For Session If:

The Image of the Individual: Portraits in the Renaissance,

N. Mann and L. Syson,

p.9-14

9

THE IMAGE Of' THE INDIVII)UIII,

~11 unexpected aud specific~.conflllcllce of cultures: the humanist study of classical precedent, and the me or images of the living, or recently dead, in coutcmporary Christian religious practice, Neither of these issues is simple. Drawing 011 antique example should not be understood as a matter of mere imitation of ancient portrait material - as simply tile copying of Roman or Greek coins or sculpted busts, or even :1S the attempted emulation of the kind of image-making described by PI illy the Younger or other authors, The desire to make portraits certainly sprang from the examination of surviving ancient artefacts and from the detailed literary exploration of the role of images in antiquity, Carved busts, and especially ancient coins and gems, were key sources, 111 this volume Hugo van der Veldcri highlights, for example, Cicero's concept of the ius il!lagil1is ad 111l!1I1t1l1'(!I(! prslrritatclJlq rJf prodelll/rTIH, 'the right to have an image for preserving the memory'. Even the apparently straightforward exchange of portraits between family and friends may, in fact, be founded on ancient friendship practices, as they were understood in the fifteenth century, Cicero's De Atuititia was certainly the inspiration for Alberti's statemeut that the vnlue of the portrait by ill its capahility to make absent 111CI1 prescnt.s Although antique precedents for portrait-making were crucial, the Renaissance undersrandi ng of Greek and ROl1l:1n notions of human appearance in general was as important The exploration, and subsequent diffusion of diffcrcnt ancient theories of the rclati onship between physico I appearance and the soul - sornetimcs COIll pleruentnry, often contradictory - provided the intellectual foundation of fifteentl{and sixtcenth-ccncury portrait strategies, Belief in the utility of physiognomical theories was widespread throughout the Middle Ages, but the growing popularity of the Pseudo-Aristotelian rhJ'si(l,~II!lt11y in the fifteenth century demonstrates the gre;1ter centrality of such a credo. Indeed, it became something of a commonplace, which was neatly encapsulated by Rouille, for example, ill the introduction to his published collection of h istorical portraits, where he called the (.1Ce, 1111 cltiaio sj1crdlio dell' animo, 'a mirror of the mind', that 'through the art of physiognomy, one Can cOl~ectllfe''':1 To this 'scientific' dimension, learned fiom the ancients, one must add Plato's notion, variously understood ill the Renaissance, of the relationship between beauty and virtue, Although, of course, Plato had proposed that a person's body and face could only be the inferior expression of the loveliness of the soul, Marsilio Picinos discussion of Platonic love indicates that simplifications might take place, that beauty could be seen as more or less synonymous with virtue, He wrote:

The ill rer nal perfection produces the external. The former we can call goodnos, the latter bC;1UtY. 'For this reason, we ,~ay that beauty is a certain blossom of goodness, by whose charms, as by a kind of bait, the hidden internal goodness attracts beholden. But since the cognition of our intellect takes its origin from the senses, we would never be aware of and never desire the goodness itself hidden ill the heart of things if we were not attracted to it by the visible signs of externa I beauty. ri

Interpretations of portrairs either ill Platonic or physioguomical terms were turther

10

-_.', ...;.,. ,---

'.~':"".

run IMACE or THE INDIVIDUAL

Pisancllo, on the other hand, deliberately exaggerated Lconcllo d'Estcs curly hair, tur ning it into ;1 1l1:111l' to make him more leonine, both ;1S :1 phy on his 11~IllC ;]l1d as all expression of his style of rule."? Although we should not be te11lrtcQ to givc sentimental or romanticised interprcracious of a portrait, nevertheless it is legitimate to attempt readings which reflect what we know about the methods employed during the period,

I f the bcli cf that the soul showed itsel f in the face led, 011 occasion, to the cxaggemtion of particular features ill a portrait, so as to express an individualised spiritual identity, a strict adherence to the Platonic conception of appearance might alternatively result in images which appear generalised, where diffcrentiatiug featl1res have been idealised :1W;"Iy,11 Portraits of this kind ;lIT not necessarily attempts to deny their subjects their specificity or individuality, Elegantly idealised, apparently non-specific portrai ts of named women - G hirlnndaio 's Ciovausut Tornobuoui. for example, 12 or perhaps some of the depictions of helle on maiolicn dishes (re-examined here by Marta Ajmar and Dora Thornton) - call be seen as very specific statements of their subjects' particular (female) virtues.u

