Events

Portraits do more than suggest likeness. The best portraits convey something about the time in which the subject lived, their position within a broader society, and perhaps even their personality traits--good and bad--as understood by the artist. In the sixteenth century, European portraits also contended with the history of portraiture. Whether a depiction included certain attributes, or not, was determined not by the sitter, but by the expectations of the work's audience. Led by Derrick R. Cartwright, Ph.D., Director of Curatorial Affairs, this talk looks broadly at the history of portrait painting in Europe with a special focus on the works included in Poetic Portraits: Allegory and Identity in Sixteenth-Century Europe.

$15 Non-Members | FREE for Members & Docents

Image Credit:
Sofonisba Anguissola
Giovanni Battista Caselli, Poet from Cremona, 1557-58
Oil on canvas, 30.6 x 24.2 inches (P008110)
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado
©Photographic Archive Museo Nacional del Prado.