Portraiture is an enduring genre that has captivated artists and viewers for hundreds of years. From the late 15th through the early 19th century, artists continued to find new ways of approaching the portrait by exploring a range of styles, strategies, and themes. In this beautiful book, noted scholars discuss these various approaches and explain how they apply to specific examples, focusing on thirty superb portraits drawn from a distinguished private collection.Â
Although many of these portraits are by renowned artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Hans Memling, and Anthony van Dyck, others testify to the talents of lesser-known artists who are equally deserving of attention. Moreover, several of the featured paintings are previously unpublished, including works by Giovanni Battista Moroni, Parmigianino, Jusepe de Ribera, and Peter Paul Rubens.