However firmly it W;IS believed that S0111COlll.:'S appcan1l1ce could sigl1~J personality, the artist ~Ild his subject could not, in practice, be sure that anything wry precise would be indicated by the shape of the chill or the colour of the eyes or even by an open forehead and aquiline nose. Extra clues could be provided. When a subject is dressed (or undressed) ;JS Hercules, Neptune . .or_Orphl'u~".the aim is obvious, q Devices and emblems are and were not always as caxily decoded, but were regl1brly included in portraits both as al.l .. aid to identification :111d because they had nll\lnings of their own. A physiognomical reading of the subject of a medal might, for 'c~a!11p1e, actually have been suggested by all allegorical representation 011 its reverse. Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Lord of Rirnini, h;Jd devised for him a whole series of reverses for his 11H:cb Is by Matteo de' Pasti to promote his Fortitude. 111 other cases the particular medium in which a portrait was executed, whether it W:lS precious and expensive, difficult to work (as were porphyry and other hard stones, as Martha McCrory demonstrates here), or simply up-to-date (such ;1S the use of oil paint in the second half of the fifteenth century in Italv), could bear a particular 11lCS,~:1ge. Other pointers to the proper reading of <1 portrait might be given by its setting - for instance the Marches lal1dSC;J~1C behind Picros Duke :11Id Duchess of Urbino, discussed here by Martin Warnke - by the a ttr ibutcobjects associated with the subject, by the richness Or plainness of costume, or, most directly, by an explanatory inscription,

But the ingredients of individuality include more than a penon's f:lce, 1110l'C even than his or her character (to employ <1.11 anachronistic term). Other external factors C0111e into play, sonic of which can be included ill ;I portrait. A IWI11e is generally thought to be crucial.There would appear to hc little point ill celebrating or (0111- mcmoratiug the f.1111C, beauty or virtues of someone whose identity is lost. Therefore, when ;'J portrait origin:1lly contained 110 name, DOl' any clue to a l1;1.I1IC, there i, an apparent problem to be solved. The very large number or 'unknown.

12

TTl E fMA(:E Of: Till'. I N III V 11lUIII.

between them are clearly demonstrated. Linda Alecis essay shows, in addition, how the meaning of a work of art is dependent, ill 110 small measure, all it, context. Although the range of media explored is wide, the geographical perspective of these essays is rather more narrow, and Italy and the Italians certainly get the lion's share. The conference at which first versions of I11mt of these essays were given included a discussion of the portraiture of Charles the Bold and an examination of itllage., ill tapestry, which unfortunately could not be included in this volume. It is to be hoped, however, that these Italianate case studies (for even Jail van Eyck's..., double portrait in the National Gallery analysed by Lorne Campbell has Italian sit- ' tersjmay stimulate reassessment of other portraits produced north of the Alps.

t'1 .)

NOTE: All coins. medals and plaqucttcs are reproduced same size l;nless otherwise specified.

Luke SYS!l11

14

tm: rMi\(:I: 01: 'I'll t: rNDIV1DUi\ I.

;IP!"'(Cl'l'lIHIS, lIi"i ad l';Ull ~pl'(il'i cxtcrioris inditiis 11I:llli(l'<tis provchcn-mur,' Such intnl'rct;ltinn.s {It' lxnuty were IlC(,:l~ioll~!ly cli;dlt'llgni, :1.1 wlic» C:l.qigliolll' Ius rhe elderly ;lIld nld-lil.shioncrl Morello d:l Ortoun reply to a pcror.iriou by !'idm llciliho prlllll('tin~ the Plaruuic vic\\': 'rknrdllllli aver vedurc mnltc ln-llc dlHllll' mnliasinu-, cn,ddi r dispcrtosc; c 1';11' ('he ql1asi St'1111,re ('mi inn-rvengn. pcrrlu' la Iwlk7.7.:1 [c I;' ~lIpnht" c la slIl'l:rhia crllddL' Bt'1I1ho <":111 nilly reitt'r.lte baldly, 'Noli Cl"ediatl' rhc [a hcllcaza

non sin Se1l1]'rl' houa.' Set' Be Castif!:lio,w, II/ibn' de! ("rl,:~i'lI/(I (,'II IUI,' S(C/r" ddl,. "/1('1"(' l1Iilll'l'l, cd,

ll. Maier (Turin. 1~!i4), honk IV, p. 5~O, We arc vcry ~r:ltdl,l to Jill Krnyc (or her valuable ronnibution rn this purr of the introduction.

