**Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez, on the left at the easel, painting the portrait ‘Las Meninas’ (detail).** Museo Nacional del Prado

Face to face: a history of portrait painting

Thanks to digital technology, the creation and sharing of portraits is now popular, cheap, and almost obligatory. Before the advent of photography, this task was fulfilled by portrait painting. We take a look at its origins and how it evolved.

Murielle Schlup

Freelance art historian and cultural scientist

Thanks to modern-day technology, portraits and selfies can now be produced with great ease. And they can be shared with everyone at any time in just a few clicks. What we nowadays take for granted has a long and rich history, in which the golden age of portrait painting between the 15th and 17th centuries played a key role.

From mummies to donors

Portraits in the sense of realistic, characteristic depictions of the faces of specific people were already widespread in many places in Antiquity, but only very few have survived in painted form. One well-known example is the Roman mummy portraits, which were painted in Egypt between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD in order to immortalise the dead. The portraits, which were painted on individual wooden panels, were attached to the mummy over the deceased’s face. Remembrance, then, was one of the original functions of portrait painting.

**'L'Européenne’, a Roman mummy portrait from Egypt, 100-150 AD** Wikimedia / Musée du Louvre

After the Fall of the Roman Empire, the further development and dissemination of portrait painting suffered a massive setback. This was because Christianity, which was geared towards the afterlife, rejected the depiction of mere mortals, particularly in its early days. Until the high Middle Ages, depictions of Christ and the saints therefore dominated artistic production, which was subject to the authority of the Church, much like every aspect of people’s daily lives. There are exceptions, however, such as the dedication miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, which depicted the illuminator handing over their work to the donor or patron, or showed the donor or patron presenting the book they had commissioned to a church. Often, the donor is shown kneeling in prayer, flanked by saints or humbly integrated into a biblical scene. This was because portraying a mortal was only tolerated in a religious context.

A dedication miniature in the Gundold-Evangeliar, a manuscript from the Kölner Buchmalerschule, which originated between 1026 and 1050. While the sketched faces of Christ, Mary and John are consistent with the Medieval pictorial tradition, the more detailed depiction of the donor’s face reveals the illuminator’s desire to create a true likeness of the individual. Wikimedia

**Giotto di Bondones (1267/1276 – 1337), Portrait of Enrico Scrovegni at the Arena Chapel (Cappella degli Scrovegni) in Padua symbolically presenting the chapel donated by him.** Wikimedia

These sorts of donor portraits can be found on frescoes and particularly altarpieces from the late Middle Ages. The portraits, which were worked into the scenes depicted, allowed donors to leave their unmistakeable and binding stamp on the ‘good deed’ of commissioning the work. They also indirectly sought to solicit prayers from the faithful for the salvation of the generous portrait subject. A donor portrait can also invariably be seen as an attempt to self-consciously commemorate and immortalise the donor.

Moving away from religious themes

Portrait painting experienced a golden era from the late Middle Ages up until the 17th century. Its most significant milestones also occurred during this period. While the painters of the late Middle Ages were still predominantly wedded to traditionally static depictions, after 1300 there was a move towards a truer physical likeness. At the same time, portraits began to move away from religious themes. One of the first panel portraits of this kind is the portrait of Jean II le Bon, painted in the mid-14th century. However, it is impossible to say to what extent the depiction of the individual physical features draw on realism, idealisation or adopted artistic stereotypes.

In strict profile: John II (Jean II le Bon), King of France from 1350 to 1364. Portrait by an unknown master. Wikimedia / Musée du Louvre

While portraits predominantly featured rulers, noblemen, high-ranking clergymen and military commanders up until the 14th century, from the 15th century onwards we start to see more portraits of wealthy citizens, merchants, bankers, officials and scholars. And there was a growing number of portraits of women. With the Renaissance and its new way of looking at people as autonomous individuals, two important developments in portrait painting really took off. The first was that portraiture increasingly conquered the private sphere and became accessible to an ever broader section of the middle class. The second was that artists perfected the realistic and detailed depiction of a person’s outward appearance, managing to capture ever more subtly the sitter’s character, posture, gestures and facial expressions with pen and paintbrush.

