In this lecture Tom Richards explores the concept and practice of portraiture in both painting and sculpture. He guides us through the beginnings of the art, from the idealized depictions of figures such as saints to what is perhaps the first depiction of a specific person, frescoed by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. From there we explore works by artists such as Giorgione, Tintoretto, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Valázquez, Bernini, Hans Holbein the Younger, Joshua Reynolds, Sargent, Cecilia Beaux, and Repin; examining the context behind the works such as who and why the sitters are depicted, be it for commission or personal attachment of the artist, as well as compositional choices, how form is treated, and important elements to depict. We are also asked to delve into concepts behind self-portraiture and the use of portraits or heads as pieces of a larger work.

In the end, portraiture solidifies in time an artist’s vision of a person, be it themselves or another, and the final work is inextricably tied to the reason behind the creation of the work, the personal relationship of the artist to the subject, and who the work is meant to be viewed by. As noted by Samuel Johnson, portraiture is more than a translation of a person’s head into artistic medium as it does three rather powerful things: it creates friendship or renews it, reminds us of absent friends, and it keeps the dead alive.