In our vocabulary the word "portrait" is very common. We use it in relation to painting, to literature, to forensics, and also just in everyday life. In this regard, there are various types of portraits that relate to a particular area of life or art. What is characteristic of the portrait, what are its features, what is its uniqueness in comparison with other genres of creativity? Consider these issues in more detail.
What is a portrait?
This term refers to the image of a person who lives now, lived earlier, or is a fictional character in a story or story. In art, portraits can be represented in the form of painting, sculpture or engraving. There are also types of portraits that relate to writing. These are descriptions of characters in works, characteristics of certain people, criminal data about a particular individual, information about which is necessary. The most popular are still considered various types of portraits in the visual arts. They differ from each other in style, colors, parameters, features of the application of paints, proportions and structure.
Parameters that a portrait can pass
This classification implies the following points: portrait of the head (it depicts only the head of a person); chest portraits or busts (a person is painted or blinded to the chest); images of people waist-high; a drawing that shows us a person to the knee; finally, full-length paintings. If we consider the types of portraits from the point of view of the angle of rotation of the model that is being depicted, then we highlight the following points. In the portrait, a person can face us - this is the face. His face or figure can be turned to us in three quarters or to be sideways to the audience - this is a profile. Rarely in painting are portraits where a person is turned with their backs to us. In all these cases, the main criterion for a portrait is the maximum resemblance of the model that posed with the result that turned out on the artist’s canvas or in his sculpture. This work of art should convey as much as possible not only the static facial features and proportions, but also the emotional aura of the person being portrayed.
As depicted people in antiquity
The very first types of portraits in painting are sculptures. They are found throughout the Ancient East, as well as in ancient countries. Such works of art in those days were made for people who occupied important places in society. These were rulers, public figures and creators. Sculptures always accurately conveyed facial features and emotional color of the one who was depicted with their help. Often such creations became tombstones for their masters. The sculptures of these ancient times allow us to restore the picture of the past and understand what kind of people lived in those days.
Medieval painting
In the era of the Middle Ages, certain types of portraits in the visual arts appeared. Rulers, church leaders and important secular people are already depicted on canvas. It was almost impossible to distinguish faces in such portraits - they all had similar features, however, like human figures. The picture always conveyed more the atmosphere, which was saturated with religion and theology. Donor portraits were popular. They depicted a man who made a donation for a particular Catholic church. He was always surrounded by cherubim or with Jesus in his arms, like the Virgin Mary. An analogue of such images was the portraiture of portraits, which were popular not only among Catholics, but also in the Orthodox world.
Revival and later centuries
From about the 15th century, people realized that portraiture is a form of art, and not just a means of transmitting information. Since then, the creative boundaries of society have expanded significantly. Allegorical portraits began to be popular, where the model was always depicted in clothes that convey her emotions, character, and often such paintings were greatly exaggerated. A little later (18th century), artists began to paint genre portraits. They depicted people as full-length, and chest. The essence of the work was that the whole picture had a certain color. It was either an aura of tenderness, or a kind of brutal picture, etc. Also, during the Renaissance, various types of subjective portraits arose. And now we will consider what exactly such masterpieces are characterized by.
Portrait that is written "from the head"
This term refers to those paintings of people on which they are depicted not as they actually look, but as they are presented to the artist. The creator can change proportions, change facial features, make a person more cheerful or more sad. Often, in order to draw a subjective portrait, a model is not required at all. An artist can restore pictures of reality and his fantasies in his head, and then transfer all this to the canvas. Today, there are separate from painting types of subjective portraits. These include the following: a photobot, restoration of the deceased's facial features due to the technique and memory of eyewitnesses, the application of makeup on the face of one person so that he becomes like another.
Our days
The types of portraits that are found today are very different from those that were popular in society earlier. All people are photographed today, not painted, because their facial features , facial expressions and emotions are transmitted with maximum accuracy. Among modern portraits, there are also genre ones: public, intimate, individual, chamber, as well as selfies - the most common portrait of our time.