Warts and all: This portrait (presumed to be of Robert des Masmines), which was painted circa 1425/30, is attributed to the Master of Flémalle, from the workshop of the early Netherlandish master, Robert Campin. The distinctive, psychologically expressive depiction of the sitter is made even more lifelike by the fact that he is slightly turned towards the onlooker. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

The diptych of Piero della Francesca on two individual panels with a connecting background shows Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro (c. 1472), Duke and Duchess of Urbino. In the Italian early Renaissance, the strict profile portrait – in the style of Roman busts and coins – was prevalent at first. Wikimedia

Evidence of historically significant portraiture from the late Middle Ages emerged in northern and southern Europe almost simultaneously. Noteworthy Italian painters of the early Renaissance include Pisanello, Antonello da Messina, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli and Giovanni Bellini. Meanwhile, prominent early Netherlandish painters of the 15th century included Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. Van Eyck painted the ‘Arnolfini Portrait’, which is one of the most important full-length double portraits in the history of art. The intriguing painting, which is full of symbolism, is believed to depict the merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami. It was long thought to depict a wedding or engagement, but art historians now think it is neither of these. The mirror in the centre of the painting shows the reflections of two other figures in the room. The inscription ‘Johannes de Eyck fuit hic 1434’ (‘Jan van Eyck was here, 1434’) has given rise to speculation that one of the figures in the mirror is in fact Jan van Eyck, or that the painting may be a self-portrait of the painter with his wife Margarethe – the wooden figure on the bedstead shows the saint of the same name. As the best-paid ‘valet de chambre’ of the Duke of Burgundy, van Eyck was wealthy enough to be able to afford the furnishings and clothing featured in the painting. As one of the first painters to actually sign his works, he was not short of self-confidence either.

**The ‘Arnolfini Portrait’, painted in 1434 by Jan van Eyck, depicts a couple in an indoor space.** Wikimedia / National Gallery London

The self-portrait takes hold

The self-portrait was an important genre which took on a prominent role in the history of portraiture from 1500 onwards. The reason being that during the Renaissance the status of painters was elevated, and they no longer saw themselves simply as craftsmen, but also as talented artists and imaginative creators. This in turn increased both their desire to be depicted and their personal need to immortalise themselves pictorially. Artists also used the self-portrait as a practical testing ground and for study purposes. Rembrandt was particularly celebrated for doing this in the 17th century. Very few artists before Rembrandt created so many self-portraits with different facial expressions, grimaces and gestures.

A showcase of self-confidence: In the ‘Self-Portrait at Twenty-Eight’, painted in 1500, Albrecht Dürer portrays himself as a Christ-like figure with the pride of an artistic genius. He added the following inscription in Latin: “I, Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg, portrayed myself in everlasting colours aged twenty-eight years.” Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek München

**A baroque precursor to the duckface selfie? Etching by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1630.** Städel Museum

The golden age of portrait painting

From the early 16th century and throughout the 17th century, portrait painting was not only perfected by numerous artists, but – on account of the favourable situation with regard to commissions and the associated good source of income – was also professionalised as a specialised field. The courts, where the need for representation was huge, played a key role in this. One of the most prominent portrait painters of the time was Raphael (Sanzio de Urbino), who from 1508 was court painter to popes Julius II and Leo X in Rome.

Staging of papal authority: With this official ecclesiastical portrait, which was painted circa 1518, depicting Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici (later Pope Clement VII) and Luigi de’ Rossi, Raphael set a new standard for papal portraits that lasted for many years. Wikimedia

Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian, also painted papal portraits (Paul III). During the course of his long career, he also accepted commissions from all the important royal households in Europe, in particular the Habsburgs. Among other things he was court painter at the royal court in Madrid, where he earned such popularity and recognition that he was knighted by Emperor Charles V. Portraits of the nobility were mainly produced for prestige purposes, which is why they were often painted against imposing or dramatic backdrops or in sumptuous interiors. The idea was to elevate the sitter in an idealised, distant and even lofty manner, in order to prepare them for the glorious afterlife. The external depiction of the person was usually interlaced with the staging of power, success, status, wealth and strength. For women, beauty was another factor, for which painters were sometimes willing to bend the rules. In addition to regalia such as crowns and sceptres, medals and military ‘props’ such as helmet, armour and sword were popular visual cues. While noble attire made of silk, velvet or lace was a popular status symbol in portraits of both sexes, women also wore valuable accessories for this purpose.

Depiction of imperial power on horseback as attribute and privilege of the nobility: Tititan painted this equestrian portrait, which is reminiscent of statues from Antiquity (e.g. Marcus Aurelius in Rome), of Emperor Charles V in 1548, commemorating the victory of the imperial troops over the Protestants near Mühlberg. In so doing, Titian set the standard for portraits of rulers, which was adopted by many artists – including Rubens. Museo Nacional del Prado

For the nobility, portraiture had an important social function on the international marriage market. Portraits of people who wanted to marry were circulated so that potential partners could ‘visualise’ their future spouse. Needless to say, such portraits often flattered their subjects. For good measure, the court portrait artist was often sent along with the task of vouching for the realistic quality of the painting. One such commission entrusted to Hans Holbein the Younger is an example of an unsuccessful venture in this regard. Holbein, who was born in Augsburg and worked in Basel until 1532, made a name for himself in England painting portraits of notable figures including Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More, before rising to become court painter to Henry VIII in 1536. After the death of his third wife, Henry VIII was looking for a bride again, so sent Holbein to the Continent to paint portraits of several potential marriage candidates who, needless to say, also had to be attractive. They included the daughters of John III, Duke of Cleves in Düsseldorf. The King was so taken with the portrait of one of them, Anne of Cleves, that he married her without even meeting her in person. But when she arrived in England, he was not at all impressed with his new bride. Henry VIII’s fourth marriage was therefore annulled a short time later on the grounds that it had never been consummated.

