Essay On Renaissance Portraiture

One of the most notable artistic aspects that blossomed from the Renaissance was the art of portraiture. Many factors contributed to the development of a Renaissance portrait, such as social status and gender. It was through these portraits that artists constructed the ideal persona of Renaissance men and women, enforcing expectations of physical beauty and proper behavior. Renaissance artists were not just trying to record the likeness of a person, but also interpret the message of the human face. During this time period, the main focus was on the subject of the painting instead and replaced the artist as the predominant figure. This paper will further examine the use of Renaissance portraits in their portrayal of both genders and how that contributed to their expected roles in society.

For portraiture, the Renaissance brought the art form a resurging interest in human motives and the human character. Returning to Classical ideals, especially those found in Roman portraiture, artists were now trying to give their subjects a convincing appearance of realism. However, in the Renaissance, artists began exploring new ways to represent their subjects, expanding from the traditional profile view to a more dynamic three-quarter view. Portraits started to express actions of depth and significance in the figures featured in the paintings. An example of these new techniques can be seen in Leonardo da Vinci’s Ginerva de’ Benci (Fig. 3). As a “quattrocento portrait raised to a new power”, this piece shows how the artist now approached portraiture with “the contours more delicate and the sense of the face as a relief surface is more pronounced”. They tried to give their figures a larger sense of grandeur, more dramatic compositions that were...

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...decorate the chambers of newlyweds, usually as an instruction to the new bride of how she should please her husband like in the Venus of Urbino (Fig. 4).

The art of portraiture saw resurgence during the Renaissance as individuals and families who experienced newfound wealth wanted a way to commemorate themselves and their achievements. Although both genders were painted frequently, the meaning behind each differed. The portrait was a way for men to showcase their personalities and authority. It offered them the chance to solidify their political power and establish the supremacy of their lineage and ancestor. For women, portraiture was a chance to instruct them on their roles as a mother and wife. Since men still remained the main form of patron, most portraits of women were allegorical figures of the ideal Renaissance woman that every man in that period desired.