Hidden faces : covered portraits of the Renaissance / edited by Alison Manges Nogueira

Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, [2024]
  • New Haven ; London : Yale University Press
  • ©2024
Description
232 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm

Details

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Writer of added commentary
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Library of Congress genre(s)
Getty AAT genre
Summary note
  • "Many small Renaissance portraits were richly adorned with covers or backs bearing allegorical figures, mythological scenes, or emblems that celebrated the sitter and invited the viewer to decipher their meaning. Hidden Faces includes seventy objects, ranging in format from covered paintings to miniature boxes, that illuminate the symbiotic relationship between the portrait and its pair. Texts by thirteen distinguished scholars vividly illustrate that the other 'faces' of these portraits represent some of the most innovative images of the Renaissance, created by masters such as Hans Memling and Titian. Uniting works that have in some cases been separated for centuries, this fascinating volume shows how the multifaceted format unveiled the sitter’s identity, both by physically revealing the portrait and reading the significance behind its cover"-- Provided by publisher.
  • "This exhibition is the first to examine an intriguing but largely unknown side--in the literal sense--of Renaissance painting: multisided portraits in which the sitter's likeness was concealed by a hinged or sliding cover, within a box, or by a dual-faced format. The covers and reverses of these small, private portraits were adorned with puzzlelike emblems, epigrams, allegories, and mythologies that celebrated the sitter's character, and they represent some of the most inventive and unique secular imagery of the Renaissance. The viewer had to decode the meaning of the symbolic portrait before lifting, sliding, or turning the image over to unmask the face below. This widespread tradition in Italy and Northern Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries will be explored through approximately 60 double-sided and covered portraits from The Met collection and other American and European institutions, including the reunion of several portraits and their covers that had been split and made part of separate collections. Painted by artists such as Hans Memling, Lucas Cranach, Lorenzo Lotto, and Titian, the works range from portraits intended as portable propaganda to those designed to conceal a lover's identity. These varied three-dimensional, hand-held ensembles shed significant light upon the intimate and personal nature of portraits designed as interactive objects"-- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Notes
"This catalogue is published in conjunction with "Hidden faces: covered portraits of the Renaissance," on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from April 1 through July 7, 2024."--Colophon
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-225) and index
Contents
  • Director's foreword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Contributors
  • Lenders to the exhibition
  • Uncovering Renaissance portraits / Alison Manges Nogueira
  • Coining multisided portraits : precedents and parallels / Alison Manges Nogueira
  • Covered portraits in Northern Europe, 1430-1500 / Maryan W. Ainsworth
  • Covered portraits in Italy, 1475-1550 / Catherine Whistler
  • Covered portraits in Northern Europe, 1500-1550 / Joshua P. Waterman
  • Portable portraits, 1520-1650 / Angelica Dülberg
  • Notes
  • Works cited
  • Index
Other title(s)
Covered portraits of the Renaissance
ISBN
  • 9781588397751
  • 1588397750
OCLC
1422094076
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