7 Irvil'lf!: Lavin has ld~hli~htcd the impact n( pl1l'ul:1r ChdHian practices 011 rourcmporary 1Iot'(raitlLrc, showing that Florentine liltl'l'llthccnturv portrait busts adopted some of the

visual vornbulnrv associated with rl'liquary busts so a.s to give th~' portraits sOllis. Set' I. Lavin,

'On the Sources :mn Meaning of the

RC!lai~sa,,("t' Portrnir ltusr, 'f11(' Arr Qllm·rr'riV,.13 (I no), f'P, 207-2(j,

8 This is Lt'0I1<1n10'.1 phrn~l" ~d<1ptl'd hy Popetlcnill'ssy as the title of his third chapter (sec n. I above, pp, 101-54).

9 Campbell, Rcunissancc Portrait« (11.2. above), p. '>4·

10That Lcnncllos hair ~tyle W;lS intended as a viS\1~1 indirntion of his leonine qualities was first pl"Llpos('d hr J":lllll~ Wl1"ds-M;lr~d~'ll ill Ill'!' influential t'ssa}, 'Ritmtt» III IIlltum/c: Questions (If ll..cali~ln ;111el ldcnlisu: in Enrlv Renaissance Porrrnits ', 111'1 ,1,'lfI'Il'll, 4(j (ll)H7), 1'1'. 2()1)-1 ("

11 The isslIe ;l( ~t'lIl'l";llist'd portrait iI11;I~t'S has been l'XpiorL'd by L. frl't'dm:1n, 'The Cm111tt'TPortrait: rho Quest for the ldcnl in ltnlinn It('naiss~"tt' l'ortraiturc', ill A. (;t'lltili, 1', Morel, C. (:icri Via (eels), II rill'(1110 r 1,1 mftll,'rj,l:

utntrri. 11(', III (Rome, 1')1).1),1'1" (,2-R.1, where 111t' idrnrifics ~ d:IIS or port rait which, Ihl' hdkvt's, \\,:11 1I0t dt'si~nnl to be trlltl1'fill. She writes (p, (\2) 'I )\lri,,~ the Rt'll'lissanCl' ~ new {",1tqJ;ory of portr,,;turc was crcurcd. This ott'Wll'y>is ch,1r;ll"tl'risrd hy ;1 C0\1111HlII trait: representation of thl" type rathcr than the iurlividunl , the ideal rather th~1I the exact likeness, the model rather th~1l the .<pcdfic sitter. r Sl1p;p:t'st that this catq;ory C:\II he rcrrncd rountcr-portra It 11 rc .. ,

it should 11(>[ be sllrpri.~il1g that ill the examples chosen to illustrate th j, cat<.:gnry it 1.1 difficult to delinitcly l".<tnhli~h the sitter's ideurity' Altholl~h I"rt'cdlll:111', argumcurs arc sll[.!:!.(l".ltivt:, and cl'I"t:lillly useful i 11 lti~hlightil1f!: :1 kind of I'nrtr:lit (tho1lgh h~rdly ~ nrw om') whicl: docs ;ll(ked seem tn rejccr verisilllilitllde, her bhel 'vounrcr-portmir'{s not altogcther ht'll'lill, and iter collection (,('t'o(1I1tel'-portraits' is too

