This exhibition is a survey of the evolution of the self-portrait, running from the 17th century to contemporary practice, and looks at how the medium has been explored by artists across Europe.
As it’s a collaboration between the National Galleries of Scotland, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon and the Karlsruhe Kunsthalle, it’s also a thrilling way to highlight three excellent collections.
And, dare I say, it’s probably more important than ever at the moment that we celebrate with our French and German friends.
It’s also interesting to assess the prevailing power of high-class portraiture in a digital age, when a lot of people appear to derive pleasure from producing numerous photographs of themselves. Quality over quantity, you could say.
The show features 140 works by the likes of Rembrandt and Warhol, great Scottish figures including David Wilkie and Alan Ramsey, and thought-provoking pieces from
Sarah Lucas and Marina Abramovi.
I chose this picture, however, because I have an immediate visceral response to it. It’s dramatic and romantic, and Vouet is a fascinating artist, although little known in this country.
He was born in Paris in 1590 and became an adventurous traveller at the age of 14. He visited Britain – the one portrait of a grand lady he produced here has disappeared – Constantinople and Italy, where his artistic education really blossomed.
This painting is a distillation of his love for Caravaggio’s work – it is direct, rapidly painted and unfinished, but the details of the face, particularly the eyes and hair, are mesmeric.
The face is lit rather theatrically, giving the illusion that Vouet, who cuts an elegant but somewhat bohemian figure, seems to physically emerge from the murky background. He is so tellingly depicted that there is a sense of connection across the centuries with the viewer – his mouth is open, almost as if he’s talking to you.
Vouet was making a name for himself at the time this was painted, and the portrait is modestly sized so that it could be easily transported. It served as an advertisement, a perfect way of saying: “You, too, could have your portrait done as skilfully as this.”
Vouet also worked on large decorative schemes, murals and frescoes that stayed in situ. While that perhaps explains a lack of familiarity with his work in this country, I still think Vouet is one of the great figures of 17th-century European painting.”
Interview by John Holt. Facing the World: Self-Portraits from Rembrandt to Ai Weiwei runs at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, until 16 October
As it’s a collaboration between the National Galleries of Scotland, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon and the Karlsruhe Kunsthalle, it’s also a thrilling way to highlight three excellent collections.
And, dare I say, it’s probably more important than ever at the moment that we celebrate with our French and German friends.
It’s also interesting to assess the prevailing power of high-class portraiture in a digital age, when a lot of people appear to derive pleasure from producing numerous photographs of themselves. Quality over quantity, you could say.
The show features 140 works by the likes of Rembrandt and Warhol, great Scottish figures including David Wilkie and Alan Ramsey, and thought-provoking pieces from
Sarah Lucas and Marina Abramovi.
I chose this picture, however, because I have an immediate visceral response to it. It’s dramatic and romantic, and Vouet is a fascinating artist, although little known in this country.
He was born in Paris in 1590 and became an adventurous traveller at the age of 14. He visited Britain – the one portrait of a grand lady he produced here has disappeared – Constantinople and Italy, where his artistic education really blossomed.
This painting is a distillation of his love for Caravaggio’s work – it is direct, rapidly painted and unfinished, but the details of the face, particularly the eyes and hair, are mesmeric.
The face is lit rather theatrically, giving the illusion that Vouet, who cuts an elegant but somewhat bohemian figure, seems to physically emerge from the murky background. He is so tellingly depicted that there is a sense of connection across the centuries with the viewer – his mouth is open, almost as if he’s talking to you.
Vouet was making a name for himself at the time this was painted, and the portrait is modestly sized so that it could be easily transported. It served as an advertisement, a perfect way of saying: “You, too, could have your portrait done as skilfully as this.”
Vouet also worked on large decorative schemes, murals and frescoes that stayed in situ. While that perhaps explains a lack of familiarity with his work in this country, I still think Vouet is one of the great figures of 17th-century European painting.”
Interview by John Holt. Facing the World: Self-Portraits from Rembrandt to Ai Weiwei runs at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, until 16 October