Was Anne of Cleves really not as beautiful as Hans Holbein the Younger had depicted her? We don’t know. What is certain, however, is that King Henry VIII was bitterly disappointed when he first met his wife in person. Wikimedia / Musée du Louvre

An important type of portrait that was popular in the European courts was the family and group portrait. One of the most famous of all, Las Meninas, was produced by Spanish court painter, Diego Velázquez. He intriguingly combines a family and group portrait with a self-portrait in this large-format painting, thereby skilfully mixing different visual planes. The deft use of the mirror in the painting as an additional – and in this case central – visual plane may have been copied from Jan van Eyck. In any event, van Eyck’s ‘Arnolfini Portrait’ was part of the Spanish royal couple’s collection when Las Meninas was painted. Another interesting point is that the cross of the Order of Santiago, which the painter was awarded in 1659 – three years after the painting was completed – was only later added to the painting. Such additions were not uncommon in portrait painting.

Diego Velázquez, ‘Las Meninas’, 1656: The painter’s actual subject is the royal couple Philip IV and Maria Anna, whose reflection can be seen in the mirror in the centre of the picture, while in the foreground the infanta Margarita is the focus of attention, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting and entourage. All the figures can be identified, even the palace chamberlain, who can be seen leaving the scene in the background, thereby opening up another visual plane. Museo Nacional del Prado

A small number of female artists who were privileged enough to undergo the relevant training and subsequently able to pursue a career, made a name for themselves in portrait painting. They included the likes of Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelika Kauffmann and Louise-Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. The latter was court painter to Queen Marie-Antoinette in her younger years.

**Armed with straw hat, paintbrushes and palette: French painter Louise-Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun in a self-portrait from 1783.** Wikimedia / National Gallery London

Continuity of portrait painting in the age of photography

Over the course of the 19th century, portrait painting faced competition from photography and the evolving technological possibilities it afforded. Photography made producing portraits easier, cheaper and more efficient. Furthermore, photographs were able to produce an almost perfect likeness. Nevertheless, portrait painting continued to justify its existence and kept demand alive by employing new methods, forms of expression and media. In particular, from then on it concentrated more on “revealing the inner essence” of the subject, moving beyond what photography could achieve.

Vincent van Gogh's (1853-1890) portrait of Doctor Gachet was painted in 1890. The doctor, who specialised in psychiatry, cared for the artist in the last phase of his life until his suicide. Gachet's melancholy expression is intended, Van Gogh wrote in a letter, to reflect "the bleak expression of our time". Wikimedia / Musée d'Orsay

Within the many art history movements of the late 19th and 20th centuries, portrait painting continued to develop. As in all visual art, in portrait painting too, traditional conventions were broken and previous rules on the use of colour and form were thrown out the window. From the 1960s, the advent of photorealism brought an artistic movement to painting that ran completely counter to abstraction: through painted portraits of hyperrealistic clarity – such as those by Chuck Close, Gerhard Richter and Franz Gertsch – you could say that painting finally got one up on photography.

Franz Gertsch, ‘Johanna I’, 1983/1984 — **Hyperrealistic and over 9m² in size: Franz Gertsch's portrait ‘Johanna I’ (1983/1984).** © by Franz Gertsch. Courtesy Museum Franz Gertsch

More of: Modern Age Society Culture Art Photography

Further posts

Colours revealed by light

Alexander Rechsteiner 23.08.2021 Painted glass windows have been bringing light and colour into dark church rooms since the 13th century. But how is a glass painting actually made?

The colour palette of the glass artist: sample frames with around 800 colour nuances.

New movie posters for Zurich

Felix Graf 06.11.2017 The works of the Lucerne graphic designer Paul Brühwiler were virtually omnipresent on Zurich’s cultural billboards for almost 20 years, achieving cult status. Even in the office of the director of the Film Podium they were not safe from thieves.

A heavyweight of cultural history

Andrej Abplanalp 02.06.2017 Some things are made to last forever. One of them is the songbook from the St. Katharinental Abbey in what is today the canton of Thurgau.