IVO

IlIi<('("ll:llIl'I"I.'. Wmb such as r )(1I1~1l'l\n 's (;attallld~t;l cqucsninn 111I11111111(,l1t, where the accurate "l'pinin,) (lr the <L1I~il"t't h;1s bL'cn abandoned ill r.WI1l1T o( all idealised wa rrior image, illustrate I'l'r(cctly the alternative portrnir strategy. l lowcvcr, the il1l:1gt fimrtious I'rl'cisely licrnusr the statue is identified. Difl'iniltlL's arisr when 'it is dilTiclllt to definitely establish thL' sitter', idcnrity', a.~ ;11 Bottkclli's Uffizi I'orll'llil "r ,I ~"rrl~~ AlII" 11,'ldiJ~~ 11 Mcda! or Ids frankfurt Hr'ad ,!(,r 1·/'('11/'111. A gl'lIl'l'alis(d i111~g(' nil only work when a menus of idcntificario» is

provided which dncs not depend 011 likeness, Thus ~11 linage SLI(h as (he r I"lin ,!r'l II [11111111, which deliberately resists idcurifirntiou. cannot really be cb.ssificd as n pnrtl"nit of an>' kind,

while the Uflhi }h"rt,~ Alalt shollid be excluded because, nlrliough somcwhar idealised, the

picture WJS ~;sl1rL"dly intended as a recognisable likeness of SClI11('onc whose identity happens. very unfortunately, to be lost.

tz A good account of this picture is to he found in Pope-Hennessy, ?11r g,rmrir (11. I above), PI'. 24-H. For more elaborate iurcrprotatious. sce J. Shearman. 0111)' eMltlcel", Ilrr I1l1d rill' S,ll'(llIrl'r ill (II,' IIali(1tt Rm(li.,-,aJtCL, (Washill~tt\ll, 1\l~2), PI'. 10R-t "- and CM, Rmcnbel'g, 'Virtue, Pict), and Affection: SOIiIC Portraits by Domenico Chirlandair;'. ill Gcntili, Morel, CiC1'i Via (cd.l, ll vitvnno r 1,1 IHrIWI'i,1 (n, I r above), II, pp. 17.1-95, especially PI'. IR7-8. 13 The pnrticulnr prol,lL'l1ls associated wit h the id~';l1isnti(l1l of women ill fiHccl1th- nucl sixtccnth-rcurury portraits have lice" extensively examined. SlT e~l'L'c;ally l' Sil11011S, 'A Profile Portrnir of a Rvunissauc« WOIII:1tl in the National (;nllery ofVictur in'. !Itt /311if('lil! II!, Vicrc'I'ill,2R (It_)S7), pp. 34-S:1.; id.,'Wol11t'n 'in Frames: the Eye, the Gaze, the Profile ill. Renaissance l'ortraimrc ', 11f~I(1I")' r,Hlrk.<II('Jt. )(lf/r/Mr,25 (1 ~HH), 1'1',4-3"0. Simons's most ~'nl1vilrdllg nll~')'li.1 is oO'l'l'cd ill hel" 'Portraiture. I'ortr,ly.ll nnd ldcalisnrioh: Alllhi~lI()m lndividualisation in Rcprcscumtious or Itenailsanct' WOlllcn' ill A, Brown (cd.), 1.1C1!,~I!'\~(' am! IIIIIlXC.< (!( nCltll;mllt({' /1([/)' (t )xf'xd:

JI)~5), I'P, 2(\J-31 t. St'C also , ... Sysou, 'Consorts. Mistresses nnd Exemplarv WOLllen: the Fendt' Mcdallir Portrait ill fificcnth-ccnrury ltnlv'. ill S, Currie, P Mnttlll"C (cdx), Tbr .)(1(11'1(',1 ()i!iC'Cf, 14oc'-17M (Aldcrshot. L'N7). PI'. 4.~-(,4, Another point or view is provided b~' E, Cropper, 'On Beautiful Women: l'~rl11igial,il\o, l'l'trarchisl11 :1I1d thc Vcruacular Style'. An linlle'ril!. 5~ (1~7(j), PI'. 374'-<)4, ami id.,'Thc lkallty nfWoll1nn: l'roblcms in tlu, ll..lit,tlirit" of ll..cll,1i.s~~l1Cl· l'mtr<litll rc , ,in M, W. Fcrguxon. M. quilligall, NJ. Vickers (t'ns), R(,lI'ririlt~ II!!' Rrl/lli,'.',lII(f: Tire Di,'fI1l1l:(r.< <?f' .)r,\'11111 f)!lji'rl'llrr iii E,ld)' IH,de1'l1 Elln'pr ( :hkn~o, Loudon, I ')X(i), pp. L 75-')0.