What is the Portrait?
- aliciarbarron
- Jan 26, 2018
- 1 min read
A fundamental question for any portrait is whether is merely records the outer, visible surface of a person or whether it provides an insight into the subjects character to reveal an essence of their being.Traditionally in photography, the face has been considered the
primary marker for identity. Photographer Paul Graham summed up this belief when he
defined portraiture as ‘one of the most profound things that one can do...to simply and truly see someone, and express their sentience. To reflect the inner self through external
appearance.’
(Paul Graham,End of an Age, 1999)
William Ewing explores this idea and states that: “Contemporary photographers contest this assumption and dismiss the belief that a portrait, or the face, reveals the inner soul of a person; rather a portrait is a credible likeness of an individual.”
(William Ewing, About Face: Photography and the Death of the Portrait, Next level, 2004)
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