Portraits

de Walker, John

Portraiture is a mirror of all mankind, and since its earliest beginnings has been a major art form. Almost every first-rate artist has produced at least one fine example; almost every prominent person has had his or her features immortalized in paint or stone. In this endlessly intriguing volume John Walker writes with humor and charm about the men, women, and children -- even a few animals -- who have sat for the portraits in this book. The 301 magnificent illustrations in this book allow comparisons among various stylistically different forms of portraiture, from the profound psychological interpretations of the Hellenistic Greeks, of Rembrandt, Cézanne, and the Expressionists, to the grand "society" portraits of the imperial Romans, Velázquez, Renoir, and Sargent, to the warm, informal likenesses of Hogarth, Delacroix, and Augustus John. From an Egyptian statuette of an early pharaoh to the bronze bust of a contemporary cowboy, they prove that for 50 centuries, human appearance has been the starting point for works of art that embody the heights of human emotion and intelligence. -- From publisher's description.