A Conceptual History of Medieval Portraiture

FAIN: FA-10256-70

James D. Breckenridge
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL 60208-0001)

Study of medieval portraiture which attempts to relate the art form to cultural contexts. Question of representational versus non-representational phases in history of art particularly relevant to medieval and modern periods, for in both periods there was a shift from objective naturalism to non-objective modes of expression. Thus, a study of medieval portraiture may illuminate the nature of contemporary art, as well as formal and stylistic developments. ABSTRACT: Study of medieval portraiture as portrayal of specific individuals in artistic media, in terms of contemporaneous concepts of the individual and the personality. While concerned with formal and stylistic development, the study is more significanly an attempt to relate the art form to cultural contexts. Question of representational versus non-representational phases in history of art has particular relevance to students of both medieval and modern, since in both periods a shift took place from objective naturalism to non-objective modes of expression. The portrait, having a fixed subject in nature, serves as a particularly useful index for a study of this shift, so conclusions derived from this study may eventually bears on whole question of the nature of contemporary art and its relation to the cultural and intellectual environment of our time. Second of a (probable) 4-part general history of portraiture. Part one published as Likeness: A Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture.