some of his greatest successes in portraiture, and no artist in See also:recent years has approached him as a painter of children. His portraits of See also:Gladstone, Sir James See also:Paget, Sir See also:Gilbert Greenall, See also:Simon See also:Fraser, J. C. See also:Hook and Mrs. Bischoffsheirn, to name only a few, are alone sufficient to give him a high place among See also:British portrait painters. See also:Frank See also:Holl (1845-1888) first came into note as a portrait painter in x878, and during the subsequent nine years of his life he painted upwards of one hundred and ninety-eight portraits, an See also:average of over twenty-two a year. The See also:strain, however, proved too great for a naturally delicate constitution, and he died at the See also:age of See also:forty-three—another instance of a brilliant career prematurely cut short. To G. F.

See also:

Watts (1820-1904) we are indebted for admirable portraits of many of the leading men of the Victorian era in politics, See also:science, literature, See also:theology and art. Among more recent artists, Sir W. Q. See also:Orchardson (1835-1910), like Millais more widely known as a painter of figure subjects, but also admirable as a portrait painter; John See also:Sargent (1856- ), whose brilliant and vigorous characterization of his sitters leaves him without a See also:rival; as well as Ouless, See also:Shannon, See also:Fildes, Herkomer and others, have worthily carried on the best traditions of the art. In France contemporary portraiture is ably represented in the works of Carolus-See also:Duran, See also:Bonnat and See also:Benjamin See also:Constant, and in See also:Germany by See also:Lenbach, who has handed down to posterity with uncompromising faithfulness the See also:form and features of See also:Prince See also:Bismarck. Of portraiture in its other developments little need be said. See also:Miniature painting, which See also:grew out of the work of the illuminator, appears to have been always successfully practised in England. The works of See also:Hilliard, See also:Isaac and See also:Peter See also:Oliver, See also:Samuel See also:Cooper, See also:Hoskins, See also:Engleheart, See also:Plimer and See also:Cosway hold their own with the best of the kind; but this beautiful art, like that of the engraver, has been largely superseded by See also:photography and the " processes " now in use. It is unnecessary to refer to the many uses of portraiture, but one of its chiefest has been to transmit to posterity the form and features of those who have played a part, worthy or otherwise, in the past history of our race. Of its value to the II biographer and historian, See also:Carlyle, in a See also:letter written in 1854, says, " In all my poor historical investigations it is one of the most See also:primary wants to procure a bodily likeness of the personage inquired after; a See also:good portrait, if such exists; failing that, even an indifferent, if sincere one; in short, any representation, made by a faithful human creature, of that See also:face and figure which he saw with his eyes and which I can never see with mine. Often I have found the portrait See also:superior in real instruction to half-a-dozen written See also:biographies, or rather, I have found the portrait was as a small lighted See also:candle, by which the biographies could for the first time be read, and some human See also:interpretation be made of them." (G.

End of Article: PORTRAITURE

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