The Art of the Portrait (Masterpieces of European Portrait Painting 1420-1670) [Hardcover]

Norbert Schneider (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Art of the Portrait focuses on about a 200-year period, from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance, during which the genre of painted portraiture flourished. For the first time since classical antiquity, interest in and attention to this type of painting grew. As a consequence, new visual types of portraiture--full length, profiles, groups--emerged, and a wider range of subjects (outside the traditional circle of royalty and clergy) was explored in the canvasses, along with psychological and atmospheric elements. During this heyday innumerable masterpieces were painted by a wealth of different artists. But the 19th century, with the advent of photography and impressionism, among other developments, put an abrupt end to the boom.

The paintings collected in this book include Botticelli's Profile of a Young Woman, in which his subject is draped in a lovely deep-red gown with pearls threaded through her intricately braided hair; Jan van Eyck's The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini, which doubled as something of a marriage certificate for the couple, as it attested to the presence of a witness (the artist himself) at the priestless ceremony; and da Vinci's Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous portrait in the world. Works by Poussin, Rembrandt, Titian, Dürer, Raphael, Rubens, Velázquez, and other artists illustrate the highlights of the period. The book itself is an interesting enough survey of some of the greatest portraits ever painted and the artists who created them. But it contains poorly reproduced plates of relatively common paintings and a conventional introductory essay, not to mention overlong annotations that tend to overtake the actual images. Still, The Art of the Portrait has achieved minor notoriety since being cited by David Hockney in The New Yorker (January 31, 2000) as supporting his theory that painters of the 16th century must have relied on optical devices such as the camera lucida to create the near-photographic perfection of the portraits. --Jordana Moskowitz

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Taschen; 2nd edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822865222
• ISBN-13: 978-3822865224
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Portraits

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Every Portrait Tells A Story, March 9, 2000

By 

Bruce Loveitt (Ogdensburg, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of the Portrait (Masterpieces of European Portrait Painting 1420-1670) (Hardcover)

This is another solid entry in the Taschen line of well done and reasonably priced art books. It is also another wonderful job by Norbert Schneider. (Please see my review of his book "Still Life".) The book covers the 15th through the 17th centuries and contains many full page color reproductions. There are also many smaller reproductions of details from the portraits being shown and of other paintings which may have been an inspiration to the artist in question. There are also some very effective full page black and white closeups of the faces of some of the sitters. When you look at these black and white reproductions you can really get a good luck at the fine attention to detail and in many cases the brushwork is so smooth that you could swear you are looking at a photograph rather than a painting. Mr. Schneider starts off the book with a brief introduction to the historical development of the portrait and the changing goals of the artist and the patron. This section is only about 30 pages but also contains many examples relating to what the author is talking about. The rest of the book focuses on color plates of particular portraits and is accompanied by Mr. Schneider's descriptions of the paintings including explanations of the symbolic meanings of pieces of clothing and items of jewelry worn by the sitters; what the sitters wanted to show to the viewer by commissioning the portrait-e.g.-demonstrating their wealth or power or intellectual achievements, etc.. Mr. Schneider also gives interesting little biographical tidbits about the artists and the patrons. His writing style is to the point but not dry. Works by such artists as Da Vinci, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael, etc. are included but also works by lesser known artists, so even if you know a lot about art you will be able to learn something and be entertained by this book. Highly recommended and a great bargain at the price!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Norbert Schneider's finest books, December 4, 2002

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of the Portrait (Masterpieces of European Portrait Painting 1420-1670) (Hardcover)

THE ART OF THE PORTRAIT gives further stature to the quality of research and writing of art historian Norbert Schneider. In this beautifully illustrated volume he not only explores the idiosyncrasies of portraiture in general, enlightening us as to the vagaries of time and social custom influencing the painters presented here, but he also presents highly entertaining and educational comparisons of the ways different artists have presented the portrait of a similar subject. Example: In presenting Rembrandt's 'The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' he offers a full image of the painting along with well chosen details, then contrasts this famous medical experience with a woodcut from Johannes de Ketham (1493) of an anatomy section, a reference to Mantegna's 'The Dead Christ', Gerard David's 'The Flaying of Corrupt Judge Sisamnes' (1499), and with Rembrandt's own later 'The Anatomy Class of Dr. Joan Deyman'. We are introduced to the diagonal penchant of composition of Holbein, the demand for group portraiture as in the examples of paintings as familiar as Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch', with those less famous commissions by Franz Hals, Thomas de Keyser, and Cornelis Anthonisz. Preoccupation with self portraiture is studied with a wonderful sense of humor, and the idiosycrasies of Velazquez's preoccupation with dwarfs, and Arcimboldo's with vegetables and fruits as building blocks for his portraits provide insights that are refreshing. There are discoveries for the novice art lover of the wondrous works of Lorenzo Lotto and Agnolo Bronzino and Quentin Massys as well as re-visits to the more famous da Vinci, Titian, etc. In all, a treasure house of images and information!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, January 25, 2009

By 

Titten Tei (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of the Portrait (Masterpieces of European Portrait Painting 1420-1670) (Hardcover)

This is a good book. Lots of photos, which is the alpha and omeaga of art books. The only thing I would have changed is the selection. A bit broader.
Not my fav. art book, but not my least fav. either. It is good to have as a reference.